Building an outfielder/outfield

[marriard]

So, we have a good set of outfielders we have been developing... Fast, quick, throw pretty hard, make reasonable decisions for their age (second year 12U). Some good core skills and some great progress. But now they want to take the next step and quite frankly are getting bored of the drills that have got them to this point.

We have done all the usual things leading up to this age - drop steps, flyballs, fielding on the bounce (keeping it to a single, attack for an attempt at an out), backups, when to come in and cover and so forth.

So what are the next steps in helping developing a great outfielder? Great drills? Skills we are not teaching that are essential? Thoughts?

 

[Classof2020]

Well I am probably the last person that should be chiming in on this but just a few of things that I witnessed being taught last year by our coaches - basket catch, what situation to try to dive and make the ESPN catch vs. when to not end up flat on your face with a ball past you in the outfield, using ctr fielder to cover second to surprise base runner off base, some talk on when to let a ball go foul vs. making the catch to keep runner from scoring . . . just ideas like I said I'm just a parent who never played or coached - just watched a lot of practices. Lots more qualified to help out I'm sure

 

[softballphreak]

Work on do or dies. I teach for them to field the ball at full speed, scooping the ball up right beside the left foot. Doing so will cause the ball to magically pop into the glove; then make the throw.

Also work on running through a fly ball catch to increase the throwing momentum toward the target.

Make sure they understand the importance of the ball taking at least one hop when throwing home. When they try to throw without the ball hopping at least once there will inevitably at some point be a ball way over the catcher's head to the backstop.

Find the fence; count the running steps in the warning track, etc.

 

[CoogansBluff]

This thread didn't get the traction I wish it had. ....

What are your best drills for developing an outfield?

Looking especially for ones that work one-on-one and don't require a whole team.

 

[IACoach]

As they get older, and balls start to go farther, teaching them to analyze their playing area is key. Knowing where the fence is, width of warning track (in any), strength of fence, will a ball go under the fence, any holes or ruts in the field, foul territory, glares from the sun or other structures. Answering these questions should be part of their pre-game routine.

I like putting a cone in center field, right in the middle. Set up the pitching machine to throw a high fly right to the cone. Then place cones every six feet towards left and right field lines. Work one side at a time. Catch a ball with proper form (depending on the distance form will vary) and move to the next cone, miss and stay at the cone you are at. They really learn that they can reach a ball that they thought was too far away. Start changing the direction of the cones. then can come in at an angle or straight in or back. Adjust the speed and height of the machine for different looks. This is an easy drill when you are low on help - all we do is pick up balls as they throw them in (and we usually can get younger girls to field them off to the side). You can do this with one player or the whole team and all the girls enjoy it!

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

Outfield Around Drill

Setup:
Line of Fielders in RF.
Base Players depending on the Round.
Fungo Hitter and Catcher.

Execution:
Round 1
1. Ground Ball. Throw to 1B. Run to CF
2. Fly Ball. Throw to 3B. Run to LF.
3. Fly Ball. Throw to H.

Round 2
1. Ground Ball. Throw to 3B. Run to CF.
2. Ground Ball. Throw to H. Run to LF.
3. Fly Ball. Run to H.

Round 3
1. Fly Ball. Throw to H. Run to CF.
2. Fly Ball. Throw to 3B.
3. Ground Ball. Run to 2B. Throw to H.

After the final throw of each Round, the Player runs around H to the end of the line in RF.

 

[Cowdogz]

Make it fun. Have them turn their backs to you, and at the sound of the bat they have to turn around and find the ball, then make the play. This works for infield, too, but don't try to do both at the same time. You might flub a fly ball to the outfield and drill one of your infielders in the back (not spoken from experience, honest).

 

[RichK]

Once you have a strong foundation of basic mechanics, it's more about attitude than anything. Continue to create camaraderie among your outies. They warm up and go out on the field together. Teach dives, slides, etc. No ball touches green without fielders on the ground. Once you get to fields with consistent fences (which doesn't always happen at 12U) teach them to play shallow. Focus on stealing singles and keeping fence hits to doubles. Dominate foul territory on the corners, stealing at bats. Teach them how to read pitches, understand bat angles, get anticipatory jumps.

Focus on creating monster athletes. Introduce ladder and hurdle agility drills, tell them outies must be the best and always win. Make playing CF a reward, have them compete.

A great outfield is a beautiful thing.

 

[quincy]

One drill we do is similar to some of the above. Have the pitching machine launch balls to a specific place, move the player around, hada hada. One thing we do different is that we do not want the player to catch the ball. We want them to get into a position where the ball lands a little bit in front of them. We want to try to get them used to getting behind the ball and working forward to catch it.

 

[RookKev]

Something that has helped my dd is try to hit true at the plate. You see many coaches turn their bodies towards the direction they are hitting the ball. All too often that just creates a nice straight fly ball. But, if you toss yourself an outside pitch and drive it to right, it will tail away from the fielder. This creates a much more realistic situation for your fielders. Since most batters are right handed, try to use that side of the plate for your simulations.