Any good "situational" fielding drills?

I coach an 8U team where four of the girls are playing up from 6U and the other seven have never played before. We've been focusing a lot on fundamental drills, getting them to field the ball cleanly, throw the ball, be quick, etc.

However, I'm noticing a lack of situational awareness in practice and games (i.e. what to do if you're playing second and you have a runner on 1st w/ two outs). Does anyone have any good go-to drills that they use to help teach what to do in common situations?

I've been doing game simulations but I'd prefer a drill or two that keeps them moving and not give them a excuse to have their minds wander, which can still tend to happen at this age. Thanks!

When my kid was 6 I was pretty happy if she put the glove on the right hand...and if the second baseman did not actually stand on top of 2nd.

Set up your infield, rest of the team are runners. Don't use imaginary runners at this age.

1 coach hits to infield and instructs the plays. Other coach(es) are base coaches for the runners.

Runners line up 3 ft behind home on first base side. Coach 1 hits from 3rd base side of plate. Infield gets down and ready on ball up toss.

Help them learn to throw to (or step on) closest base to get an out and try to get every kid moving to make it backup the play. This is very ambitious, don't get discouraged. You are laying thier foundations.

I tell mine that, on defense, they have to KNOW three things:

1. The next pitch will be hit to me, I'll be ready.

2. I know where to throw the ball to get an out. (can be more than 1 option)

3. If, by some strange miracle, the ball is not hit to me, I know which base I will cover or backup.

OK, maybe something a little more useful than my prior post...I get the sense that you don't really want to put them on the field for 45 minutes while you bark out situations and hit a ball. You certainly see a lot of coaches do it, I hate it...seems like a waste of valuable time. Girls don't seem to have the instincts for the game that boys have at a young age...suggest to me that it really develops from playing a lot. But you can't bore them to death playing for real all the time in practice...but it needs to be a competition for them to get it. So...split them up into smaller teams and do "one swing" scrimmages...one swing off a tee...one swing off front toss. Quicker, more active versions of the game. But set the situation and expectations up before each batter. Not sure of your rules, but if girls can leave the base on release I would put a huge premium on getting outs...get really, really good at getting the out at first...and fight your own instincts to chase the lead runner. In many cases, the score dictates the situation...so you must play a game where they are competing against each other for them to get it. You can "talk" about what the situation is and try to simulate it...but IMO, much better if you legitimately have the winning run on 3rd and you can honestly say to your defense...she is the winning runner...we cannot allow her to score. Or...you are up by 3 runs...that runner at 3rd doesn't matter...no matter what she does, you make the play at first to get the 3rd out and you win. One of the very hardest things is to get outfielders to know what to do with the ball and get it in quickly. Search "shotgun" on here and you will find a simple game that is quick, and a lot of fun...mostly drives home the idea that the outfielder has to get the ball in quickly and ahead of the runner...at the same time helps push batters to be aggressive runners. As they play, pause before each batter to make sure your defense knows the situation and what they individually will do if the ball comes to them...or what they will do if it doesn't. Tell them if they want to be better players...knowing what they will do with the ball before it comes to them will make them better instantly. Playing competitively in practice but with a quicker version of the game, and reviewing the situation beforehand will create tons of opportunities for discussing situations. Of course, there are quick decisions to be made, and there will be mistakes...and often times it is not right or wrong...it can be a good decision/better decision. Make them think...don't tell them everything.

At this age I want them to throw the ball to were the ball takes them.

No one on base thay have to go to 1st.

Runner on 1st, ball hit to left of SS. They should go to 2nd.

So they have to be aware of runners still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDwFdR4gluQ

Mike Candrea bucket work! You can use this drill for many different situations, but mainly work on feet work, catching the ball out front and moving through the ball. At this age, repetition, repetition, repetition!

Someone posted this drill here and I used it on my 10U & 12U teams. Put half your girls at 1st and half at 3rd, put a bucket on home plate with a helmet on top of the bucket. You can roll the ball or hit it to the girls, alternate ground balls and have the girls try to knock the helmet off the bucket. I would turn it into a competition between each group with a point system, 5 points for a direct helmet hit, 3 points to hit the bucket and knock the helmet off, and 1 point if they just nicked it, in the air, not a bounce. First team to the number of your choice, 20, 25, 30 wins and the losing team would run a lap or two while the winners would laugh at them. Teaches a low throw to the catcher at home and I swear my girls used to beg to play this game, especially the losers of the last round. Revenge is pretty sweet in softball and it's a good way to end a practice. And for you coaches to have a laugh, have the girls keep up with their own score, you'll quickly find out who the thinkers are on your team!

Thanks, all, for the suggestions!

ANNASDAD said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDwFdR4gluQ

Mike Candrea bucket work! You can use this drill for many different situations, but mainly work on feet work, catching the ball out front and moving through the ball. At this age, repetition, repetition, repetition!

Click to expand...

Use at our practices works nice.

break up into groups of 4 and have 4 bat, and the other 2 groups in the field. The batters hit off of a tee (or soft toss) and then just play it normal. It's better than live hitting because for the most part the ball is in play constantly.