Fear of the Ball (YIKES!!)

[VA Chris]

I am working with a group of 12u/13u players. I have been successful with my DD as she is fearless, with reckless abandon. (slowing that kid down is my biggest issue!). Anyway- I need to find ways to get the girls to stop moving away from the ball in both the infield and outfield. The problem is not across the whole team, just a few select players. The players in need of help are part of the team and will be on the roster for the coming season.

I see a lot of the back of elbows while fielding. This causes the glove to move in an away from the body motion. Obviously this is done to protect the face and head from the ball. I want the girls to adapt a style of fielding where they are bringing the ball into their center mass and then moving to the throw. I can teach the notion of getting the ball out quick once we get beyond fear of the ball issues.

Problem is not isolated to one position. More both infield and outfield, grounders and fly balls (not all the same girl).

Ideas and drills are very appreciated. Thanks for your help!

 

[James Smith]

IDK if they are wearing Face Masks, you might want to see if that give them some more confidence.

Oldie but goody:



Then a lot of hit balls.

(By the way for fly balls I hit a lot of tennis balls in the air. They are going to take a big bounce when they hit the ground so you need to hit them so the player can catch it in the air. No one is going to get hurt and those suckers can be hard to catch.)

 

[VA Chris]

Yes sir-
We require our infield to wear a mask (not trying to start that debate).

We are looking at about $20,000 in the finest orthodontic work the NoVA area offers across our infield. Player safety is a priority.

Thanks for the video link!

 

[FP26]

IDK if they are wearing Face Masks, you might want to see if that give them some more confidence.

Oldie but goody:



Then a lot of hit balls.

(By the way for fly balls I hit a lot of tennis balls in the air. They are going to take a big bounce when they hit the ground so you need to hit them so the player can catch it in the air. No one is going to get hurt and those suckers can be hard to catch.)

This is by far my favorite video on fielding. We do some aspect of this at every practice (14u). We also adapt it for bunt fielding practice.
I believe it has helped the confidence on our team.

 

[murphdog]

Our entire team wore masks last year at 12U.

Make it a game, One at a time hit them a ball. if it stays in front of them (either by glove or body) they stay in, if not they are out.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Someone needs to play a lot of catch with these girls. Give them a calendar to put a sticker on and encourage the parents to throw to the girls, everyday.

I currently have a 7 yo that is backing off from the thrown ball. We are going to play barehand catch, with a tennis ball, today.
I do try to tell her "I am throwing to your glove. You are more likely to get hit, backing off like that."

I wonder if she would back off from a playground ball?

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

This is a tough thing to figure out, it's all psychological and getting past whatever triggers the behavior isn't the same with every girl. Some things that I do that occasionally work: reinforce the fact that you know she has the courage to do it. If she lacked courage, she wouldn't be out there facing her fear every day; Remind her that she has the ability, it's not a question of talent; be extremely patient; find some foam blocking balls and get her used to seeing you go through all the motions (point with the glove, take a good stride, tuck the glove in, etc., half the time that motion is what triggers the fear if she has already been hit); teach her to keep the glove under the eyes but above the nose if she panics; remind her its alright to take a step to the side if she just can't get past her fear (not ideal, but the end result is better than having the ball skip off her glove and into her face, or into the outfield); and remind her whatever she does, don't stick the glove out straight in front of her and close her eyes as the ball will hit her glove and then bounce into her face.

 

[RetiredCoach]

Fear of the ball is a particular interest of mine since my youngest daughter has suffered greatly
from this malady. She has an older sister that plays as well and has often played on her teams
growing up. The unfortunate part of this is that I put her in a situation in which she was not, yet,
able to handle. She was hit in almost all body parts because I was playing her at a level that she
was not ready for. To complicate this problem, a year and a half ago she was hit in the face with
a line drive while pitching without her face mask on. Ouch!

So, I have had to bring her back from a lot of ball fright. To do this wearing her face mask all the
time while in the infield was a must. And then, as suggested in this thread, you build up her
confidence with using softer balls, then the harder balls, and in progressively harder situations,
never pushing her comfort level too much. This has resulted in a lot of progress but some ball
fear remains.

Another hard situation was to get her back pitching. She had "officially" retired herself after her
miserable season when she was hit in the face with the line drive. I "accepted" her decision and
wondered if she would ever be on the mound again. Then last summer during a tournament her
team desperately needed a pitcher. Her coach and team prevailed upon her to pitch. She went
out there and did very well, being voted the MVP by the other team. Since then she's been OK on
the mound though I sense there's not a 100% comfort.

I still view this as a work in progress. As advice I would offer: Be Gentle. Go slow. And progress
as her comfort level increase.

 

[Indiana]

I'm no ball player, but I am an athlete. I'm not afraid of a field hockey or lacrosse ball, but a thrown baseball? That I have to catch WITH MY HAND IN A TINY GLOVE???? My DH played some ball after college, and was always looking for throwing partners in between practices. We had just moved to Colorado and lived a good hour away from his teammates, so I was pretty much it. I would get all dressed up in full catchers gear and had an old lacrosse stick. I held that stick as far away from my body as possible and insisted that he throw exactly to the stick. I wanted absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the ball - and this was just playing catch!

So I can absolutely understand and relate to young players who are afraid of the ball. I started playing tennis, and in learning how to volley, I finally understood that you have to go get the ball - hit it out in front of your body. If you go get it, you are in control. If you let it come to you, trying to hit it while also trying to get out of the way, then bad things happen. For me, it's been a leap of faith to realize that I have to put myself in the path of the ball and trust that everything will be OK when I put my tiny gloved hand out there. The ball will end up in my glove. Really, it will. Especially fly balls. You have to set yourself up under the ball so it will plop down right on your nose, then extend your arms to pluck the ball out of the sky, saving yourself from certain death.

I've been forced to catch lots and lots of baseballs and softballs, being blessed with two children who are ballplayers - and after 10 years, I think I'm finally starting to get it. Use tennis balls - something that doesn't hurt. I like the reaction balls, too. You defininitely have to go get the reaction ball before it starts bouncing really crazily, and it doesn't hurt too much (I know from personal experience). If a player is REALLY afraid, let her dress up in the full catcher gear (maybe not the shin guards for mobility's sake). She can learn to catch or field crazy ground balls with confidence not have to deal with a huge dump of stress hormones every time the ball comes within 10 feet of her. A young player who is choosing to play this game isn't, of course, going to have the same irrational fear as a 40 year old mom who has never played and who in fact thinks that 3d basemen are crazy, but keep me in mind as an extreme example

 

[Sweet Lou]

I'm working on trying to get my 9 yo to get in front of it and charge the ball more. One "game" she likes is I have her start about 20'- 30' away. She runs at me I toss the ball softly at her chest. She needs to stay in front of it, catch it without stopping and tag me with the glove.

We'll slowly increase the start distance and speed of the ball as she get's better and more confident at it.