Helping daughter with confidence in the outfield

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Jun 11, 2019
14
3
My 14U daughter recently moved up to a team with a much better level of play and players. Previously, she was one of the better players on her lower-level team, mostly playing catcher and 3rd. Now that she has moved up, she is one of the lesser skilled players and is not going to see much time, if at all, at catcher or 3rd.
Coach has been putting her in right field and she is really struggling. Not only with the skills needed to be a good outfielder, but also confidence. She's playing scared and I can tell that she is so nervous when she is out there. She isn't tracking the ball very well and is just so unsure of herself. Her dad and I have both talked to her about the importance of outfield and how she just needs to find her role on this team and go all out at it, but she's having a hard time getting out of the mentality that being in right field is because she is the worst player on the team and is so down on herself.
She knows everyone on the team and has played with them on and off for years. They are great kids...and are really talented ball players...so she's already saying things like "everyone is so much better than me. They are great and I am bringing them all down" I try to remind her that she used to struggle a lot and be unsure of herself at 3rd base when she first started playing there, but then ended up being a great, solid, confident 3rd basement. She's the kind of kid where it just takes time and a ton of reps to get comfortable and good at a position, but she doesn't understand that.
Any great words of advice or wisdom I could share with her?
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Unfortunately you have nailed the answer. It takes reps and practice (and practicing the right way).

Just ask her if she always thought outfield was easy, she probably thinks it was, well at 10U and 12U maybe at 14U errors in the outfield don't cost you bases they cost you runs. The only way you can learn to track balls is to have them hit at you, you can do different drills with her (and you should) to make sure she is using the right technique, turning, running to ball in air, fielding balls that are rolling, throwing to the right bases, hitting her cutoff etc. but in the end hitting balls off a bat preferably on the field is what is required. Also make sure she understands her responsibilities when it comes to backing up throws in the infield. The other thing is to tell her to also not lose focus on hitting, a good hitter always has a place on the team. Finally if she is still interested in catching see if she can work out with the #3 pitcher before/after practice if the pitcher wants to it could help both of them reach there goals to move up and get more playing time maybe coach will even let them battery together during a pool game for a couple innings....my two cents
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
tell her to work hard, and also talk with her about her goals in fastpitch? does she want to play at that level, or maybe move down to a more casual level?

as for confidence in OF, hit her hundreds of fly balls, it not thousands. I think it takes at least a thousand or so before anyone becomes even partially proficient at reading them. have her throw 4 out of 5 to a net at the edge of IF, then that 5th have her shoot home (ie back to you). do not have her throw back to you on every ball, too long a throw will cause issues with her arm/shoulder.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
A lot of teams DD has been on have done a poor job on OF, we had to do it ourselves.

I put cones at various places on field and when ball was in air would yell to her which cone to throw it to.

Reps is the way to get her going, then a couple catches in games, she will be off and running.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
Yeah, it's all about reps. As she gets better with you she'll gain confidence. She'll get better on the field and gain confidence.

It'll come.

I know it helps many girls to be on a team with players better than she is. But there are situations where it's harmful. Hope this isn't one of them. I hate to hear that she thinks she's the worst one on the team.
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
Do a mix of OF drills with her outside of practice.

By that I mean a mix of controlled drills where you throw her flyballs to different spots to work on going in, out back, right, left especially being able to catch on the run and do a good drop step. These controlled drills help with confidence and form.

Also hit her a ton of flyballs. Only repeated reps of live fly balls will help with judging the ball off the bat and tracking.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
She knows everyone on the team and has played with them on and off for years. They are great kids...and are really talented ball players...so she's already saying things like "everyone is so much better than me. They are great and I am bringing them all down" I try to remind her that she used to struggle a lot and be unsure of herself at 3rd base when she first started playing there, but then ended up being a great, solid, confident 3rd basement. She's the kind of kid where it just takes time and a ton of reps to get comfortable and good at a position, but she doesn't understand that.
Any great words of advice or wisdom I could share with her?

1) Acknowledge her fears.
2) Develop a plan for her to get better--not an abstract plan of "Oh, I'm going to work harder". A real plan--like "I'm going to take 100 fly balls a day for the next 5 days. I'm going to do it from 6PM to 7PM."
3) *YOU* go buy a fungo bat and a bunch of balls. This shows that *YOU* are confident in her ability, and that you are putting your time and money into this.
4) You may not have the knowledge to teach the position. Find someone who does. She will not get the level of training she needs from the team coaches.

I had 2 kids successfully play college sports. The key? Get your kids the right personal coach--someone who (a) can teach and (b) knows what s/he is doing. Go to the sessions, listen and learn. You spend time with your perfecting what the coach taught them.
 
Last edited:
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
... she's having a hard time getting out of the mentality that being in right field is because she is the worst player on the team...

She needs to grow up her mentality. This isn't little kid ball any more. At 14U, you can't "hide" weak defensive players in the OF. At that level, weaker defensive players end up at 1B or - more likely - the bench. With a majority of 14U batters being able to drive the ball to the OF on a regular basis, every OF position becomes very critical. If a ball gets past an IF, it's a single. If a ball gets past an OF, it's an extra base hit - maybe one that brings in multiple runs. Good OF's turn deep fly balls and line drives into outs instead of base hits. You will not see any good team 14U+ with mediocre OF's. Mediocre OF defense equals a mediocre team. In RF, quickness and an aggressive mindset will get the occasional out at 1B. Those are momentum killers for the batting team.

The mentality for your DD should be to be the best RF she can be for her team. If she's not yet, get to work until she is. Do the work necessary to step on the field with the mentality that she's a bad@$$ OF, and nothing hits the floor in her house!
 
Last edited:
Mar 1, 2019
5
3
I can understand your daughter’s feelings toward RF ... I think most of the “uneducated masses” (my tongue is in my cheek!) think RF is where you put your worst player ... 🤦‍♂️

I’ve coached my daughter for a few years now (she’ll move up to 14u for the fall), and I have stressed the strategic value and importance of RF from the beginning. Think about how demoralizing it is when you rip a hard line drive to RF, only to have the right fielder field it on a hop and throw you out by a step at first! The first time my DD gunned a runner at 1B, she was hooked! That’s the kind of highlight that makes playing RF worthwhile. She has now done this more time than I can recall.

Also, you can ask her to think about what happens on a bunt attempt that gets overthrown to 1B ... if the right fielder is not backing up that throw, it likely gets to the corner ... with runners acting like it’s a track meet!

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea ... RF is critically important on any team, and it’s where I usually prefer to play my strongest/smartest outfielder.

Just my 2 cents.
 

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