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Jun 8, 2016
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Maybe this is a question for a new thread, but other than just hitting balls and getting practice tracking them in the air, does anyone have some good drills for tracking the ball?

For balls where you have to turn and run and then pick up the ball, I have seen coaches have the player start with their back turned and they just start running and the coach yells left if they throw
it over their left shoulder etc. But just in terms of tracking regular fly balls I haven't seen any..practice,practice, practice :)

Edit: One thing, make sure if a kid running after the ball they don't run with their glove up in the air when they are 30 feet from the ball (that drives me nuts!!! :) )
 
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Feb 17, 2014
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One of DD teams when she was younger used a pitching machine for fly balls. They would use cones as starting points and it simulated running laterally, forwards, backwards, over each shoulder, etc.
 
Aug 5, 2015
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and I guess everyone is arguing that this is based on the false premise that it is harder to play SS both skillwise and
,to a certain extent, athletically? I don't agree but that is fine;)
It may or may not be harder, it's hard to prove one way or another.

The reason they are made to be infielders is because that position is much more important at young ages.
 
Feb 3, 2016
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One of DD teams when she was younger used a pitching machine for fly balls. They would use cones as starting points and it simulated running laterally, forwards, backwards, over each shoulder, etc.
Best use of a pitching machine as far as I'm concerned. The sound of the dimpled balls flying at you around 70+ mph will separate the wannabe softball players from the real softball players. Can't be scared of the ball.

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Jul 14, 2018
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This thread sent me on a quest...

Two solid YouTube videos that cover the basics of outfield play. They're baseball-focused, but very general and a good leaping off point for any outfielder. Ironically, this coach (Justin from Ultimate Baseball Training) has a ton of hitting videos that all have over 150K views. These outfield videos? Like 10,000. An under-appreciated skill indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AquPjo3lMS0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPW20vYN5Ss
 
Jan 7, 2019
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I didn't say it was easy..I said it was easier. Mookie Betts has won 2 gloves in RF but played SS and 2B all the way up till AAA. Wake me the next time a converted outfielder wins a gold glove at SS/2B. I realize that most in this thread are parents of OF and I am not disparaging OF, they are just as important as IF from 12U up, but the fact of the matter is there are more skills to be learned that take time to develop in the IF, in particular MI, then there are in the OF.


Knoblaugh won a gold glove at 2B. Ichiro pitched better at 40 than Knoblaugh played second in his prime. A good CF is probably your best fielder at all the positions, because that's your best athlete. A mistake in the IF is a walk. A mistake in the OF is a runner in scoring position. 8/10 travel kids can handle 2B , 2/10 can handle CF. And come on with Mookie, like he and Gold glove Jackie are working miracles out there. Next you're gonna tell me Jay Buhner was a good fielder cause he won one.
 
Feb 3, 2016
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Summarizing this thread.

10u and under the kids normally can't hit the ball past the infield so outfielders aren't as critical. Coaches place the less skilled players in OF and the better players get to play IF.

12u and up.
The remaining posts are trying to assign value of the various player positions and really just boils down to your team is only as good as your worst players skill set. Because we all know they're ball magnets. :)

Love this thread because good athletes shine on the IF and the OF. If we're all lucky we can watch some kids do both.

I don't want to be a thread killer so keep posting and keep this great debate going.

OF RULES






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Jun 8, 2016
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And come on with Mookie, like he and Gold glove Jackie are working miracles out there.
This comment is all I need to know regarding your knowledge level.

Only highlights, and every CF has them but to say he isn't a good to great CF is ridiculous. Last year was actually not one of Bradley's best fielding years tbh. He should have actually won it the year before. Statistically Betts is actually more valuable defensively than Jackie. Yankees fan per chance??

Also Knoblauch was a good fielder (maybe not Gold Glove quality but solid) until he forgot how to throw.. I will agree that Gold Gloves are not always given to the best fielders, I mean Jeter won 5 right?

8/10 can handle 2B? As in they know how to turn a DP correctly?
As I said before I am comparing what it takes to be a good MI vs a good OF, I will agree that at the highest levels, the best pure athlete(speed, jumping ability,
etc) is typically in center, in particular in baseball.
 
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Dec 11, 2010
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The majority of college coaches are surprisingly really, really slow to change their recruiting habits or how they think or coach, so I wouldn't hold your breath.

A large number like to take athletes or specific profiles of athlete over softball players thinking they can 'fix it' or coach up the athlete and take on projects - ignoring that this 'project' has been playing softball since she was 8 and they will just be another in a long line of coaches who will not make any difference.

I have had multiple conversations over the year about 'potential' versus 'finished product' with college coaches when they were considering and comparing two of our players. I will tell you the coaches who took 'finished products' over potential generally got 3-4 year contributors (more often or not starters) while projects generally ended up providing nothing - in the best case they got 2 decent years.

There is a list of coaches I call when certain types of players enter our organization and start the recruiting process. You don't meet their profile of what makes a player in their program, it really doesn't matter how good you are, you aren't getting recruited there. The opposite as well - they can be a terrible player but they have the things they are looking for they have a real chance.

I love this comment about project or potential players vs. finished product.

I have held off posting in this thread for several days in hope that I could fully digest this comment. Man, that’s a really good comment for every level of play. And knowing what a college coach wants or will accept in this regard is primo info to possess when looking at a school.
 
Jan 7, 2019
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This comment is all I need to know regarding your knowledge level.

Only highlights, and every CF has them but to say he isn't a good to great CF is ridiculous. Last year was actually not one of Bradley's best fielding years tbh. He should have actually won it the year before. Statistically Betts is actually more valuable defensively than Jackie. Yankees fan per chance??

Also Knoblauch was a good fielder (maybe not Gold Glove quality but solid) until he forgot how to throw.. I will agree that Gold Gloves are not always given to the best fielders, I mean Jeter won 5 right?

8/10 can handle 2B? As in they know how to turn a DP correctly?
As I said before I am comparing what it takes to be a good MI vs a good OF, I will agree that at the highest levels, the best pure athlete(speed, jumping ability,
etc) is typically in center, in particular in baseball.


Yankees fan, correct. Lemme guess, Red Sox fan? Jeter defensively is better than anyone who's ever played for Boston. Best player on the best team ever (1998). That's all.
You're absolutely correct that every CF has highlights and that last year wasn't one of Jackie's best years defensively. My point is the award doesn't mean much. Knoblaugh was never a good fielder, not even in Minny where he made the occasional highlight and was always shaky with his throws and decision making. Cano was a yankee and he was terrible defensively and I think he won a GG. Lazy, boneheaded and careless. It's basically a popularity contest.
You think jackie or any quality CF can't turn a double play or cover a base? CF's have the best view of the game, they know where every player is and should be at all times. If a mistake is made, just ask the CF after a game where X player was and where X player should have been and they'll tell you. So I think a good OF can handle something as easy as covering a base or throwing to 1B from 2B.
 

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