VRHS_softball_journal_combined

‘FIND THE ANGLE’ The 1st step we take is the most important. It determines the aggressive angle that is needed to properly field a ground ball and puts us in a position to eventually gain momentum towards our target. Recognizing the right angle once contact is made crucial to get into a fielding position. Think of your 1st step as a trigger. Crucial on a glove side ground ball. ‘WORK HARDER THAN THE SOFTBALL’ Your success with fielding ground balls relies entirely on how hard you want to work between the 1st step and fielding the ball. Working harder than the softball means attacking, getting around, and finding the ‘focus’ point. If we allow the ball too much time, it becomes the enemy. ‘GAINING GROUND’ Your hands are the trigger for gaining ground. Once your hands have made contact with the ball, cross step towards the target. Fundamentally, we want to step in front with our right leg on a cross step, but the big thing is getting comfortable with gaining ground. ‘PUSH VS. GIVE’ Any ball we get, should involve a push. Any ball that gets us on our heels, or the one we have to defend should involve some give. Remember, whether performing a push or a give, we are only talking a split second of glove movement. Anything longer results in too much time spent with the ball in your glove. Long hops/ in-between hops require some give, whereas any short hop in any situation must be pushed.

WILDCATS SOFT BALL (Defensive Drills)

12:1PICKS “For every 12 picks in practice, you get 1 in the game”