This drill for [tag]girls fastpitch softball[/tag] comes courtesy of Ron, one of my readers. It can be used for boys as well as girls for general [tag]softball[/tag] skill improvements. Give it a try!
From Ron…
First I have been coaching girls [tag]fastpitch[/tag] for awhile; it has been the younger girls just starting out from 8 years old to 13 and then I hand it over to the JR,SR high coaches.
I have focused the [tag]drills[/tag] I use to the younger kids so when they go to JR /SR high they have the skills to succeed if they want. Here is a fastpitch softball [tag]drill[/tag] that I use to teach them to use two hands to get them in the correct position.
I use a soccer or volley ball and have a [tag]coach[/tag] toss the ball to the player some at waist or below and some from waist up. The player then has to yell “Fingers to the sky”, if the ball is over their head or “Fingers to the ground” if it is below their waist and catch the ball using two hands.
This accomplishes a few things:
1. it gets them to think of where do my hands go depending where the ball is
2. the ball is bigger then their mitt so they have to use both hands and catch the ball with soft hands as well as having the face of the glove facing the incoming ball.
3. by “saying fingers to the sky”, “fingers to the ground” it puts the mitt in the open and correct position to [tag]catch[/tag] a ball.
You can alter this once they start to get more comfortable and start using a softball and/or baseball. If they go back to using stiff arms and one hand or backhanding ball right at them you switch back to the bigger ball.
Just an idea that I have used and usually after a few weeks the younger players start to understand and they are [tag]catching[/tag] (or at least attempting)- fly balls and grounders with mitt in correct position.