Advice on first step for OFs

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Jun 7, 2015
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Hey again, guys. I'll make this short and sweet. Anybody have any advice for teaching the right first step for OFs? Or perhaps better put, how to get the best jump on a ball? We're talking varsity girls. They know the drop step and all that jazz, but I've just come to realize how outdated "first step back" really is. I need to teach them to read the ball.

Had a sophomore CF last week take her first step back on a bloop hit. Had she gotten a good jump, she probably would have caught it instead of taking it on the one-hop. This is definitely my fault but I wanna try to fix it. ASAP. Thinking back on last year, we had too many bloops drop in for singles instead of being outs. Wanna eliminate that. Any drills for this kind of thing?


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Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
Keep the drop step, play your OFs shallower, and give them 1000s more reps to practice reading the ball quicker and more accurately (which will minimize the need for the drop step).
 
Jun 7, 2015
61
6
Do this in OF practice or in rounds of If/OF? We normally split our IF and OF up and do every day work (back hand/forehand for IF, drop steps for OF, etc) then bring them back together for a round of I/O.


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Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
Get them multiple reps anyway/time you can - on their own/at home, pre- post-practice, during OF-specific work etc. IMO, the last round of IF/OF should be a confidence builder i.e., lazy flys and one hoppers to leave them feeling/looking good fielding and throwing. Game play will be where you can evaluate your rep/confidence building work. If you do play your OF shallow to take away the bloops (until a team proves that they consistently can burn you deep), make sure your players understand that a ball over their head is an inevitable/acceptable result of your coaching strategy rather than their mistake. Eventually, you may find that you have to play some players deeper than others as not all will read/react and/or break in/back the same!
 
Jun 24, 2015
2
0
First thing is to teach the girls to read the ball and that just comes with reps I also teach my girls to open up with the leg where the ball is hit .

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Jul 6, 2013
371
0
My opinion, and something I've held fast to on outfielders is this....forget speed...forget first step back...forget drop steps. Find the girls who can naturally read the ball well off the bat. Hard to do, but you'll know them when you put them out there and start cranking balls to them. Look for the ones who always go the right way first. Make everyone else infielders.

Yes, I know what I said is contrary to everything that everyone always says about outfielders. I'm not saying my way is right. I'm just saying there are girls who are born to be out there. It isn't always the fastest girls, or the ones who will fundamentally take that first step back or a drop step. A slower girl who can read where the ball will hit before it reaches the pitchers plate is the girl I've found who will make the plays I need. Even a slower girl can beat a fast one to a spot when she starts the right way immediately instead of starting back and having to get going in the right direction. After that, reps and more reps. Just like anything else.
 
Jun 24, 2015
2
0
I also teach them to read pitch location. like you said a slower girl who can read and react faster than a girl with speed who can't will make the play

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It really is all about seeing the ball off the bat and understanding the relationship between that and pitch location/speed.

While it is nearly impossible to duplicate while hitting fungo, when doing so I have my girls concentrate on the bat as it is being swung and I have them stand still with no break on the ball and shout "in" or "back" as soon as they realize where the ball is going to land. You will see improvement in how fast they recognize things if you do this often enough. You'll also have them watching things like bat plane, where the ball is struck (for recognizing spin) and bat speed by doing this drill. All help immensely when reading fly balls, tracking them and eventually making the catch.
 
May 18, 2009
1,314
38
I love when the outfield plays shallow. That drop step usually isn't enough to catch a well hit line drive.
 

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