- Nov 29, 2009
- 2,975
- 83
You need to make practice more like games. Don't just hit ground balls to her while she is standing at the front of the circle. That is not how she fields the position.
One of the very first things is I do with a young infield is draw out their fielding responsibility area on the infield in the dirt. That way each position knows what they are expected to cover. The pitcher should have the smallest area on the field. It should be roughly the width of the pitching circle towards home plate from the pitching plate and extends to within 8' of the foul lines on a slight angle. Nothing behind it. Anything else the corners and mids better be getting. It's not an absolute, but it does give them an idea of their primary responsibility.
Start with her giving you a full - REAL pitching motion without a ball from the pitching plate. Make sure she is doing the motion correctly and at 100%. You stand in the batters box and hit balls back to her. Toss the ball up at what you think is the release point for the pitch and then hit it. That is pretty close to game speed timing. Don't hit every pitch, mix it up. Vary when and where the balls are hit on the infield. It's OK to got 6 or 7 pitches before one is put in play. Make her field the ball and throw it to 1st. Do this till she gets comfortable making the plays and making good throws. As she gets more comfortable hit the ball harder, work on bunts and pop-ups. Anything you've seen in games. Make sure she is setting and loading on her throwing side foot. If she is a LHP there is a whole different set of footwork skills she needs to incorporate. The idea is to get her comfortable throwing a pitch and randomly having to field a batted ball. She needs to understand she is a pitcher first UNTIL the ball is out of her hand. Then she is a fielder if needed.
Once she is comfortable without the ball add that. She has to throw strikes and different pitches if she has them. She isn't allowed to skip the ball in or throw it over the backstop. Again, repeat the above unit she is making the plays to 1st.
When she is making the plays add runners. What I do is draw a line even with tip of home plate in foul territory on the right side. The runners start at that line. They have their back turned to the pitcher. They can go when they hear the ball hit bat. That gives the fielders a pretty good feel for game speed runners. Again, do this until she is making the plays without hesitation.
When she is making the play to 1st then start working on going home and to the other bases. It takes time and many reps, but it will cut down on feeling rushed and making fielding errors. She'll have to learn how to trust her arm and make good, solid throws to wherever she needs to.
One of the very first things is I do with a young infield is draw out their fielding responsibility area on the infield in the dirt. That way each position knows what they are expected to cover. The pitcher should have the smallest area on the field. It should be roughly the width of the pitching circle towards home plate from the pitching plate and extends to within 8' of the foul lines on a slight angle. Nothing behind it. Anything else the corners and mids better be getting. It's not an absolute, but it does give them an idea of their primary responsibility.
Start with her giving you a full - REAL pitching motion without a ball from the pitching plate. Make sure she is doing the motion correctly and at 100%. You stand in the batters box and hit balls back to her. Toss the ball up at what you think is the release point for the pitch and then hit it. That is pretty close to game speed timing. Don't hit every pitch, mix it up. Vary when and where the balls are hit on the infield. It's OK to got 6 or 7 pitches before one is put in play. Make her field the ball and throw it to 1st. Do this till she gets comfortable making the plays and making good throws. As she gets more comfortable hit the ball harder, work on bunts and pop-ups. Anything you've seen in games. Make sure she is setting and loading on her throwing side foot. If she is a LHP there is a whole different set of footwork skills she needs to incorporate. The idea is to get her comfortable throwing a pitch and randomly having to field a batted ball. She needs to understand she is a pitcher first UNTIL the ball is out of her hand. Then she is a fielder if needed.
Once she is comfortable without the ball add that. She has to throw strikes and different pitches if she has them. She isn't allowed to skip the ball in or throw it over the backstop. Again, repeat the above unit she is making the plays to 1st.
When she is making the plays add runners. What I do is draw a line even with tip of home plate in foul territory on the right side. The runners start at that line. They have their back turned to the pitcher. They can go when they hear the ball hit bat. That gives the fielders a pretty good feel for game speed runners. Again, do this until she is making the plays without hesitation.
When she is making the play to 1st then start working on going home and to the other bases. It takes time and many reps, but it will cut down on feeling rushed and making fielding errors. She'll have to learn how to trust her arm and make good, solid throws to wherever she needs to.
