Outfielder pet peeve.....

[MTR]

I have been watching A LOT of college softball lately, if you do not believe me, just ask my DW! Anyway, I cannot tell you how many times I have seen outfielders use poor footwork when making routine catches of fly balls with a runner tagging at 3B. Outfielders need to get behind the ball and have their momentum coming forward to make a strong throw home to have any shot at the runner (unless the OF has a cannon for an arm). Anyway, it is something that we have been teaching our players since 12U, yet I see the same things happening at the highest levels of college softball.

Rant over....

Aside from one of MLB's most cowardly rulings over this play, I believe the catch and throw at the beginning of the video is the type of OF mechanic you are supporting

Worst MLB Call Ever

 

[Maxx]

At the HS level, I have been working on this all year. To be honest, I am losing my patience some. There is some type of gear missing in a lot of players when they get into the OF. It kills me to watch a player cruise to a ball instead of sprinting to where the ball will be and getting there before it gets there. It kills me to see OFs catch a ball on their glove side, take to many steps and then throw some ball with half of the zip it requires to throw the runner out.

Happens at the college level too. Definitely some innate outfield skills that are missing or just never learned at an earlier age.

 

[FP26]

I am not trying to make excuses for the coaches, but most TB teams practice once, maybe twice during the week, then play tournaments on the weekends. Practices are @ 1.5-2 hours, and there is a lot to cover with 12-15 players. I used to tell my players that if each one of them took a 30 minute batting lesson during the week it was equivalent to 6 hours of practice time (12 girls on the team). All that said, regardless of what position your DD plays, as a parent you can take the time and effort to work with them on their defense as well as their hitting. Can you imagine how good a team could be if all of the parents spend as much time working with their DD's as the pitchers parents do?

Throwing is also something you can work on at home. Watch for proper arm mechanics and footwork. Work on long toss and if your DD plays outfield it is important to know how to execute a "crow hop" throw home. Work on charging ground balls and making a strong throw home on the run. Work on drop steps and swiveling her hips. Work on diving for balls. One thing I did with my DD when she was younger was to hit tennis balls with a tennis racket to her in the outfield. I had more control over where the balls were going and could hit them farther with less effort than a softball. It is also easier to hit a ball with spin that the players needs to read on the ball.

Praise your DD for using proper technique to run to the spot and set up for a proper catch vs. just cruising to the ball and making the catch, but not being in position to make a strong throw home.

Last year our TB HC recruited outfielders based on their speed. Having fast players in the outfield is great, but if they take horrible angles to balls and cannot make strong throws home it is going to bite you in the butt.

JAD,

This is an excellent post and you make several good and valid points. However, I do think it is possible for some work at practice. A personal pet peeve of mine is sticking 9 players in the field in order to cover "situations". How much work do outfielders actually get during this portion of the practice? Other than running around to back someone up, they may get the occasional bone hit their way. Otherwise they are just there to pick up whatever squeaks through the infield. When I run a practice, I prefer to split the team into two groups. While one group is focusing on infield practice, the other is doing outfield practice. We then switch the groups so that everyone gets a little of both. Obviously the more work they get outside of practice, the better.

P.S. It is also a pet peeve of mine to have the catcher standing next to the coach to do nothing more than retrieve balls that are coming in. That position can be handled by another coach or a parent so that the catchers can get time in other spots as well. Obviously there are "catcher specific" things that need to be worked on as well.

 

[canyonjoe]

The one that sets me off is when an OF doesn't backup a play. Grounder to 3rd and RF just stands still.

The second thing is watching players when you need to play them out of position act like it's a brand new sport. I'm not
talking 10U rec, but rather 14U TB. I don't expect them to have perfect footwork or be flawless, but how can you play SS for
6 years at 70 games a year plus all the practice and have no idea how to play 2nd or 3rd.

 

[JAD]

Aside from one of MLB's most cowardly rulings over this play, I believe the catch and throw at the beginning of the video is the type of OF mechanic you are supporting

Great footwork and throw by F9!!!

 

[JAD]

JAD,

This is an excellent post and you make several good and valid points. However, I do think it is possible for some work at practice. A personal pet peeve of mine is sticking 9 players in the field in order to cover "situations". How much work do outfielders actually get during this portion of the practice? Other than running around to back someone up, they may get the occasional bone hit their way. Otherwise they are just there to pick up whatever squeaks through the infield. When I run a practice, I prefer to split the team into two groups. While one group is focusing on infield practice, the other is doing outfield practice. We then switch the groups so that everyone gets a little of both. Obviously the more work they get outside of practice, the better.

If you have enough assistant coaches you can divide the team into infield and outfield and run separate drills. We cross train, so everyone has an infield position and everyone does outfield drills when we work on them. With injuries, proms, weddings, ect. you never know which players you are going to have for each game, so it pays to have girls ready to play a position that is not their primary. In college, which is what my original post was addressing, it is amazing to me that a team that is playing to win, has girls for 4 years, and practices regularly, cannot put a fundamentally sound defense on the field.

 

[Lenski]

In college, which is what my original post was addressing, it is amazing to me that a team that is playing to win, has girls for 4 years, and practices regularly, cannot put a fundamentally sound defense on the field.

Because if you hit, the coach will find a place for you to play. There are probably better outfielders sitting on the bench because they can't hit like the one's out in the field can. The worst defensive player, but in the top 5 of hitting is your DH. Pitchers not necessarily included - that also depends on the coach.

 

[JAD]

Because if you hit, the coach will find a place for you to play. There are probably better outfielders sitting on the bench because they can't hit like the one's out in the field can. The worst defensive player, but in the top 5 of hitting is your DH. Pitchers not necessarily included - that also depends on the coach.

Coaches love players that can hit, and if a player KNOWS she is going to be playing OF, you would think she would want to learn to play the position to the best of her ability.

 

[Lenski]

Coaches love players that can hit, and if a player KNOWS she is going to be playing OF, you would think she would want to learn to play the position to the best of her ability.

You would think, but that just does not happen very often. Those players would rather swing the bat during the little extra time they have available to them. If a coach doesn't push the issue, most kids will not do it, and most coaches do not push the issue. Trust me, I understand what you are saying.........

 

[Greenmonsters]

Coaches love players that can hit, and if a player KNOWS she is going to be playing OF, you would think she would want to learn to play the position to the best of her ability.

You would think that the coaches would teach them, too, but that doesn't always happen. Don't be surprised when you find out that some college coaches are better recruiters than coaches.