What to do with Brand New Player to fastpitch

[InsidePitch]

I'm guessing you are playing a town organization that travels to play other town organizations and it only cost about $100 for a kid to play and that is why you have a 14 year old with no experience. I had this at 12U. What I did was explain to the parents that until DD could demonstrate proficiency in catching she was only playing the outfield and they needed to help out in this area. I worked with the girls and they progressed. If she has any athleticism she should catch on pretty quick. Hey a pun. If not you are in for some tongue biting as the season goes on.

FWIW, it's easy to coach a team of superstars, take pride in the small victories with this girl. The greatest joy I got out of the game was seeing a player like this get the pats on the back from teammates and the ear to ear smiles that come with it.

 

[#10]

Thanks for elaborating, dld56. Do you feel the girl's catching ability is due more to her lack of athleticism than the new glove that is perhaps not fully broken in? Does she move her feet to get in position to field the ball, or does she show fear of the ball by not squaring up?

One thing I've found helpful with new kids is to simply play catch and field grounders bare handed with a tennis ball. With catching, it helps emphasize receiving the ball with their hands in front of their body, as well as using two hands. With grounders, without a glove, quick footed lateral movement is needed, and the kid has to get the hands low without the "crutch" of a glove to field the ball.

Knowing a bit more about the makeup of your team, it's going to be difficult to bring her up to speed without stunting the progress of the whole. As others have said above, frank communication with the girl and her family is crucial, and hopefully they buy in to help her speed up the learning curve. Keep posting once the games start, I'd like to hear how she progresses!

 

[flipper14]

This is an interesting discussion. I can't image starting a 14-year-old who no experience in a decent travel program but as a high school coach I actually prefer working with good athletes who haven't played before over those who have picked up a lot of bad habits playing park district ball. I coach at a school with about 650 kids. We play in a solid, not overwhelming, league (five DI commits in our league last year) in a suburb of one of the country's largest cities in an area known for playing very good softball.

We had a freshman all-state shortstop this year who plays very high level travel (played Premier just a few weeks ago) so we have some good talent at some positions. I coached a freshman this past season who had NEVER played softball before and came out to an open gym in mid-February. I wasn't there but some of my players started texting me about this new girl at the open gym. I saw her play the next week and said, "When did you learn to throw like that?" She said, "Last week!" She is unbelievable at tracking balls in the outfield and she can run. She isn't as good at balls on the ground. The other unique thing about her is that she pulls everything. Not as much now that we've made some adjustments but she used to pull everything, which I though was pretty strange. She also has great strike zone awareness. She is an above average athlete, but I wouldn't say she is an exceptional athlete. She is, however, extremely hard working and VERY smart. She picks up things so fast and doesn't have any bad habits. When a swing flaw creeps in I get mad at myself because I feel like it's something I must have done to mess her up. She started in leftfield for us all last season (I thought I had lost my mind). She hit .300 for most of the year and tailed off a bit toward the end of the year and hit about .260. This summer she started hitting home runs in batting practice. She came to me after last season and wanted to start taking pitching lessons. I'm not sure if I ever expect her to be able to pitch, but I also know that she's not someone I'd be surprised if she did and I do know that she'll reach every bit of her potential, no matter what that potential is.

The toughest thing now is that she really isn't good enough to play on a really good travel team, and she also plays volleyball and basketball, so she's likely just going to be a high school player but she's going to be fun to watch develop. So, all that to say, it can be done but, obviously, much depends on the girl. The other great thing...no burnout.

 

[FPMark]

If she has never played before, she is a blank canvas that you have the opportunity to work into a masterpiece. It's easier to teach proper technique to someone who wants to learn than it is to correct bad mechanics with someone who has been playing with them for years. With limited time I would suggest a few things to get her started. 1) tell her to get a used glove already broken in at Play-It-Again Sports. Recommend an appropriate size, but make sure it feels good to her. 2) If she is scared of the ball while trying to learn to catch, let her use a mask (surely someone on the team has one she can borrow). 3) Don't let her buy a new bat. She and her parents would probably be wasteing their money at this point. Let her expirement with different bats if the other players will let her.

Start with showing her how to throw properly. Work on it as much as possible until she gets the mechanics down. She will learn to catch at the same time. You can even roll the ball back to her so she can learn to field grounders. From there it will be much easier to teach her to hit. 14 year olds are not dumb. They can learn alot faster and easier than 6 year olds. If she has the will to learn the game, she will pick it up quickly. Show her and her parents how to play catch, practicing pop-ups, grounders, fly balls, and whatever else you see she needs work on. If she does this, even 30 minutes a day, you will be surprised at how fast she will progress.

If the reason she is there is because her parents want her there, not because she wants to learn, then you have to try to make it fun for her, otherwise she will be wasting time for both of you. If she wants to learn, and practices at home, it won't be long till you can at least get her in the game without worrying about her getting hurt. And who knows, she may surprise you.

Good Luck to you and her.