LAST DAY: Today is the last day to enter our 10 Commandments
Contest!  Submit your entry at the Fastpitch World Forums
**************************************

I’m afraid of the ball…Did I just say that? Well, not terrified of the ball like some people are, but I admit, I am more afraid of getting hit by a ground ball than I used to be. Why? Mostly because I know that I’m not as quick as I used to be. My reaction time is slower than it used to be. Let’s face it, I’m no longer training to actively compete as a softball player. I do not practice fielding ground balls on a daily basis and therefore, I know that my skills are a little rustier than they were 13+ years ago when I was training to be the best infielder I could be.

I’m not, however afraid of balls that are thrown at me. I’m still quite confident in my ability to catch a thrown ball and do that quite often, so it’s not something that worries me. But lack of that confidence is a common reason why young athletes are afraid of the ball. Not only is it a relatively hard object traveling toward them, but they lack the confidence in their ability to handle it. They do not believe they possess the adequate capability to safely deal with this hard moving ball that
is coming at them.

I know that if I were to practice and train to actively play softball again, my fear of the ball would all but disappear as I regained confidence in my skills. The same is true for young players. If they gain confidence in their own ability to adequately deal with and protect themselves from this ball that’s coming at them, they won’t be as terrified of the ball anymore.

Of course, that’s more easily said than done in some cases and there are specific things you can do to help them along the way. I’ll talk about that in another post, but first I wanted to know if you’ve ever personally dealt with this situation before (players being afraid of the ball).

• What triggered it in their case?
• What did you do to help them?
• How old are the players you work with?
• Is there anything in particular you’d like to know about helping players get over their fear of the ball?

This seems to be a topic that I get e-mailed about a lot lately, so I just wanted some of your thoughts on it in case you were also dealing with the same issue.

Leave me a comment and let me know.

————————————————

Bill Hillhouse Pitching Location Update

Location for the Bill Hillhouse 2-Day Pitching Clinic in Hawaii (Oct. 10-11) has been set at St.  Francis High School. Registrations are already coming in for the clinic and spaces are limited! For more information, print out the flyer at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/BH2009.pdf

Grab your registration form at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/BHR2009.pdf

Focus on having your defenders make throws that are easy for the receiver to catch. This includes:

• using a snap throw/flip instead of a full windup in close situations when players are already moving toward the target
• lessening side arm and encouraging players to throw more “over the top”
• making one-hops easy to receive
• avoid leading your “receiver” into the incoming runner
• get force out throws to the chest
• make tag throws low – do not make the receiver jump to catch that ball then have to apply a tag
• etc, etc, etc

One mistake players make when trying to throw softer is that they slllloooooooowwwww everything down. This often times results in an inaccurate throw and is not a habit you would want players to get into.  You don’t want them to get in the habit of slowing down to make a throw then when the pressure is on and they need to do things quickly they can’t handle it.  You want them to keep their quickness up and just use less windup.  With lots of momentum behind their throw they should be able to get rid of the ball very quickly with very little effort and keep it an easy catch for the person receiving the ball.

Bottom line is – the easier the catch for the person trying to make the put out, the more outs you’re likely to actually make.

Look for more on this at StacieMahoe.com next Monday.  I’ll post a short video tip about this topic then.

I totally understand all that and I get it. But one thing you don’t want to do if you’re players aren’t ready for it, is blast grounders at them as hard as you possibly can. I understand the idea of getting used to the ball coming that hard and the whole “if they can handle that, they can handle anything” mentality. Really I do because I used to feel the same way and I even used this “tactic” with infielder before. When I was growing up I had a coach who did it to me and it DID help me feel like I could handle anything any player would ever hit at me.

HOWEVER, there are 3 big reasons why I don’t just jump into blasting balls at players any more, especially early in the season and especially if they’re not ready for it. Here are those 3 reasons:

1. They Learn to Sit and Wait: If you always hit screaming balls at them, they get into the bad habit of sitting back and waiting for the ball to come to them even if it’s hit slooooooowwwwwww. This is NOT a good thing. Bad bounces are going to eat them alive. I’ve seen players like this. You hit shots at them, they’re fine. But hit a routine grounder and all heck breaks loose! They don’t move to the ball, the ball takes that one, last, hard to handle hop and they mishandle the ball. Then because they sat back and waited and allowed the runner to get further up the line to first, they have less time to make the play after they finally get a handle on the ball. I would much rather have a fielder who makes the 5 routine plays that come her way vs the 2 hot shots she may get during the game.

2. They Go Into Survival Mode: Another thing that happens when you hit laser shots at your players is that they often times simply go into survival mode. All mechanics go out the window and all they’re trying to do is stop the ball without it hitting their face or some other sensitive body part. More often than not this creates and reinforces the bad habit of fielding on your heels. Again, bad hops will eat them alive! Not only that, they’ll be slower and have to work harder to get the ball to first (or anywhere else) because they’re back on their heels when they field the ball and therefore, have zero momentum toward their target. If this becomes their habit and their way of fielding, you’re not helping them!

3. Mechanics Go Out the Window: As I mentioned in number 2 above, if you’re players are going into survival mode because you’re ripping balls at ‘em, all mechanics go out the window. They’re just going to do whatever it takes to try to stop that ball without getting badly hurt. Most likely they will NOT be working on good fielding habits or mechanics. Early in the season and at the younger ages is the time to teach and reinforce good habits and good mechanics. Don’t skip this part because, in the long run, it’s going to hurt the players, not help them.

I’m not saying you should never hit the ball hard at your players. It’s just not something you should do all the time if they are unable to use proper technique with that type of hit being launched at them. Get those fundamentals solid so that they can increasingly handle balls hit harder and harder at them while still maintaining good form.

Yes, every once in a while there will be a ball in the game where players throw everything out the window and just “do what it takes” to make the play. I’m not saying it’s wrong to throw that at them every now and then in practice to help them get ready for that game possibility. It just shouldn’t be the play they practice all the time.

Master fundamentals. The fancy stuff will come. Sometimes players have to dive for balls or make an unorthodox throw from the outfield just because the situation called for it and it’s all they could do to make the play at that time. However, it’s not what you want them to practice on every single play. Get those routine plays down! The “Hollywood” stuff will come, but don’t focus on that so much in practice, then come game time, you can’t make the basic plays. Become exceptional at making those routine plays and those fancy shmancy ones, if they’re made, will just be icing on the cake (they shouldn’t BE your cake, just the icing). You won’t “need” those “Hollywood” plays so much in the game if you’re consistently making the routine ones that come at you.

The new softball drills that were just put up on the Defensive Softball Drills page include:

• Ball First
• The Triangle Drill
• Teaching the Relay

If you’ve got a great drill to share, feel free to leave a comment below and tell us about it!

Now, I’ve also heard that using a stop watch is helpful as well.  However, with a stop watch, the players don’t get as much of a visual on how far off or how close they are to making the play.  Using runners, like in this drill, gives them a more concrete visual of what’s going on.

So, how does this drill work?

1. Set up an infield
2. Have the rest of the team put on helmets
3. Runners will start 10 feet up the line to first (not from the batters box) and will start running when they hear the coach’s bat hit the ball
4. Coach stands in the batter’s box and  a hits grounders to the fielders
5. Fielders field the ball and and make the urgent play at first

Obviously this cuts down significantly on the time the field has to field the ball and make the play.  I like to run this drill with routinely hit ground balls…not screamers.  Force the players to come get the ball instead of sit back and wait for it and quickly get rid of it to make the play.  Do not hit laser shots at them and force them into a defensive mode.

This drill is a great way to put pressure on your infield and challenge them in practice so that game situations seem easy.  It’s also a great way to get some sprints in.  You can also switch out the infield and the runners to give everyone a chance at making these urgent plays as well as give everyone some sprint work.

What do you think about that?  Do you think that’s true?  Do you have scorebooks you can look back through and report back to us?  If so, leave a comment here and let us know what percentage of games were won by the team that “won the first inning.”  Go through each game and see if either team was leading after the first inning.  Then check to see if that’s the team that ended up winning the game.  Jot down your findings then calculate what percentage of games were won by the team who was leading after the first.  I’m curious to see what others have to say.

Anyway, getting sidetracked here.  I’m sure you’ve seen or been in games when unearned runs come back to bite you in the butt.  It really stinks!  But the fact of the matter is, great teams will rarely “give” you anything.  If you’re going to get across the plate you’re going to have to earn it!  And if you happen to “give” them anything, you’re just about done for.  Not that coming out on top is impossible, but it’s definitely going to be a fight to the end!  Either that or great teams know how to make you pay for your mistakes.  If you make one, they’re jump all over it and you better make sure you do the same if they happen to slip up.  If you don’t, you’ll find yourself in a major uphill battle.  Again, not impossible, but definitely a tough situation.

Given the observation above, IF your team was going to give up unearned runs, when would you rather have it happen?  I’m thinking I’d choose the 2nd.  Still time to get it back, yet possibly avoid losing that first inning and becoming a statistic.