Diving Drills?

Anyone have any diving drills you can share? We went out to the fields to practice a bit with our kid and she dove for a ball and landed awkwardly and (not sure if hurt is the right word) hurt her elbow because she tried to break her fall. She's not injured but I think she gave herself more of a stinger since it went away about 5 minutes later.

Anyways, I'd like to teach her how to properly dive for the ball without using her throwing hand to break her fall. I've told her numerous times that if she is going to go for it in that manner, she needs to look more like superman with both arms extended. But I think her "remembering" to do that when she dives is more muscle memory than her remembering herself.

Anyone have any at home drills we can do with her?

If I am outside I form an island with 6 cones large 20 feet (?) in diameter. You want it large enough for two players to move around but not so large they can run inside the island. The coach should sit on a bucket outside the island with 5 balls. Toss the balls underhand (one at a time at first) in the island. You get .5 point if you dive. You get 1 point if you catch a ball. You get 1.5 points if you dive and catch. So 1.5 * 5 = 7.5 points total possible per round.

Rotate players in groups of two and make it a competition where the highest team score wins. This is by far one of the favorite drills my team does. As they get smarter about it introduce two balls at a time and throw it where they aren't!

You wont' have a clean jersey on the team after two rounds.

^^^^^^^ DD'S team loves this game/drill

GunnerShotgun said:

If I am outside I form an island with 6 cones large 20 feet (?) in diameter. You want it large enough for two players to move around but not so large they can run inside the island. The coach should sit on a bucket outside the island with 5 balls. Toss the balls underhand (one at a time at first) in the island. You get .5 point if you dive. You get 1 point if you catch a ball. You get 1.5 points if you dive and catch. So 1.5 * 5 = 7.5 points total possible per round.

Rotate players in groups of two and make it a competition where the highest team score wins. This is by far one of the favorite drills my team does. As they get smarter about it introduce two balls at a time and throw it where they aren't!

You wont' have a clean jersey on the team after two rounds.

Click to expand...

We call it "Protect the Island", great drill. We toss more than 5 balls though, normally 12-15, rapid fire style. I love the communication it forces between the two, and obviously the toughness to go all out. The team with the least amount drops, gets out of what ever consequence there is.


jjr - Have you done diving progressions? If you have something like a gymnastics mat or a Slide-Rite, that can help with fear of hitting the ground. Start on her knees, choose a side and have her just learn to fall and land correctly. Work up from there. While still on knees, toss a ball and have her fall and catch. Next standing up, take a cross over step and dive. Progress to a full run and dive from there. Throw in some forward sliding catches as well. Good thing with the mat is, if you have them, you can do this inside as well.

To add to Coach Foster's suggestion, you can have her dive forward, too. This is probably the easiest (you're just falling forward), and it'll get her to figure out how to land. And, of course, sometimes you have to dive that way (I prefer to slide on those, but diving is an option).

I'd also add an intermediate step between knees and standing where she's crouched. She's still low to the ground, but she can give herself a little spring to go into the dive. She also can get the feel for the different levels you need to be at. You don't just go from standing straight up while running to being on the ground. You "plan" your dive in your stride by getting lower to the ground before you actually launch.

Oh, and...diving can hurt a little. It's not always 100% painless. You might get a scrape or two from time to time. It's important she understands that, and "feeling it" doesn't mean she's doing it wrong or that she shouldn't do it again.

Coach Foster said:

We call it "Protect the Island", great drill. We toss more than 5 balls though, normally 12-15, rapid fire style. I love the communication it forces between the two, and obviously the toughness to go all out. The team with the least amount drops, gets out of what ever consequence there is.


jjr - Have you done diving progressions? If you have something like a gymnastics mat or a Slide-Rite, that can help with fear of hitting the ground. Start on her knees, choose a side and have her just learn to fall and land correctly. Work up from there. While still on knees, toss a ball and have her fall and catch. Next standing up, take a cross over step and dive. Progress to a full run and dive from there. Throw in some forward sliding catches as well. Good thing with the mat is, if you have them, you can do this inside as well.

Click to expand...

I second using progressions starting from the knees. This can even be done in the living room with balled up socks. Take your time on this.

"Protect the Island" is perfect for all levels of the progression. You can also set this up with multiple players in multiple islands with either coaches feeding, or players pairing up in opposing grids.

Another one is "Protect the House" where the player is on her knees (or feet) in front of a fence panel (or two.) Coach hits or throws ten grounders side to side, progressively getting wider and wider. Keep track of balls saved from hitting the panel. Rotate players. Next set is one hops, then knee high, then shoulders, then at the limit of reach over head. The last set can emulate saved home runs/extra base hits and encourage kids to get airborn.

"Guts" is another where players face off. Each kneeing/standing in front of a set of cones or other markers. Players take turns throwing grounders and trying to get them inside the cones. Balls must touch the ground at least twice to count. Coach should be nearby to adjust width and distance between cones as appropriate.

I like this series of 3 videos for teaching defensive diving skills. Systematic buildup of skill and confidence is the key.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNmNL7tOf9A

No we haven't done progression drills. We've actually not taught her anything to do with diving, which is why when she did it she landed awkwardly. The interesting thing is she'll slide head first/dive back to bags with no issues. But when it comes to fielding I think she's more hesitant to do it.

Thanks for the youtube link, kjs23. I think being able to show her the video will help tremendously on top of doing those drills. My next question is, would you guys do these progression drills on slick/wet grass or dry grass?

Thanks for the youtube link, kjs23. I think being able to show her the video will help tremendously on top of doing those drills. My next question is, would you guys do these progression drills on slick/wet grass or dry grass?[/QUOTE]

Hesitation about diving to catch I think often has to do with the fact that focus is split between the dive and the catch. Diving to a base there is only one thing to focus on and it is directly in front of you. The progressions help bring these two skills together.
Wet grass is nice when they first get to the stage of leaving from their feet (i.e. they are hitting the ground with a bit of velocity) but it is not necessary. I usually just have dry grass. We've done this on indoor turf with mixed results. Poor technique gets punished a little more on the plastic.

Just hit the ball to their far left or right and tell them if they get it they get ice cream. They'll figure it out. If they don't they are walking home. Works every time.