From Nicole…
Here are 2 of my girls favorite softball drills to do.

The first one we call The Box.

Put 4 cones into a square shape.  The harder you want the softball drill the larger the square. Two girls go inside and their job is to not let a ball hit the ground. The softball coach throws low pop-ups all over the circle and girls have to catch them. The better they get, the faster you throw the balls. We usually do a competition and whichever team can catch the most before they let one hit wins. It really helped my team to be able to call the ball and talk to each other- plus it got them to dive for the softball.

The second one we do with a very soft ball. You can either have a coach hit, or the girls find it more fun when they get to hit. The coach hits a ball as hard as they can at the fielder from about 40 ft away, and make the fielder react(use a soft ball). We always start with hitting it right at the player, and as they get better hit it harder and then to either side so they have to step and grab. It also helps if you have a player hitting the ball they learn a lot of bat control.

Hope maybe these are a little different and can be useful.

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From Michael…
Here are 2 softball drills I like to do, either will work at any age.

They both teach to be looking forward, as opposed to down for the softball.

1) Put 5 or 6 girls in a row on the field and have them turned so that their backs are to the softball coach.

Hit / Roll / Throw ground balls to them, and when the ball gets halfway to them call one girl’s name.   They need to find the ball, field the ball and make a good throw to the coach, or player fielding the balls.   This softball drill teaches them to a) be ready at all times b) keep their head up so they can find the ball c) react quickly.

2) The second softball drill I use for younger girls to help them learn the infield positions.   Fill up the infield positions 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS, Pitcher.   Have the girls turn and face the outfield. Hit / Roll / Throw ground balls to them and call their positions when the ball gets half way to them.   They need to turn, find the ball, field the ball, and make a good throw to either first base or the coach.

Either of these drills you can make into games or friendly competition by keeping track of how many reps they do without missing the ball, or making bad throws to the designated spot.

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From Cindy…
This is one of my team’s favorite softball drills–works on base running and throwing.  Start with two teams.

Team one is in the field, they will need one person on 2nd and the rest will line up behind 3rd base position.

Team two is at the plate.

To start:  line up 3 softballs between home and 3rd in a straight line. One player at a time starts in the 3rd base position, on the signal she runs up and picks up the 1st ball and throws it to second base.  Then the 2nd ball, then 3rd.  A the same time one offensive player is running from home to second.  When she touches 2 the round is over and the defensive team gets one point for every good throw to 2nd base.  If the runner beats the last ball no point is given.

Repeat until every defensive player has a turn.  Then switch sides.

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From Steve…
Beginning softball throwing drill:

Start the players out on both knees around 10 yards apart. Keeping their elbow up, they throw getting back spin on each throw. After 25 throws, they go to knee with the same motion but turning their shoulder to the other player, 15 to 20 yards apart.
Finally, they stand up, keeping the same motion and turn their shoulder to the other softball player with an added front foot step, 25 to 30 yards apart.

From Dan…
We have been working with our 9 year old pitchers using video.  It’s one thing to tell them and try to explain the proper fundamentals, but when they see themselves on tape and  with the stop/pause features, it comes to life for them.

Suddenly, we just aren’t picking on them and they can see what we are trying to teach them.

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From Warren…
A really cool softball drill that has been working well for our team is the “catcher’s toss”.

I put a softball on home plate or where home plate should be, and tell the girls to focus on the softball on the plate/ground.  Someone kneels down a few feet behind them clearing the bat’s path in the area of the catchers position, then toss tennis balls, softballs or wiffleballs across the strike zone over the softball that is on the plate or ground. When the batter sees ball cross the softball they have to react quickly, then hitting the ball into a hitting net.

This is a fun and challenging softball hitting drill for all age groups and it’s main purpose is increasing bat speed and explosiveness.

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From Chris…
One of our favorite softball drills is  the “4 corner drill”.  I have players at 4 corners base length apart (doesn’t matter what position they play) then we throw counter clock wise working on right-handers stepping to the ball and throwing glove hand side.  Then counter clock wise for the left-handers.

Each softball player takes a throw and throws to the next corner then gets back in line.  We then have players mix it up by the first player throwing to a corner then the next player throwing diagonally to a corner.  This gives all players a chance to throw to every area (Every Base). We work on having our hands up and ready to receive the ball as well as catching with our hands together to be quick with the exchange for the throw. Foot work is very important in this softball drill as well.

We then close the 4 corners in to work on close underhanded exchanges.  Each player catches the toss then walks towards the corner she’s throwing it to and tosses it and goes to the end of that corner’s line to go again when it’s her turn.  Then she will catch the next toss and toss to the next corner following the toss and going to the end of the line of the next corner.

This works on close exchanges and works on showing the softball to the player your tossing the ball to.  Our throwing has improved tremendously doing this daily for 5-10 minutes!

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From Mike…
Softball tip when working out inside. the kids love this silly indoor softball drill when we practice inside on the artificial turf at our local indoor practice facility. I place a softball about the distance from home to first base. the player, on go runs in her stocking feet, performs a slide comes up to her feet picks up the ball turns steps and throws. In a small indoor facility, they sprint ,they slide, and turn step and through. The kids giggle and laugh when learning some fundamentals

From Allen…
A softball drill that I have had the most success with is to teach the outfielders to back up the infield and for the infielders to be looking for the ball coming in from the outfield.

So what we do, for example, is get a short stop and left fielder in place and split our kids in each line. We then hit a softball to the short stop, if she misses the grounder the kid playing left field is right there to backing her up. Then we hit a ball to left field, the short stop then plays the cut off. We have an 8u team and this really helps the outfield understand that no matter where the ball is hit they have someone to back up our to be in a position where they can help out on a play.

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From George…
We have a softball drill we really like; it’s a 1234 drill.

We get everyone in a line and 1 girl at a time comes out. Then the softball coach hits the girl a ground ball, followed by a line drive. Next she starts running either way and gets another line drive hit at her but she is moving now. After she catches and throws that one back she takes off running and we hit her a catchable fly ball.

This drill has improved both our infielders and outfielders quickness to balls and their ability to catch balls moving and get planted to make good throws back in.

From Gaylene…
As a softball coach for 12 unders in California I love to reward the hard work with a field trip to a college game so the girls can see where softball can take them if they are willing to work hard and put in the time.

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From Terry…
This is a softball drill I use to get the kids to make sure they really turn through with their hips and upper body when hitting.

It’s basically a soft toss softball drill with a twist, no pun intended.
1st have the player stand parallel to the sock net (softball screen) with back towards screen and about three feet or far enough in front of the screen not to hit it on follow through. Also have players front foot about twelve inches past one side of the net so that the screen is in front of your front foot.

Softball coach stands directly in front of player, of course, also parallel to the screen about three feet past the screen on opposite side. The softball coach tosses the ball directly at the player’s strike level and the player must hit the ball sideways into the net timing the throw to hit the ball with the fat part of the bat. The contact of the ball is made while bat is directly in front of the body.

This teaches the players to really follow through with their swing.

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From Van…
BACKING UP DRILL

Objective: To teach players the correct angle, alignment, and depth when backing up.
Equipment: 4 bases or cones, softball
Athletes: 7
Set Up: Place the 4 bases in a square about 40 feet apart.

Description: This softball drill involves 7 players.  2 players at 3 of the bases and 1 at the remaining base.

Place a player at each base to receive a throw and have the 2nd player backing up and ready to take over the base once the other player leaves.  The drill starts with the ball in a group to the left or right of the solo player.  The player with the softball throws to the base away from the solo player and then runs to back up the solo player. The player who receives the ball will now throw the ball to the next base and run to back up the base in which she received the throw from (throw right and run left, or throw left and run right). The drill continues until the softball coach decides to end it.

Coaching Points: Check and correct alignment and distance of the player backing up and the angle in which they take to get there.  Also this is a good drill to work on proper receiving skills and footwork for the players throwing and receiving.  NOTE:  If the ball is overthrown, continue the drill by having the back up player throw it to the next base and the receiver run to back up the solo player.  This way the players backing up learn to adjust their alignment.

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