I’ve gotten a whole bunch of requests for [tag]softball catching drills[/tag] over the past few days. Here are a couple of [tag]softball coaching[/tag] tips that Mike sent to me. Give these a try.
From Mike…
I have two neat little [tag]softball drills[/tag].
One is I cut out of plywood the best rendition of a glove. I staple a velcro strap to the back. At practice they strap on the wooden glove and I hit grounders to them. This develops SOFT hands, and to teach the kids to cradle and gently field the [tag]softball[/tag].
The other [tag]softball drill[/tag], the kids love. I line up a group of 3-4 girls up on the third base line. I toss a tennis ball up in the air and they catch it bare handed. I do this 8-10 times to each girl. Then I get a tennis racket and really pop them high in the air. Again they must catch it bare handed. After doing this a little bit, they get their gloves on. We repeat this another 8-10 times now catching it with their gloves.
This teaches them how to read a fly ball, get under it, and follow the ball all the way into the glove.
For added fun, I ask them now to turn around. When I pop the tennis ball in the air I yell,”Call it“. They have to turn around, find it, call the other girls off, get under it, and make the play.