When we talk about softball fundamentals for pre-practice, it’s important to pay close attention to these key points in this phase of your drill progression:
1. Emphasize that the players keep their head down on the ball — they have to trust their glove, and this is difficult when you are a youth player.
2. If a player is sensitive or insecure, start off with softie balls so they can learn to be confident, because a confident player will have a tendency to “go for it”.
3. Keep the glove out, and work on keeping the glove palm open when they go to field. Many times you will see what we call “glove flippers”. Tell your players to imagine that they have a bowl of soup in their hand and you have to focus on keeping that bowl of soup level in your hand the entire time.
4. When you field, be sure to field from the ground up when you are receiving that ball, and get the hands into the throwing position as quickly as possible.
Here are some of the most common things you are going to see that are wrong in your pre-practice fundamentals:
- The player is fielding the ball too close to their body
- They will pull their head up
- They will stab down on the ball instead of keeping the glove along the ground and coming up
Identify these errors with your players and then have her work on that specific area of her drill progression.
Looking for more awesome softball fielding tips? Then be sure to check out Championship Coach Sue Enquist’s other Softball Coaching Videos! Sue will share some great tips and softball pitching, hitting and much more! And don’t forget to Like Us on Facebook, where we share more great drills, tips and suggestions.