Mental help, first year 12u

[Rambler34]

We start out our practices with basic fundamental drills each time getting all of the girls a ton of reps in the infield and outfield. This helps with the routine plays and builds the form they need to mke the easy outs. After going through our stations we roll into situations. By setting our infield in position and putting other girls on the base we are getting a ton of work in on two major areas, base running and fielding. At this age I think reps help and by changing up drills and situations it keeps some of the boredom away.

We also will go live about every other practice. Three girls will be in to hit against a live defense other than a couple of girls missing. They get six total outs clearing the bases after three and the challenge is to see who can score the most runs. This is another way to put them in game situations without the pressure of an actual game.

 

[quincy]

DD has been on Teams were they had trouble getting the 3rd out. I came to realize that they also has trouble getting the 1st and 2nd out too, it is just the 3rd out seems important so it stands out.

Every out is important and the players need to know that.

No more or less pressure on out 1 then out 3.

(I have kind of gotten use to 5 out innings.)

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Don't waste your time trying to psychoanalyze a bunch of 12YOA girls. You don't have time in 2 hour practice to do group therapy and take ground balls.

Identify *SPECIFICALLY* what happened. General statements like, "Oh, they can't get the third out" suggests that you need to watch the game closer. Is it bobbled groundballs? Is it dropping popups? Is it bad throws?

You have to do lots of reps *AND* you have to insist on perfection on each rep. E.g., if your SS throws the to 1B and the ball is slightly above the 1B's head, do you make the SS redo? Or do you yawn and move on to the next grounder? The ball is supposed to be delivered at waist height...if it isn't, it is a bad throw. If you don't insist on perfection at practice, then they aren't going to play perfectly during a game.

Honestly...I've had the SS do 10 grounders in a row working on just the throw.

This is good advice.

The only thing I'd add is that because they seem to do OK getting the first and second outs but come unglued trying to get out number three, I'd probably say your girls don't handle pressure very well.

This can be trained. Insist not only on perfection at practice, but perfection at top speed all the time. They must do everything quickly. Charge the ball fast, get rid of it fast (with no extra motions) and throw it as hard as they can. If they don't get to that fly ball or pop-up, they do it again. If they don't charge that grounder and get to it as fast as they can, they do it again. If they don't throw the ball as hard as they can, they do it again. If they take any extra time getting rid of the ball, they do it again. And, don't forget to tell them why they are doing it again and to call them out for lack of effort when you see it. GIrls this age have to know what you want precisely before they can deliver it.

Train the effort and the top speed thing first. Game situations are important but experience will help them with that and you can start incorporating situations into your practices once you are certain they understand the top speed thing.

Teach them to work under great pressure at practice and they will have no problem operating the same way during games.

 

[gophert]

Our team approach is to make practice MUCH tougher than a game. They want a practice to be physically and mentally draining. One of the things I've seen our team do is to have some high intensity fielding drills towards the end of the practice. Then amp it up by requiring them to complete the drill without a bobble, bad throw, or miss of a ground ball in general. For every error, the player must choose someone on the team to run from 3rd to the outfield fence and back. Believe me, this is much harder on the player than the runner to put a teammate in that situation. They will work extra hard and push themselves for that last throw to be as hard as the first. The goal being that when everyone is tired in the last inning with 2 outs, that 3rd be achieved without error because it has already been accomplished in practice. Make practice hard and the games won't be. Oh...parents hate seeing their babies run for someone else error.

 

[canyonjoe]

You don't say what level you play but ask yourself if these are plays that should be made or could be made.

If it were my team I would take a good hard look at our practices. When doing fielding practice are you hitting the balls
at game speed? Are you hitting them right at the players? More important is are they fielding with good technique. If they
are flawed in practice they are flawed in the game. Until you can catch and throw you can't really play at any level in this
game.

Once the can do the above then look at the situations and see if it's not too complicated. Getting outs is everything. Our team
motto is "if in doubt get an out". That doesn't mean we just let the lead runner go, but we error on the side of caution to get
outs whenever we can.

Finally when you set your defense pick players that can make the most routine plays. Don't put a girl in CF who is really fast but
can't judge or catch a ball. Find a 2B that can make every routine play. It will save you so many runs. At SS don't just take the
strongest arm if they are 50-50 on ground balls.

 

[WinThemAll]

Play a game called "21" Player at each spot on defense. Coach hits a ball to infielder/outfielder who makes a play. Count each out. Clear the bases every 3 Outs. If there is an error, outs start over. You can add runners to create more game like situations.

If you have plenty of players, You can also have players sub when a player makes a mistake. We call this Top Dog/21.

This does several things:
Game Like
Creates Competition
Requires Focus

 

[bigchad64]

Not to get too sciency...but there are (in simplistic terms) two types of thinking: fast and slow. Fast would be those movements like batting. This type of thinking happens over time with repetition. Slow thinking happens when you actually take the time to consider something, think through movements, and do things like worry about the movement you are getting ready to make.

So, drill, drill, drill. Practice, practice, practice. I agree with what others have said in that in that situation seems like the thought of making the play is overriding actually just performing the athletic movement. Not feeling confident in WHERE the ball needs to go leads to over thinking.

My belief is there aren't many shortcuts in this, just takes time, experience, and a patient coach that is willing to continue to press for perfection without overstepping and directing too much in the play.

 

[Down and Out]

How much do you work on communication?

If someone is trying to make plays to the wrong base, I would blame the rest of the team for not letting her know where to throw it. She needs to concentrate on the ball while she is fielding it. She should hear her team mates telling her where to throw it. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind where the ball is going.

 

[sluggers]

Insist not only on perfection at practice, but perfection at top speed all the time. They must do everything quickly. Charge the ball fast, get rid of it fast (with no extra motions) and throw it as hard as they can. If they don't get to that fly ball or pop-up, they do it again. If they don't charge that grounder and get to it as fast as they can, they do it again. If they don't throw the ball as hard as they can, they do it again. If they take any extra time getting rid of the ball, they do it again. And, don't forget to tell them why they are doing it again and to call them out for lack of effort when you see it. GIrls this age have to know what you want precisely before they can deliver it.

Train the effort and the top speed thing first. Game situations are important but experience will help them with that and you can start incorporating situations into your practices once you are certain they understand the top speed thing.

Teach them to work under great pressure at practice and they will have no problem operating the same way during games.

This is really good. I wish I would have written this...

LAS, I would love to see one of your practices.

 

[msamom]

To the OP, this could be my team too. I understand the frustration first-hand. I am AC for my daughter's 12U team. We are a brand new team, and 3 of the girls are 10U girls we moved up to fill roster spots. 2 of the pitchers have never touched a 12inch ball before this fall. Mentally they seem to be getting better, but execution needs a lot of work. Sadly, I'm glad I'm not in this boat alone -- but sure would like row away from this shore and get some consistent plays.

What are you going to do for the winter season? I figure we have a good 2-3 months to work with them on developing continued muscle memory for catches and throws, etc.

I liked this too from another poster:

Insist not only on perfection at practice, but perfection at top speed all the time. They must do everything quickly. Charge the ball fast, get rid of it fast (with no extra motions) and throw it as hard as they can. If they don't get to that fly ball or pop-up, they do it again. If they don't charge that grounder and get to it as fast as they can, they do it again. If they don't throw the ball as hard as they can, they do it again. If they take any extra time getting rid of the ball, they do it again. And, don't forget to tell them why they are doing it again and to call them out for lack of effort when you see it. GIrls this age have to know what you want precisely before they can deliver it.

Train the effort and the top speed thing first. Game situations are important but experience will help them with that and you can start incorporating situations into your practices once you are certain they understand the top speed thing.

Teach them to work under great pressure at practice and they will have no problem operating the same way during games.