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SHORT HOPS
This can be done with two players or you (the coach)
and all teammates.
This drill will help players with their short hops. You can be inside or
outside. If inside, find an area that is clear.
One player gets in the field and the other one stands about 10-20 ft. away.
The player or coach will throw the fielder a ball that hits the ground right in
front of them.
The fielder has to go down to get the ball without it going by them. You do
this over and over until they get the hang of it. If the fielder won't keep
their head on the ball you may want to use a softer ball at first. This will
show the fielder the ball is likely never going to hit them in the face. That
will help them keep their head down.
SCRAMBLED EGGS
I got this game from Minnesota FastPitch about a while ago. It is a great drill
for sliding!! Have 1/4th the players line up behind first base, 1/4th the
players line up behind second base, 1/4 the players line up behind 3rd base, and
1/4th the players line up at home. You will need to have a dozen or so eggs (not
hardboiled). Give 2 eggs (one for each hand) to the first player in line at
home. She has to run to first base and slide, with her hands up so as not to
break the eggs. The first player in line at first base gets the eggs from the
runner and runs to second base and slides. This continues until all the players
have run and slid. You will be amazed how few (if any) eggs are broken. We have
never broken one!!PEPPER
A coach gathers a small group of players, which are
only a few feet from him/her. The coach then hits or bunts the ball to the
players in any random order, then the players must use quick reactions to
retrieve the ball and accuracy to pitch, this pitch is only a toss, for the
coach to hit again. You do this drill to improve the player’s reaction time. You
have to do this drill as quickly as possible and the pace will increase as time
goes on and the players improve. This can also be used to help players with
bunting by having a player bunt the ball in place of the coach.
PERFECT THROWS
Start by placing your infielders at their positions
(except the pitcher). The ball
starts at the catcher, she throws to the second baseman, she throws to the third
baseman, she throws to the first baseman, she throws to the shortstop, and she
throws back to the catcher. The whole time this is
going on you have a runner run the bases. They leave at the same time as the
catcher starts the cycle. It starts out easy for the fielders because they tend
to start in kind of close and creep in. I let them do that for a while, till it
gets too easy, then I make them start backing up. After they get a few steps in
the grass the faster runners start
making it close. The runners like to see a dropped or missed ball.
This really helps on the infielder's learning to get rid of the ball
quickly
DIZZY LIZZY
This game is a great one to just have some fun with your players. If they have
been working really hard for a while, you may want to do this as a release from
the tension. Have one team at bat, and one team in the field with a fielder on
third base and one at first base. The batter must take a bat and place the knob
to her forehead and the other end on the ground. She now spins around 5-7 times,
then hits (or tries to hit) a ball off a tee and runs the bases until both the
fielders have touched the ball in the outfield (or where ever it has gone). If
you have some uptight players, this will loosen them up in a big hurry.
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