Fly ball drills

[hawkiirock]

How did you guys go about getting kids to judge fly balls better? My sons team has a couple who really struggle and he asked me if I had any drills


I just said to throw them pop ups and gradually increase distance and height until they are far enough to start hitting to them. Lots of repetition.

Any other good ways?

[skipper5]

Hawikrock,
You didn't mention what age.

To me, here's the crux of it: to get better at something, you have to do a lot of it. If you make flyballs a major part of your practice or pre-game routine, how many is each boy really going to get over the course of a season? 25, 100? Will that really make a difference? If not, work on a part of their game where you will get a large rate of marginal improvement for time expended.

For young kids, by far the best way get the quickest improvement on fly-balls is to have a strong-armed athletic coach hit them massive nos. of massively high tennis balls with a tennis racket.

Even if you could hit them this high with a hardball, you'd have too many broken noses.

I did this many many times with my sons in the front yard,--they loved it-- and for 12u rec I always tried to bring racket/balls for sky-hi pops for the kids who weren't batting in the cage during pre-game BP (I hit them straight up in the air in the patch of grass next to the cage.).

Since I'm not a complete idiot, I do comprehend that tennis balls off a racket aren't the same as a live hardball off a bat. But believe me, the skill transfers from one to the other.

If you're talking about teenagers, if they haven't mastered this by now, I'd punt and work on something else.

[hawkiirock]

that sounds good. There are 2-3 on the LL team who will have to play outfield. I would guess they are 11 years old with little skills. I agree with repetition and the tennis balls is a good idea to get more height etc w/o injury

Thanks

[sid17]

I love the tennis ball popup drill. I used to do it by myself all the time, glove on one hand, racquet in the other. It gets pretty tough between the spin of the ball and the wind. One thing to keep in mind is that if you catch the tennis ball in the good part of your glove it bounces out a lot, causing kids to catch it in the web and fingers more, which you don't really want with a regular baseball.

[Ursa Major]

A couple of thoughts to add to the very good ones already posted.

Kids at that age know that being put into the outfield is usually 'Siberia' and a testament to lack of skill, and their motivation level can dip commensurately. Make outfield play important!

Spend some time talking about the importance of it - devote time to positioning, backing up, where to make the play.

Put your better players out in centerfield regularly and have them act like they like it and have them talk with the side outfielders while they're warming up. Conversely, try to make sure everyone rotates into the infield at least once in awhile. Putting your weak players at third base when one of your fast pitchers is facing the bottom of the other team's order is usually safe, because weak righties are unlikely to get around on the ball, but at least the kid will have the experience of warming up and stationing himself in the infield a little.

A lot of the trouble kids have at that age is positioning themselves while the ball is in the air and refusing to move their feet to adjust when the ball (whether because of wind, spin or initial misjudgment) ends up elsewhere. Have fly ball drills where you keep points based on catches, but give more points for catches in the middle of the body, and few points for what appear to be great one-handed catches where they're leaping or diving for balls that they should have been able to get in front of. It sometimes helps to require kids to catch the ball in a position to throw it (i.e., in front of their throwing shoulder with their throwing-side leg slightly back) gives them a reason to be in a good position to catch the ball and to have their throwing hand near the glove to keep the ball from popping out, and the focus on being in throwing position is more likely to get them to keep their feet moving to adjust to the ball's flight.

Also, an alternative to using tennis balls is a softer ball (SoftStrike, Incredi-ball, T-ball). While they too are soft and may pop out of a glove, they're heavier than tennis balls and so won't be so susceptible to being blown around by the wind, if they hit a body part they won't do significant damage.

And, as is noted, there's no substitute for practice, practice, practice so that judging the ball becomes second nature and that good form becomes so natural that a kid will feel 'naked' if he's doing something wrong. Weak example: pictured below is a screen cap of the instant that Ursa Minor caught a can of corn fly ball in left field to end a game last week; no drama or fancy 'snatching' of the ball -- just a two-hand catch with his feet positioned to make a throw even though no one was on base. The head in the right foreground is the third base coach, who after seeing UM's approach to the ball, is resigned to the catch being made and is already walking off the field.
http://s95294420.onlinehome.us/userfiles/UrsaCatchSeals.jpg

[LAball]

progressive HIGH , Long distance (HR length), tennis balls

[hawkiirock]

good info here.. The centerfielder is solid and I did go out there and tell him to talk to the corner guys and remind them to back up every single play. I am not coaching at all but did offer to hit flys and stuff during practice or to take a station.

I like the 3b when faster pitcher is going. I did that some when I was coaching. However, this coach I believe is gonna stick with certain positions. He stated he wants guys to learn a bit about every position but get really good at one. That is gonna be his approach according to his info. he handed out

[Digger]

In addition to some of the suggestions already mentioned, you may want to do some drills dedicated to teaching how to get the hips turned for balls hit over their heads. Younger players have a tendancey to backpeddle.

[rkbenn]

IMO, more reps to improve judgement. Drills are not going to help with Judgement. Drills work for technic, footwork, and glove work.

Pre season and during, my son gets at least 300 popups a week. We also work on technic, twice a week for 10 minutes.

[hawkiirock]

Very true but not sure these 2 or 3 will reach that point in this short amount of time or not. Coach has already addressed not back pedaling but that isn't the problem. He can hit a pop up and they come running in while it goes over their heads lol. Same with gap hits. They have no idea how to take an angle to cut it off

The CF is a 12 year old who is pretty speedy. I am guessing he will be very busyIn addition to some of the suggestions already mentioned, you may want to do some drills dedicated to teaching how to get the hips turned for balls hit over their heads. Younger players have a tendancey to backpeddle.

[Dakai]

I use the pitching machine with dimple balls or real balls. The players get a bucket full each. Its one of my stations in practice and only uses a small chunk of the field. I can launch balls from CF (in our bullpen) to kids standing near the fence in RF. That thing will toss a ball 300 feet in the air and I never get tired of feeding it.

Repetition, its how we learn!

[hawkiirock]

definitely agree with the repetitions. Not sure they have access to a pitching machine though. RIght now probably looking at hitting them tons of tennis balls. When i helped last weekend i just brought them in and hit them soft popups off the bat over and over and over. By the end they were catching some that went right to them but still weren't judging well. These kids obviously have never been worked with

[baseballdad]

Technique is as important as repetition. Focus on techique with infield pop flys. We line the younger kids along the infield, the older kids 10 feet or so behind. One coach throws pop flys to players to the right of 2nd base, another coach to the other half. Focus on players calling the ball and technique. Gradually move them to outfield and then hitting the ball to them.

[jbolt_2000]

I don't know of any drills that help them learn to judge the ball besides repitition.

When I work the outfield I have a three station drills. My most frequently used are the following:

1) Basic fly ball in the middle, left and right. Player needs to get to the ball and camp under it with feet staggered ready to throw (pretty much like the pic Ursa Major has).

2) Drop Step drill. Player gets ready and I hit or throw the ball behind the player. They must drop step properly, run to the ball and set up their feet ready to throw. I usually hit them high so that the player has time to do what is proper. Too low and they just rush the play and end up back peddling or doing it incorrectly.

3) QB Drill - I dont know if this is how everyone else does the QB drill but this is how I do it. Have the player about 15-20 in front of me. I say "GO" and they start running away from me towards the fense. I yell "NOW" and throw to their left. As I say "Now", they look up for the ball and get set to catch the ball. I will do a few rounds to the left, then the right, then alternate between the two. This is one of the players favorite drills for outfield work.

I think the QB drill helps them judge the ball to some degree as they have to locate it quickly and get to it. Standing still and just hitting it to their left or right gives the players some feeling of comfort and subsequently causes some laziness as they feel they dont have to try hard to get to the ball. This 'comfort' usually leads to them just missing the ball by inches.

[RodCarew]

I don't know of any drills that help them learn to judge the ball besides repitition.

When I work the outfield I have a three station drills. My most frequently used are the following:

1) Basic fly ball in the middle, left and right. Player needs to get to the ball and camp under it with feet staggered ready to throw (pretty much like the pic Ursa Major has).
2) Drop Step drill. Player gets ready and I hit or throw the ball behind the player. They must drop step properly, run to the ball and set up their feet ready to throw. I usually hit them high so that the player has time to do what is proper. Too low and they just rush the play and end up back peddling or doing it incorrectly.

3) QB Drill - I dont know if this is how everyone else does the QB drill but this is how I do it. Have the player about 15-20 in front of me. I say "GO" and they start running away from me towards the fense. I yell "NOW" and throw to their left. As I say "Now", they look up for the ball and get set to catch the ball. I will do a few rounds to the left, then the right, then alternate between the two. This is one of the players favorite drills for outfield work.

I think the QB drill helps them judge the ball to some degree as they have to locate it quickly and get to it. Standing still and just hitting it to their left or right gives the players some feeling of comfort and subsequently causes some laziness as they feel they dont have to try hard to get to the ball. This 'comfort' usually leads to them just missing the ball by inches.

Not to nitpick here.. but I teach our outfielders to catch the ball near their throwing shoulder.. so the transfer from Glove to throwing hand is quicker.

The picture Ursa is showing has the fielder catching the fly ball over the glove side shoulder.

[jbolt_2000]

Not to nitpick here.. but I teach our outfielders to catch the ball near their throwing shoulder.. so the transfer from Glove to throwing hand is quicker.

The picture Ursa is showing has the fielder catching the fly ball over the glove side shoulder.

True - I feel the ball should be caught with the glove (and throwing hand) by the throwing side shoulder. I emphasize that with my more experienced players and focus on the feet for the younger players. Too many I see standing flat footed and taking several second to throw the ball in. I find that the delay is caused by the feet/body position (and the throwing hand down at their side).

But I agree, it should be caught on their throwing side if possible.

[rkbenn]

Not to nitpick here.. but I teach our outfielders to catch the ball near their throwing shoulder.. so the transfer from Glove to throwing hand is quicker.

The picture Ursa is showing has the fielder catching the fly ball over the glove side shoulder.

I have to disagree. I believe it is easier to judge the ball when you catch glove hand side. Dosen't the glove get in the way of your view? Additionally, you're not playing infield, so you don't need to be that quick transferring the ball. Plus if you can't transfer the ball from the glove on a crow hop, you got problems.

[Ursa Major]

Not to nitpick here.. but I teach our outfielders to catch the ball near their throwing shoulder.. so the transfer from Glove to throwing hand is quicker.

The picture Ursa is showing has the fielder catching the fly ball over the glove side shoulder.Bear in mind that the original question was how to help kids catch the ball, my point was that the pictured player was catching the ball with his feet in the right position to make the throw and he was using two hands (even though there was no one on base and no need to make the throw) -- the instinct to have his body in the right position and to use two hands had been built into him. While the photo may be misleading and I think he actually caught the ball pretty close to the middle of his body, if he had been setting up for an actual throw, he would have been concentrating on catching the ball a little more on the throwing side. Even so, I think so long as a player catches the ball between his shoulders, there's plenty of time while he takes his crowhop to to bring the ball to the throwing side.

[skipper5]

For the weaker youth rec players, I'm happy if they can catch a flyball at all, regardless of where they hold their glove. If they do it ugly, I'm OK with that.

Nor do I think it's important to insist on proper glove position for the talented youth players. It's not rocket surgery--if they watch a single game on TV, they've got the idea. If styling is more important to them than perfect form, let them style.

In terms of mechanics, it's one of the areas of the game where the coaches can lighten up.

For the youth players, if and when they play in HS, as long as they catch the catchable balls in the OF, and crush the ball at the plate, their glove position on fly-balls won't keep them out of the line-up. Similar to basketball--if the best foul shooter on your HS team has funky form, do you change him?

[baseballdad]

In terms of mechanics, it's one of the areas of the game where the coaches can lighten up.

I see majority of missed fly ball catches by young players because of bad mechanics. The player doesn't get under the ball and tries to reach for the catch, running with their glove up or they get there and catch the ball behind their head or basket catches in their laps. Poor mechanics = inconsistent results. Start teaching them the right way with easy pop flies and work towards the long fly balls.

[Jake Patterson]

When teaching fly balls to youngsters I have found a two wheel pitching machine to be invaluable. The beauty is repeatability. You can start with tennis balls, move to Incredaballs (although they won't last long with the machine) and finally to hard balls. You can adjust the height in which it throws the ball and you can move the players starting spot to teach scenerios, i.e. in, out, left, right, etc...

I have found that half the problem when teaching fly balls is coaches being inconsistent when hitting/throwing. This adds to the players anxiety when learning.

[skipper5]

I see majority of missed fly ball catches by young players because of bad mechanics. The player doesn't get under the ball and tries to reach for the catch, running with their glove up or they get there and catch the ball behind their head or basket catches in their laps. Poor mechanics = inconsistent results. Start teaching them the right way with easy pop flies and work towards the long fly balls.

I'm glad you've had success over the years with spending a lot of time with the weaker rec players (the bottom third) on fly-ball fundamentals, and then seeing it carry over into games, and then carrying over into the ensuing years of their rec careers.

I haven't had this kind of success, but not for lack of trying. I now concentrate our practice time--which is limited-- on skills that offer the greatest marginal rate of return on time invested.

I agree, Jake, re using a machine for flyball reps. It's worth a lot of effort (generators, 300 ft of ext. cords) to do so. Once it's set-up, an un-athletic parent-helper can feed the machine, leaving you free to teach other skills.

I recommend the Atec Supersoft dimple balls, which are relatively similar to the regular dimple balls, but only result in bloody noses instead of broken noses, which is good for rec ball.

edited: By saying practice time is limited, I mean that it's finite, no matter how many hours you have per season.

[virg]

Fielders at any position must move on their toes to follow the ball well. Your infielders already do; many of the others do not. Good gloves seem to glide; others run flatfooted, some even on their heels. This is a controlling factor in tracking and judging fly balls. Get them on their toes

[korp]

A drill called touchdown tommies ... basically just like running football patterns and the coach throws it. Might want to use a tennis ball or softer ball if they aren't great at catching them in the beginning so nobody gets hurt.

[benz99]

I sometimes use this type of sling shot, it throws perfect flyballs wherever you want them. I got mine in the pet department of Menards for 20 bux & it is the same as the Easton launcher

http://www.weplaysports.com/baseball/training/aid/