back hand drills
- Thread starter durwood
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Durwood, please don't tell me you are coaching a rec league...
no sir i am not. 3rd year travel ball and these girls soak up anything you throw at them.
during the winter trying push with all the fundamentals that we can. once spring comes
we will start playing in march. i have almost all 98's. great group of girls with some very large dreams. thanks.
during the winter trying push with all the fundamentals that we can. once spring comes
we will start playing in march. i have almost all 98's. great group of girls with some very large dreams. thanks.
Sluggers! I've got lots of respect for your knowledge of the game, but sir..... it doesn't matter whether a coach is travel, HS or rec ball.. especially rec ball! Any coach spending time to learn to teach/coach and any asking questions asked is a good thing..........
ok Backhand drills: D-wood..... part of one of my infield drills includes backhands, plant and throw..... I like barehanded/No Glove groundball drills for 3-4 minutes, then w/ their gloves, then Shorthops, backhands vertical leaps or diving drills. One line of infielders: one at a time, 3 shorthops, rotate, then next time around:
1) 3 backhands rolled and she keeps glove open-faced, out in front of her body, bent by KNEES/NOT waste, sees ball all the way into the glove, then PLANTS to pivot into her throw
2) hit tennis balls at them from 12-14 feet to/left and right - helps them learn quickness/reactions/range/vertical leap/and backhands...
3) Zip balls or baseballs work for backhand drills to force concentration on ball..
** One BIG Key is INSIST they bend at knees to stay LOW on the ball and NOT be lazy and bend at the hips.... some coaches like them to touch down their trail knee to FORCE the player to get down on the ball
I don't believe in chasing unicorns. And the backhand in softball is the biggest, brightest unicorn around.
Simply count the number of errors by your infielders and the number of times a kid *might* have made the play had she known how to make a backhand. The ratio will be something like a 1000 to 1.
First, teaching kids how to backhand a ball when their kids can't field a normal ground ball makes no sense. Every time I go to a softball game at any level, I see at least one muffed "ordinary" ground ball. If I go to a rec game, I see a bunch.
Second, the number of balls where there is a chance to make a play using a backhand are few. With the corners playing in, the only balls that are going to be backhanded by the corners are foul balls. Middle infielders should be taught to 'circle and charge' rather than attempt a backhand.
Finally, this aint' baseball. If a player has to make a backhand, the batter will be safe anyway. The player doesn't have enough time to adjust herself and make the throw.
If I were a parent of a middle infielder, I might teach the backhand to my DD "for fun" and to impress a coach. But, as a rec league or travel coach, it is a waste of time.
Simply count the number of errors by your infielders and the number of times a kid *might* have made the play had she known how to make a backhand. The ratio will be something like a 1000 to 1.
First, teaching kids how to backhand a ball when their kids can't field a normal ground ball makes no sense. Every time I go to a softball game at any level, I see at least one muffed "ordinary" ground ball. If I go to a rec game, I see a bunch.
Second, the number of balls where there is a chance to make a play using a backhand are few. With the corners playing in, the only balls that are going to be backhanded by the corners are foul balls. Middle infielders should be taught to 'circle and charge' rather than attempt a backhand.
Finally, this aint' baseball. If a player has to make a backhand, the batter will be safe anyway. The player doesn't have enough time to adjust herself and make the throw.
If I were a parent of a middle infielder, I might teach the backhand to my DD "for fun" and to impress a coach. But, as a rec league or travel coach, it is a waste of time.
- Jan 15, 2009
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I'm with sluggers on this. If you run enough backhand drills in practice you run the risk of setting up the tendency to backhand balls that they could have fielded between their feet, and this will cost you more than the cost of misplaying an occasional true backhand play. Almost every drill that I have seen run to "practice" backhand involves working with a ball coming in at a speed that could be fielded between the feet, but we force the backhand on the fielder, because that is the drill we are running. IF you do this expect to see fielders make the same judgement in a game that they are making in practice (i.e. decide very early to backhand.)
respectfully disagree to a degree..... and that's hard for me to do knowing the experience level many of you have...
((I understand the work the basics concept, but 48weeks a year - a well organized practice plan SHOULD include the little things that ARE fun and DO help get an out! That said, you are correct - very few times do you see these situations, but to me, its just like practicing defense 1st & 3rd plays.. odds are you only get an out every 10+ situations, BUT we still practice those, right? ))
Same as working Diving drills....... ABSOLUTELY - ABSOLUTELY teach backhand and diving drills..... sure we don't spend hours, but we do spend minutes each day and one of the better prep drills just before games for infielders is to work pairing up and throwing grounders, then shorthops, then backhands to each other.
We've seen many instances of backhands made and even on the 60 foot basepath to get the out. Diving drills... I've seen generally 2-3 times a season where one of our infielders make a dive on a ball, and whether from her belly & backhand or back up to a knee and make her throw..... SAME as working rundowns... so few and far in between in games...... but they SHOULD know and practice....
BTW: these drills are fun and the girls OFTEN ask if we can do some that we do......
3B down the line, saves a double, even if she has no play at 1B AND if 2nd and 1st and she makes a backhand play has at LEAST the lead runner at 3B, if not lead runner and double play at 1B......
** NOW - if players can't field and throw, and BUNT, baserun and slide, then these are MORE important things they need to work on, BUT I build a practice plan a year out, then break out to DAILY plans, by the minute and modify my plans based on progression and priorities....
((I understand the work the basics concept, but 48weeks a year - a well organized practice plan SHOULD include the little things that ARE fun and DO help get an out! That said, you are correct - very few times do you see these situations, but to me, its just like practicing defense 1st & 3rd plays.. odds are you only get an out every 10+ situations, BUT we still practice those, right? ))
Same as working Diving drills....... ABSOLUTELY - ABSOLUTELY teach backhand and diving drills..... sure we don't spend hours, but we do spend minutes each day and one of the better prep drills just before games for infielders is to work pairing up and throwing grounders, then shorthops, then backhands to each other.
We've seen many instances of backhands made and even on the 60 foot basepath to get the out. Diving drills... I've seen generally 2-3 times a season where one of our infielders make a dive on a ball, and whether from her belly & backhand or back up to a knee and make her throw..... SAME as working rundowns... so few and far in between in games...... but they SHOULD know and practice....
BTW: these drills are fun and the girls OFTEN ask if we can do some that we do......
3B down the line, saves a double, even if she has no play at 1B AND if 2nd and 1st and she makes a backhand play has at LEAST the lead runner at 3B, if not lead runner and double play at 1B......
** NOW - if players can't field and throw, and BUNT, baserun and slide, then these are MORE important things they need to work on, BUT I build a practice plan a year out, then break out to DAILY plans, by the minute and modify my plans based on progression and priorities....
obbay
Banned
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone- just want to point out that I've seen the backhand overused by girls who are afraid. I don't think they need to learn to backhand better, they need to learn to get centered on the ball.
I too believe it's good to teach them all aspects of the game, developing their comfort level and self-confidence.
I too believe it's good to teach them all aspects of the game, developing their comfort level and self-confidence.
I've seen, I'm sure we all have, some girls backhand because they were too lazy to move enough to get in front of the ball........ one step and they can make a routine play, but they want to make an easy play harder..................
