Approach to Pop Ups in the Infield?

[uncdrew]

My DD is a pitcher. Good athlete, fields the ball fine, catches pop-ups well, but her overhand throw is not good. Her coach told her he didn’t want her fielding anything unless it was in the circle. They spent 10-15 minutes at practice practicing what that might look like. Unfortunately, she sometimes doesn’t field ground balls that she probably should. It’s a mental thing that she needs to work on. I guess I’m saying to just be very clear with the messaging


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Play catch with her often. That throw will fix itself quickly.

 

[Filterbing]

I couldn't find the original vid on this but here is one

The MEW Drill to Help a Thrower's Arm Path - Baseball Rebellion

Baseball Rebellion Pitching Instructor Dave Shinskie introduces the MEW Drill, which helps develop a clean and consistent arm swing and delivery!

baseballrebellion.com

I know wasserman is top tier here but my daughter was dropping her elbow and pushing the ball and I wanted a solution that didn't involve money. I saw the tennis racquet drill and would make her take 3 swings and throw 3 balls. The racquet swing came natural to her and made more sense than what trying to describe the arm path to her. It didn't take long before her arm got back to where it should be.

 

[MoxieSoftball]

The Golden rule is pitcher get out of the way. Let anyone else on the IF catch the ball. SS has priority over anyone on the IF. If she an get to it then take it. My catcher can catch any pop up in her area, but I still would rather have a 1B or 3B catch it if possible. The catcher will have a harder time because the ball is spinning back towards the IF. The corners are coming in on the ball where the catcher will have her back to the IF. In some instances the Pitcher will have to catch the ball if no one else can get to it but usually you want someone else catching all pop-ups on the IF. Communicate with "ball" is vital as well. BE VOCAL... take charge.

 

[Jdaddy]

There’s also in infield “pecking order” of who calls off who. SS, 2B, 3B, 1B, P, C. Further, CF can call off all other outfielders and all infielders. OF can call off all infield. Does anybody teach this anymore?
Catcher DD hates this BTW, lol!

 

[MoxieSoftball]

There’s also in infield “pecking order” of who calls off who. SS, 2B, 3B, 1B, P, C. Further, CF can call off all other outfielders and all infielders. OF can call off all infield. Does anybody teach this anymore?
Catcher DD hates this BTW, lol!

Absolutely teach it. Fly ball Priority !

 

[tim_s]

agree with all of the priority stuff that's been said

one thing that really helped us was the pitching machine set to throw infield pop ups......infielders in place...i'd randomly fire one and they'd all respond - take charge, communicate and call the ball, back up, back off (when necessary), make the catch.....as soon as the were ALMOST back in position i'd randomly fire another (you get good at being sneaky and adjusting the speed and moving the machine so they don't know where it is going)......we have some incentive to not let the ball hit the ground, and we go rapid fire for awhile

for us the issue was getting someone to take charge and being aggressive; we were all passive and kind of unsure, even after we went over 'pecking order' - we found by going rapid fire and having the incentive to not let a ball hit the ground we removed the doubt and the 'your or me?' type mentality

it really improved our execution on pop-ups 1000% - now when we need the work we just pull out the machine, we rotate around the infield to get some reps in and make sure we're still on the same page, then we finish with rapid fire, and we really don't have to work on it much......it's night and day to how we used to be, and they actually ask if we can do it every time the machine makes an appearance at practice

 

[Xplode22]

Absolutely teach it. Fly ball Priority !

Will be teaching it now. Love it. Cuz I don’t want my catcher on it unless it’s right at the plate

 

[riseball]

Much depends on who you have in the circle. I have had some very athletic pitchers where everyone just stayed out of their way. Then there were the ones like my dd who was limited to the front of the circle when nobody else could get to it. As a rule I do not like for the pitcher to go backwards as the rubber is a trip hazard. Otherwise if she can field her position I make the most of it. Remember watching Ocasio in TB and then with the Gators and when she was in the circle the defense was significantly better.