Skills/traits that can't be improved on?

[Gambler Bob]

Just a general discussion. It could be any softball skill that you think can't be improved on, or people can't improve very much on regardless of effort. Does not have to be one of these skills just some examples for discussion sake.

Exit Velo/ Hitting bombs
Overhand arm strength
Footwork
Running speed
Knowledge of the game/ instinct
Tracking fly balls
Etc.

Just my opinion, of the all the skills a baseball or softball player can have. Running fast is the skill that you either have or you don't. You can work your butt off but that person will never be fast. Can they Improve their foot speed? Sure, but only to a small degree.

 

[Westwind]

Eyesight!

Man I don’t know- great discussion. I guess I’d have to ask at what age. I lean toward “softball players are made not born.”

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

Read? I could be convinced that if you see enough pitches and swings that you get better at both anticipating where the ball will go and the read once it’s airborne (or ground borne?), but some players just have better read instincts.

 

[Vertigo]

As far as traits - I’d say heart and grit. I feel that in most cases, athletes either have them or they don’t, but might take a while to see.

 

[krazykat]

I agree that foot speed is God given talent. However, a small improvement (it takes a ton of work) can make a huge difference.

 

[Shiloh]

Height /bone size

 

[wazzy]

Coachability? Genetics?

I think most of the things on the OP list are skills that can be improved. Foot skills and speed are things that my DD is currently working on through speed and strength training classes at a local gym. Is she as fast as the genetically gifted girls on her team? No, but she's gaining on them. And she's a lot faster than she was. If she weren't so gd coachable, none of this would have been possible.

 

[chinamigarden]

All skills can be improved on, but that doesn’t mean that all players can be good at them.

traits, I’m not sure all of those are improvable

 

[Strike2]

All "skills" can be improved upon, but that doesn't guarantee that anything will become a strength. A smaller kid can learn to hit the ball harder and deeper, but that doesn't mean she's going to regularly hit bombs. Footwork and speed can be improved upon, sometimes by quite a bit, but that doesn't mean you're going to be a track star.

Knowledge of the game is one thing that can become a strength for just about anyone with the motivation.

 

[quincy]

You can compensate for foot speed with quick decision making. I always told my players if they aren't running before I yell go that they are late already.