Softball IQ ???

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Mar 4, 2018
126
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First question. How do you teach a team or player softball IQ? Why do some players seem to pick up softball scenarios so much faster than others?

My daughter plays on a 10u team. One player (we will call her Betty) in particular just really seems to understand the game and picks up everything quickly. Betty plays mostly SS when she is not pitching.

Couple scenarios that make her stick out in terms of softball IQ. Runner on first and the batter bunts. Betty knows she should cover 2nd base on this play from the SS position but she also notices that nobody covered third on the play after the ball was fielded. Betty runs to third to stop the runner on 1st from going 1st to third on the bunt.

Another thing Betty does is steal bases very well, especially 3rd base. I would say she reads the ball out of the pitchers hand batter. She knows the ball is going to be in the dirt as soon as the ball leaves the pitchers hand. She also knows when she can beat the SS to third base if the SS is covering. Very good at delayed steals also. Very good base runner all around.

Betty is also very good for a 10u player at double cuts or relay throws. She gets to the correct spot everyt time. I have seen this girl throw a bunch of runners out at 3rd base or home. The team does practice these relay plays but Betty is the one player that just has the instinct to know where to be on every play.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My DD's had better than average game IQ since 8U. She's also primarily a SS, though she can play anywhere. In 8U her dad and I spent a lot of time going over game IQ things with her. She was mostly 1B then, but was picking up as a SS, so we wanted her to learn the position more before the tournament.

Then she had a first year 10U coach who believed kids were capable of learning more advanced things. He taught them about shifting with the batter, among other things. DH has coached her most years she's played in some capacity and he always taught her to be looking for where she can be helpful. When she was pitching, don't just stand there in the circle after the play. Is a girl coming home from 3B? If so, can you back up the throw home? etc etc.

I don't know if she has some sort of natural thing that makes her "get" softball, or if it's just that we spent more time teaching her than many of her teammates' parents have. My guess is it's the latter.
 
Oct 2, 2012
181
18
I think like most things some people have an affinity for certain things. Softball IQ is both learned and at the same time is intuitive for some players. My DD and husband would be sitting on the couch and one would throw out a situational question and they’d discuss it. She was interested enough to strategize and listen and think through plays. She has a high softball IQ. It was one of the things mentioned in the recruiting process from coaches she spoke to. Was that IQ born or made? Both seems to be the case. Born with it and cultivated by choice.
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
First question. How do you teach a team or player softball IQ? Why do some players seem to pick up softball scenarios so much faster than others?

My daughter plays on a 10u team. One player (we will call her Betty) in particular just really seems to understand the game and picks up everything quickly. Betty plays mostly SS when she is not pitching.

Couple scenarios that make her stick out in terms of softball IQ. Runner on first and the batter bunts. Betty knows she should cover 2nd base on this play from the SS position but she also notices that nobody covered third on the play after the ball was fielded. Betty runs to third to stop the runner on 1st from going 1st to third on the bunt.

Another thing Betty does is steal bases very well, especially 3rd base. I would say she reads the ball out of the pitchers hand batter. She knows the ball is going to be in the dirt as soon as the ball leaves the pitchers hand. She also knows when she can beat the SS to third base if the SS is covering. Very good at delayed steals also. Very good base runner all around.

Betty is also very good for a 10u player at double cuts or relay throws. She gets to the correct spot everyt time. I have seen this girl throw a bunch of runners out at 3rd base or home. The team does practice these relay plays but Betty is the one player that just has the instinct to know where to be on every play.
It sounds like Betty May have a Dad that knows his stuff. Or perhaps older siblings who teach her situational stuff. Maybe she actually watches sports and picks things up that way.
To answer your question Softball IQ is developed over time. The more they play, watch, and ask questions the faster they pick things up.
I know my girls would never watch sports and they got a relatively late start in softball (9). I can get them to watch a little WCWS now but even that doesn’t last long.
Like I tell them you have to be a student of the game. You learn by watching and then going out and doing things yourself.
Especially defensively. You have to think every ball is coming to you and you have to embrace that. You have to know beforehand what your going to do with the ball if you field it cleanly an then switch to plan B if you mishandle the ball. Always gotta be a step ahead in every position.
 
Jan 27, 2010
1,871
83
NJ
I think watching older kids play helps a lot in developing game IQ. You can discuss what happened and why the players executed as they did. This seems to work better than just trying to explain it. Seeing it in action puts meaning to the words.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
You do it by always asking questions from what they have done and by having them always ask questions. For example, I might introduce a drill to a hitter and explain what I want them to achieve. Then, I have them do a few repetitions of the drill. Then, I stop and ask them why they are doing the drill. Now, the conversation starts. After this I expect and give feedback. When I wrap up a lesson, I always ask questions OR repeat all that we have covered. I put the "or" because several players take a lesson before their team practice and they are on the run to get to practice.
 

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