8U outfield???

Trying to teach our outfielders to take that first step back to judge the ball has been a challenge. We work on pop ups in practice just about every practice. Come game situations as soon as ball is hit in air they take off straight ahead. Many balls have landed where they were standing and went over their head. What's the best way of teaching first step back to help judge the ball? These girls are 8U so I know they are young, so I know reps now is the most important.

Thanks
Chad

Reps. Seriously.

Eric F said:

Reps. Seriously.

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And when your done with these.... do more reps. And when you finish those, do more.
But honestly, at 8u you have an opportunity to teach them correctly and not deal with the muscle memory factor. Pay close attention to the details, and give a ton of encouragement. They'll catch on soon enough.
Also at that age I used to give a penny or a small individually wrapped candy to them for a task performed perfectly. Give them some motivation to give their all. Pennies are the best, because its not about the money for them, its more like a status symbol or mini trophy they count and compare after every practice. You'd be surprised how excited they get when they start getting numerous coins. They walk a little taller. If one of them doesn't get any, she'll work extra hard next time and she'll be studying the girls who get the most coins to figure out what she's doing differently. After all, these kids learn from each other as much as they learn from coaches.

My DD was caught leaning in on Sunday on a 200-foot semi-liner that went over her head, and she's an A-level center fielder in 16U. And while it was motivation to want to work on getting better, there was no gnashing of teeth over it. It's not easy. There is no answer but experience. My recollection of 8U is that it's a big event just to catch a fly ball. Catching one and exhibiting all the right fundamentals is cause for a medal.

Thinking back to 8U and to some extent 10U was there was not enough balls hit to the OF in the air. I don’t know if DD caught a fly ball in the OF until 12U. For us just not enough balls were hit out there in the air so they didn’t have any game experience so it always was an adventure even though we practiced it a fair amount.

Out in Left Field said:

It not about reps here--there are a series of drills when the kid steps back and comes forward. Many baseball teams do them, and at my HS they still do them almost every day. I don't have time right now, but tonight I will find a link to them.

They are partner drills, but the coach can also do it with each player in line.

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Quality over quantity.
Yes, however quality reps, done over and over with attention to detail is what I'm suggesting. Practice makes permanent, in all aspects of the game. Not just pop flys....
They may not see a whole lot of pop ups at 8 and 10u but when they do, whether they're prepared or not is up to you as their coach.

DD’s MS season just ended, I can still her coach yelling “Drop step, Drop step”. I am sure my DD hears it in her sleep, the coach shouted it out quite a bit.

Thanks for the comments. I guess it is asking a lot from these 8U's. We have caught numerous of pop flys in the outfield, but have had a few that should of been caught if only they stayed where they were or went back. In practice and drills they do good, just got to get it to carry over to game plays. More Reps, more reps, are coming.

Chad

Just have them practice it the right way and let the games go. No 8 year old on the planet is going to sit in the outfield for 4 innings and then drop step correctly the one time it is hit to her. If you can get them doing it consistently in practice that is a big win and sets them up for good playing later on and that is all 8u is about anyway.

CoogansBluff said:

My DD was caught leaning in on Sunday on a 200-foot semi-liner that went over her head, and she's an A-level center fielder in 16U. And while it was motivation to want to work on getting better, there was no gnashing of teeth over it. It's not easy. There is no answer but experience. My recollection of 8U is that it's a big event just to catch a fly ball. Catching one and exhibiting all the right fundamentals is cause for a medal.

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I agree. I coach 8u and I don't have enough experienced players to put in the infield, let alone put some that can catch fly balls in the out field.
I try and work my outfield to get the ball back to the infield as guick as possible.