Take a look at this submission from Judd. A great example of a [tag]softball catching drill[/tag] that can work with all age groups.
From Judd…
I have a [tag]softball[/tag] [tag]drill[/tag] that I made up a couple of years ago, that helps my kids (7-12 year old girls) learn to “center” on a [tag]ground ball[/tag], and get in the habit of getting their glove all the way down to the ground.
I call it the “sticky wicket” drill. The name relates to the idea of not letting the ball hit your legs (the wickets)-but to center on the grounder. It is a 3 part drill. They are awarded points based on how well they complete each portion of the drill.
I have my girls’ line up at third base facing me at home plate. I then hit a medium speed [tag]grounder[/tag] to short. As soon as I make contact the girl at the front of the line runs out and centers on the ball. She lets the first ball go through the middle of her legs. If the ball goes right through the middle of their legs they score the highest. If the ball hits them on the leg, or goes to the outside they have to go again until they allow it to pass through. This of course forces them to spread their feet further apart and get closer to the ground. The second time through they are told to bring their hands down (not wearing their glove) as if to field the ball but to let it go through at the last second. This reinforces the motion of both getting your hands down as well as the motion of bringing the ball up quickly after they field it. For the final time through the girls now put their glove on and field the ball, and then throw it home.
They are scored on both their [tag]fielding[/tag] and their [tag]throw[/tag]. We will often run the drill twice depending on how many girls we have at [tag]practice[/tag] and how much field time we have.