Girls Softball Drills – Lead Off & Sliding Drills

Thanks to Chad and Shawna for sending these in.   If you’ve ever struggled to come up with fresh ideas for [tag]girls softball drills[/tag], try these out!

From Chad…
Leadoff [tag]softball drill[/tag]
I coach 11 and 12 year old girls so we can’t leave the base until the ball gets to the plate.   We put up cones about 6 to 8 feet from each base as a marker for a reference of how far we want the girls to charge off each base after the pitch reaches the plate.

We practice like it is a game situation. so we have a full infield and pitcher pitching. We do this for every base so they can get used to charging off each base. This [tag]softball[/tag] drill gets the girls to understand they have to challenge the catcher to catch the ball and get it back to the pitcher or we will be able to go on to the next base. So in effect we are working the base runners and the catchers at the same time.

From Shawna…
[tag]Softball coaching tip[/tag]:   When teaching my girls the correct way to slide into a base we use a home-made water slide.   I use a large piece of clear plastic bought at Lowe’s.   I put baby oil and baby shampoo on it to make it slick and easy to slide.   I stake the sides to keep the plastic in place.   This is a fun easy way to teach proper technique and ease the fear of sliding.