4 field drills for softball
Playing softball can be a lot of fun. Winning at softball makes playing the game fun. One of the best ways to win a softball game is to make sure you score more runs than the other team. Yes, this makes a lot of sense, but doing so requires your gardeners to know exactly what to do in almost any situation.
There’s only one way to guarantee your outfielders produce winningly. This only way is to practice. There is an old saying that “practice makes perfect”, but I totally disagree with that statement. I prefer to use my own, “perfect practice makes perfect”. You see, if you practice but do things wrong, then when these things happen in a game, you’re more likely to do the same thing wrong. Do your best to practice as perfectly as you can by beginning these four drills for outfielders in softball.
The first thing any outfielder should practice is the act of catching a fly ball. Yes, this is an understatement, but please bear with me. In order to catch a fly ball, the first thing an outfielder must do is see the ball in the air. However, before he/she sees the ball in the air, it is imperative that his/her outfielder catches the ball off the bat. Being able to do this means the outfielder will be able to quickly determine where the ball is headed and then have a good idea of the best path to take to get to it.
I’m sure you’ll agree there’s more to catching a fly ball than getting it to land in your glove. Another type of batted ball that can be very difficult for any outfielder is the line drive. Here the ball is usually no more than ten feet off the ground and is usually moving at high speed. Again, being able to see the ball off the bat is essential to being able to catch the ball for the necessary out. As a quick reaction usually required to get into position to catch a line drive, picking up the ball as soon as possible is key.
The next area that needs to be discussed is the ball that is a ground ball that either makes its way through the infield or is hit over the infield and then begins to roll along the ground. Here it is very important that the outfielder gets in front of the ball. If the ball travels directly to the player, it is easier to get into the correct fielding position to make the play. Now, if the ball doesn’t move directly toward the outfielder, he’ll have to run down. With this type of game, the fielder should be able to bend at the waist and knees to be low enough to pick up the ball before he rolls under the glove.
The last drill to complete is throwing the ball back into the infield. Here the strength of the arm is not questioned, but the knowledge of baseball is. If no runner is on base and a ball is hit into the outfield that is not caught for an out, the ball must be returned to the infield as soon as possible. It is important to never throw behind a runner. So if the batter swings wide at first base, he doesn’t throw to first. If he does this, the runner will be able to advance to scoring position by moving to second. If there’s a runner on second and the outfielder has a strong arm, then it’s smart to try to make a home plate at the plate. However, if there is no strong arm, allow the run to score and do your best to keep the batter to a single.
If your outfielders can master these four drills, then you’re one step closer to limiting the number of runs your opponents score. Getting in position to make a play, whether the ball is hit out of the air or off the ground, and knowing the correct base to throw the ball is a very important part of the game. The only surefire way to make this happen each and every time is to do your best to develop a mindset that perfect practice makes perfect. Once this is done and taken seriously, you should be able to win more than you lose.