Infield Work

She is 9 years old and plays SS for her travel ball team. In the video she is throwing to 1st.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D6N5GNWfus

I never played ball so its hard for me to gauge.
How are her mechanics?
Is she leaning to much during the release of the ball? How is her footwork?

We work really hard, so please let us know how she looks.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Let's see if I can pick this apart:

Charges the ball? Check.
Gets butt low? Check.
Glove out front? Check.
Fields ball with left foot forward? Check.
Fields ball with fingers down? Check.
Continues fielding through ball? Check.
Steps with right foot then left to throw? Check.
No extra steps? Check.
Throws ball hard? Check.
Follows through on throw? Check.

She looks better than a lot of the 13 years olds we play against. Awesome job. Keep up the hard work and she will go far.

If I had to really nit pik, then I could say she stands up too tall to make the throw and she could possibly shorten up her arm action. It looks like she brings the ball too high above her head for the throw.

Overall she looks great, has very impressive foot work and I like the forward lean (follow through) during the release of the ball.

Thanks for the feedback.
If I had to really nit pik, then I could say she stands up too tall to make the throw
Her coach has mentioned this a couple of times during practice to other kids. What is a good drill to get her from standing to tall. Do you have any pictures or video that is a good example of staying low?

It looks like she brings the ball too high above her head for the throw.
That is my fault, I ask her to get the ball above her ears because I heard it somewhere. Probably exaggerating the motion to keep me happy. She does tend to wrap her arm around her head during her throwing windup.
Not sure how to fix that.

I like the forward lean (follow through) during the release of the ball.
I had a parent tell me she was leaning to much. Thanks for the reassurances that she is not.

She is great. She will get stronger, as she grows. If anyone else offers unsolicited advice, I would laugh and say "She is nine."

ornelas85 said:

Thanks for the feedback.
If I had to really nit pik, then I could say she stands up too tall to make the throw
Her coach has mentioned this a couple of times during practice to other kids. What is a good drill to get her from standing to tall. Do you have any pictures or video that is a good example of staying low?

It looks like she brings the ball too high above her head for the throw.
That is my fault, I ask her to get the ball above her ears because I heard it somewhere. Probably exaggerating the motion to keep me happy. She does tend to wrap her arm around her head during her throwing windup.
Not sure how to fix that.

I like the forward lean (follow through) during the release of the ball.
I had a parent tell me she was leaning to much. Thanks for the reassurances that she is not.

Click to expand...

She is 9 and looks great. Don't push too hard cause as Amy stated she is fine. No specific drills for standing to tall, just gently remind her to not stand tall for the throw. Maybe perform it slow motion to get the feel. But once again, she is 9 and doing awesome.

As for throwing, her mechanics look very good. If you want to clean them up a little check out this link:

https://wassermanstrength.com/high-level-throwing-water-bottle-size-for-youth-athletes/

but once again, she is 9 and looks great, so don't push too hard.

CoachYoYo said:

She is 9 and looks great. Don't push too hard cause as Amy stated she is fine. No specific drills for standing to tall, just gently remind her to not stand tall for the throw. Maybe perform it slow motion to get the feel. But once again, she is 9 and doing awesome.

As for throwing, her mechanics look very good. If you want to clean them up a little check out this link:

https://wassermanstrength.com/high-level-throwing-water-bottle-size-for-youth-athletes/

but once again, she is 9 and looks great, so don't push too hard.

Click to expand...

I agree that her overall movement and skills look pretty decent for a 9yo. She is doing a lot of things right that some girls take much longer to figure out.

As for throwing, I also recommend getting familiar with the techniques taught by Wasserman (link above). Teaching a proper throwing pattern will benefit the player for the rest of her playing career, and 9yo is a fine time to start the process.

I was also told that she should work on her footwork, that she should be "clapping" her legs leading up to her throw. Her current footwork mechanics is right foot then left foot throw.
Which is better in yalls opinion?

We worked really hard getting her to point she is now. I don't mind changing if it will benefit her in the long run.
Thanks again for the help.

ornelas85 said:

I was also told that she should work on her footwork, that she should be "clapping" her legs leading up to her throw. Her current footwork mechanics is right foot then left foot throw.
Which is better in yalls opinion?

Click to expand...

It's nitpicking with a 9 y/o, but yes you might want to have her shuffle instead of using that crossover step. Not to the point of "clapping" her feet together, though.

For a righty throwing to their left (i.e. SS to 1B), my 10yo DD's TB coach teaches a "shuffle behind" (R foot behind L foot). This promotes getting the body properly turned and set up for a strong throw. Especially with young players, I often see the shoulders open way too soon, and all they can do is push the ball weakly.

We practice shuffle step (feet clapping), cross over in front, cross over behind, no step body rock throws and off foot throws. The situation (angle of throw and distance of throw) should determine the footwork needed.

SS - 2nd, short 90 degree throw: No step body rock or underhand push
3rd - 1st, charging > 90 degree throw back: crossover in front or off foot throw
SS playing deep to 1st, < 90 degree throw: crossover behind or shuffle

There isn't always a best way in every situation. For example, in the video you posted her footwork is just fine. She could also just shuffle step as it might be a little quicker, but not necessarily as strong of a throw. Both would be acceptable as long as she can get the out. Which it sure looks like she can.