It's a rec league team in a small town. Pitchers struggle to throw strikes, so no pitch calling yet. Her middle school team doesn't call pitches either.
Outfielder drill, one on one
- Thread starter KCPhoto
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Did this yesterday. Took a bucket and told her not to retrieve any over her head.
Unless a player does a backwards "bunny hop", a first step back will be a drop step....the player needs to read the ball off the bat to determine which foot to drop.
Poor terminology on my part. For easily judged, long hit balls she starts with a drop step in the direction of the ball.
When she can't determine if it's long or short, I have her (jump/spin/rotate) 90 degrees onto the balls of her feet with weight distributed equally on each foot. She is now in an athletic body position ready to run foreward or back (still in her same position on the field). If the ball is right at her, she pivots so her glove hand is back. All of this is to try to overcome the freezing in place, facing home, while trying to get a read on the ball.
A fun drill is making the outfielder spin in a 360 degree circle after the ball is hit and then track it down. It helps them make adjustments if their initial read on the ball was wrong and they need to correct. Make them spin clockwise or counterclockwise and alternate - once they are advanced call out the spin direction as you are hitting the ball. It also builds confidence that they can still make a play when things do not go as planned.
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