Afraid of the ball

We have a 12 yo catcher/outfielder who seems to be afraid of the ball. Interestingly enough as a catcher its rarely a problem and does well at receiving from the pitcher, she has some problems blocking but I attribute that more to lack of practice than anything else.

However, any plays at the plate where the ball is thrown low (so every time for us) she will stick her glove out and turn her head away. And every time the ball will get passed her. We can't put her in the infield because she'll move away from balls hit right at her to field on the glove side-again with the head looking anywhere but towards the ball. When she isn't catching she does well in the outfield-fast and pretty good at tracking fly balls but any hard grounder to her has the very real possibility of going straight past her and turning a single into a problem.

This is a very athletic kid who probably loves the game more than anyone else on the team but I don't even know where to begin helping her with this problem.

My youngest DD had the worst luck with softballs in the known universe. Partly due to bad luck and partly due to her skill level at the time, she was hurt numerous times including a line drive to the face while pitching. So, that's where she came from. Especially after the line drive to the face, she suffered mentally and struggled with her "ball shyness" problem for years. She went from the A team down to the C team. Then back up to the B team and then will call ups, now, to the A team. So, she has improved and I will tell you how.

First, I suggest taking all the pressure off of this girl that you can. Maybe some other DFP coach has a "magic" solution that works instantly, but I certainly didn't. When I found myself losing patience I told myself, "This is a very brave girl out there. A lot of girls would have quit after that line drive to the face but she's still out there trying. Let her! And give her time."

Over the years as her skill level increased and her confidence she has gotten to the point where she's almost back to "normal". She will still flinch away from some balls but most of the time is fine. It took gradual progress over years. Give her easy ground balls, fly balls, or whatever, and help her build her confidence. Don't push! It will cause her to push back. And then, gradually, make the plays harder and harder as her confidence and skill increases. In short:

(1) Patience
(2) Build confidence
(3) Slowly increase difficulty

She keeps her helmet on for plays at the plate? If not put it on her. It's there to protect her. As for blocking, start by having her block squishy balls or tennis balls. Once she is ok with that you can move to regulation balls thrown softly. On a side note. Not every kid can be a catcher. It takes a rather fearless kid to stand in and receive a ball while a runner is beating feet for home or take a few foul tips off various parts of their body. One of our catchers brought back a cantaloupe sized bruise on the inside of her thigh. It's not for the feint of heart.

Maybe minimize the actually catching of the ball on work on where the ball needs to go. So at SS, you are going to watch the ball into your glove that is a given, keep your momentum and throw it hard to 1st.

Sorry:

We have a 12 yo catcher/outfielder who seems to be afraid of the ball.

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Any rational person would be afraid of the ball.

However, any plays at the plate where the ball is thrown low (so every time for us) she will stick her glove out and turn her head away.

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I was coaching 18U one time, and the catcher did *not* turn her head on a play at the plate. The ball took a funny bounce and broke her nose. I can also tell you about the time my DD got hit in the mouth with a thrown ball. Another time DD#3 broke a girl's ankle with a ball.

The point I'm trying to make is that she has a normal, rational fear of the ball.

CATCHING: Get her a catcher's helmet that she she doesn't remove.
INFIELD: Get her a mask.
OUTFIELD: Get her a mask.

I would approach is as teaching: "Well, we have to teach you how to properly field a ball. It is important for your safety." Then, teach her fielding mechanics emphasizing why the method your are teaching her is safer.

Ok thanks for the responses just a little bit to add:

She does keep her mask on at catcher and wears a face mask when she is (practicing) in the infield. We do something similar to that mike candrea drill and she'll move to the side if we let her there too but when we remind her she can usually keep a slowly rolled ball in front of her. To my knowledge she hasn't
Ever been hit hard by a ball but I'm sure she has taken more than a few at catcher (interestingly enough thats where she usually seems fearless). Maybe we will continue a candrea style progression next year and really drill it into her.

We have the same problem with a player on our team, but she doesn't catch. She is actually more afraid of thrown balls than hard grounders. We have tried everything but keep trying. She could be a good SS and great 2B as she has a great arm and quickness, but can't really even catch a throw down from the catcher. If you find the solution I'd love to hear it.

As I said, my daughter has come a long, long ways towards "recovering" from her fear. So, it can be done. These progression drills are good and the goal is to get her to be evermore comfortable with them. If she is uncomfortable, back off! Be patient! And don't push it hard. Most of the progress seemed to occur when no one was pushing her.

If you have access to a gym, carry her to the gym and put her in a corner with all of her catcher's gear on facing out. From a distance you feel comfortable she can handle, start hitting tennis balls or full size rubber softballs at her with a tennis racket - don't baby them to her, hit them so she has to react. Stress the fundamentals as you go but go at a pace where she is having to react rather than think about it. Increase the power or shorten the distance as she improves. Once she is comfortable or at least better, have her remove the catcher's gear and put her face mask on and go through more rounds in the same manner. Finally, have her remove the facemask and go again.

Since she has not been injured by a ball to your knowledge, it really is not as much fear as it is a lack of confidence in her ability and her equipment to protect her.

Buy some jugs softie balls and get her used to fielding ball then transition to real softballs.