8u Rec - Throwing/Catching in game

[Dabears17]

A good piece of advice I got from a mom who was coaching her 4th DD in t-ball was each inning to have a base the girls would throw the ball to no matter where the play was. That way, for long-term development, they got used to the play not always at first, and started to think about where the play should be.

I remember using a simple footwork tip to increase accuracy I learned at a coaching clinic, and it worked so well that I realized I should have spent more time teaching how to catch the ball before using that tip.

I put together a post on how to develop a strong 8u program a few years ago:

How to Develop a strong 8u program

Bob Burnett asked me last week for some thoughts on how to develop a strong 8u program. In honor of this weekend being his daughter's memorial tournament, I've compiled what I helped an excellent group of volunteers pull off over 12 years. Home | Mbfoundation (meghanburnettfoundation.org)...

www.discussfastpitch.com

A couple of years ago the rec league my DD played in put together some resources and practice plans:

Coaches | MVLAGS.ORG

www.mvlags.org

Dan Blewett has some good videos on throwing. I usually recommend coaches start with his stuff, then get into Austin Wasserman's stuff on throwing.

The Best Four Softball Throwing Drills For Velocity

In this article, learn the best four softball throwing drills and how to perform them perfectly with Coach Dan's instructional videos.

danblewett.com

 

[YoungBuck]

Call me naive but if they don't throw the ball how do they learn?

I helped coach an 18U team this Summer that regularly had catchers that held on to the ball at times throws should have been made. I imagine somewhere in their youth they had a coach that said "Hold it!" or "No throw!"... of course they all want to play in college - just don't want to do what colleges expect.

Teach them to throw and they'll be better off for it.

 

[sluggers]

Just for clarity, our rules to stop play are either

1. Control by pitcher in the circle
2. Stopping lead runner on base
3. Overthrow to 1B to foul territory

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

That makes sense. On the other hand, our 8U rec league's rules do *NOT* make sense.

Our Rec League rule is that play continues until ball is controlled by pitcher in the circle. We've had situations where the P has the ball between 2B and 3B with a runner at 2B. As the runner walked back to the circle, the runner at 2B would take off to 3B.

After seeeing that, we've had standoffs, where the P with the ball stands in the baseline and the runner is waiting to take off to 3B.

 

[CoachCeetar]

Call me naive but if they don't throw the ball how do they learn?

generally speaking they ARE still throwing it right? So while the correct throw for a LFer fielding the ball the pitcher and the SS just let past them is probably to throw to second, there's no chance they're making that throw, that someone is covering, that someone covering is tagging them. It's just pandemonium. I'd argue they're NOT learning because there's just too much going on.

Instead, "can I make the throw to first for the out? No? Okay, throw back to the pitcher" It's still a throw. And if the rule is the pitcher has to have it in the circle, there's still stakes involved in that throw. Incrementally, you're teaching them it's important to make a throw, to a target, and they have to catch it. You can build up to situational awareness. And you can instruct the other players to make similar plays. 3B isn't getting it to first, but fielding it and an easy throw to the pitcher limits to a single. Then there's a force at second and you can have the SF cover and tell everyone in that vicinity to make the play to second.

and as players understand that, you can expand. But just having an outfield fling it at second because that's the "correct" play can feel like it's maybe too advanced for some of the kids. Starting small by simply "get it back in if they've reach first already" is something you can build on once they get it.

 

[stox]

3B isn't getting it to first, but fielding it and an easy throw to the pitcher limits to a single.

So we aren't even doing this. We're instructing 3B to field the ball, run it all the way to 2nd base and just stand there until the ump calls time before getting it back to the pitcher.

Probably 50% of the time if 3B threw it back to pitcher it'd get past the pitcher and now your runner at 1st takes 2nd for free.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[CoachCeetar]

So we aren't even doing this. We're instructing 3B to field the ball, run it all the way to 2nd base and just stand there until the ump calls time before getting it back to the pitcher.

Probably 50% of the time if 3B threw it back to pitcher it'd get past the pitcher and now your runner at 1st takes 2nd for free.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

maybe 50% of the time at the beginning, but hopefully that drops to almost 30% after a few times, especially as they practice backing it up.

I do think that just running it to second isn't really helping anybody much. That's probably NOT what they're going to do once they're slightly more capable.

 

[dbronstein]

Our 8u rec rules are no advancing on overthrows and the play is dead when the ball gets into the infield. So it encourages everyone to throw the ball and get the experience.

 

[Chilixa]

So we aren't even doing this. We're instructing 3B to field the ball, run it all the way to 2nd base and just stand there until the ump calls time before getting it back to the pitcher.

Probably 50% of the time if 3B threw it back to pitcher it'd get past the pitcher and now your runner at 1st takes 2nd for free.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

If you are trying to win 8u games that is the right way to do it. If you are trying to develop girls as softball players it is probably the wrong way to do it. Teaching them to field the ball and throw to the proper base is an important step in development. Even if they can’t throw the ball well they are learning what to do. If they don’t do it in 8u they will have to learn it in 10u. Pushes the development clock backwards.

It is hard to not want to win even in 8u. I hate the rules in most leagues encourage strategies that don’t help the girls develop as much. I joke that 8u girls around here are really good at running between bases and calling time. A skill that will be no use in a year or so.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nuwin]

I hate the rules in most leagues encourage strategies that don’t help the girls develop as much.

The funny part about this is that teams that truly do invest in their players' development end up winning anyway. At least from what I have seen. Adults seem to get in the way and assume too much about what a kid can and can't do.

 

[stox]

If you are trying to win 8u games that is the right way to do it. If you are trying to develop girls as softball players it is probably the wrong way to do it. Teaching them to field the ball and throw to the proper base is an important step in development. Even if they can’t throw the ball well they are learning what to do. If they don’t do it in 8u they will have to learn it in 10u. Pushes the development clock backwards.

It is hard to not want to win even in 8u. I hate the rules in most leagues encourage strategies that don’t help the girls develop as much. I joke that 8u girls around here are really good at running between bases and calling time. A skill that will be no use in a year or so.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I totally agree, I am all for letting the girls play as close to real softball as possible, even though it might be more optimal to just run the ball in front of runners to stop them.

The flip side is that girls can get really flustered when one or two overthrows leads to a simple ground ball emptying the bases. I would like the girls to throw as much as possible but I've seen girls cry when this happens, and lose confidence when it seems to them like their errant throws causes the team to lose the game.

Our rules allow for girls to run as much as they want until lead runner is stopped or pitcher has control in the circle. Only an overthrow to 1B into foul territory leads to a dead ball.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk