my parents were really over protective of me when i was younger so they wouldn’t let me join any sports. im in high school now and i would really like to play softball. i always like it. i barely made the team last year but i would like to be way better so i can wow the coaches and the players. how can i get better at hitting and catching? and is there anything else i need to know to be a better player?
I also play softball. I would recommend getting some private lessons, that way you’ll be able to have help in recognizing your your strengths and weaknesses and fixing them. Plus, here are some tips I can give.
In-fielding used to be one of my biggest weaknesses. I play 3rd base and I used to sometimes flinch when a ball was hit to me. A mask is a good thing that will make your face feel protected and make you more confident, because it really is only your face you need to worry about. Try having ground balls hit to you a lot. Work on back-hands, line-drives, (I found line-drives easier since it seemed like someone was just throwing you a ball) bunts, choppers, and regular ground balls. Even try to do some diving plays. With some time and practice you’ll know it all like the back of your hand.
Out-fielding is pretty easy if you know what you’re doing. If you know your going to be burned, just turn around and start running hard, glancing up at the ball once or twice to see where it is and if you might be able to make a diving play or catch it. When your running for a pop fly, be sure to keep your glove tucked to your side till your under it. Don’t run with your glove in the air, it slows you down and weakens your chances of getting to the ball. When your in the outfield make sure to use a big arm motion so that the ball will travel farther, where as in the infield you throw it will a small arm motion. When you’re doing a do-or-die, (if you are right-handed) be sure to field the ball close to the left of your left foot, then do a crow-hop and throw it.
Base-running is pretty complex. Be smart on the bases, but don’t be afraid to run into a tag. When your on the base, make sure to check the outfielders so that if the batter hits a pop fly out to the outfield, you’ll have an idea of whether you should tag up or not. One of my favorite lead-off technique is when you take your lead on 1st to run hard with your head down like your gonna steal, but then stop suddenly so that it has the other team all frazzled up. If the catcher’s throwing it to first then take off for 2nd base, and if she throws it to 2nd get back to first. If she runs at you though, you’ll have to make a decision of where your gonna go. Make sure to keep an eye on the other teams catcher to see how smart and good she is. There are lots of other different Base-running techniques, and I wont be able to list all of them, so talk to your coach about some, or your private lesson couch if you get one.
Hitting is a big thing in softball. If you can hit you will play. Look fastball and react change-up is what my couch tells us. Try to recognize the spin of the ball when it comes out of her hand. That will give you the heads up of whether it will be a curve, change-up, drop, ect. Make sure that when you take your step to balance your weight on both legs, not more on the right and less on the left. Try to hit through the ball, dont roll-over, that will result in a chopper. If your a righty, make sure to lead with your left hand and get full extention. When you swing dont just use the power of only your hands and arms, but be sure to also turn your hips so that you can have full power in your swing. There are more things to know, but your couch will help you with the rest. Hitting takes some practice and time, and you have to be really dedicated to getting better, but if you keep it up you will get better. A thing that I do is that my parents videotape me when I’m hitting at games, and it shows me what I’m doing wrong and what I need to work on.
Hope that helped. Good Luck!
jus practice. getting ground balls and pop flys would help to with your feilding
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been playin baseball for almost 10 years
I hear ya. My parents didnt let me play sports either until last year when I played basketball for my middle school. I want to play again this year, and also potentially play either football or baseball next year but I think it may be too late. I will answer your question so please take time to answer mine. (Is there still time left for me to play baseball?)
If you want to become better at any sport, I suggest identifying your weaknesses and highlighting your strenghts. for example, are you fast but not a good hitter? try bunting often and stealing bases. Can you hit, but are you slow on the basepaths? attempt to hit into gaps so there is enough time for you to get on base. just keep practicing and eventually you will be good enough. good luck!
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I also play softball. I would recommend getting some private lessons, that way you’ll be able to have help in recognizing your your strengths and weaknesses and fixing them. Plus, here are some tips I can give.
In-fielding used to be one of my biggest weaknesses. I play 3rd base and I used to sometimes flinch when a ball was hit to me. A mask is a good thing that will make your face feel protected and make you more confident, because it really is only your face you need to worry about. Try having ground balls hit to you a lot. Work on back-hands, line-drives, (I found line-drives easier since it seemed like someone was just throwing you a ball) bunts, choppers, and regular ground balls. Even try to do some diving plays. With some time and practice you’ll know it all like the back of your hand.
Out-fielding is pretty easy if you know what you’re doing. If you know your going to be burned, just turn around and start running hard, glancing up at the ball once or twice to see where it is and if you might be able to make a diving play or catch it. When your running for a pop fly, be sure to keep your glove tucked to your side till your under it. Don’t run with your glove in the air, it slows you down and weakens your chances of getting to the ball. When your in the outfield make sure to use a big arm motion so that the ball will travel farther, where as in the infield you throw it will a small arm motion. When you’re doing a do-or-die, (if you are right-handed) be sure to field the ball close to the left of your left foot, then do a crow-hop and throw it.
Base-running is pretty complex. Be smart on the bases, but don’t be afraid to run into a tag. When your on the base, make sure to check the outfielders so that if the batter hits a pop fly out to the outfield, you’ll have an idea of whether you should tag up or not. One of my favorite lead-off technique is when you take your lead on 1st to run hard with your head down like your gonna steal, but then stop suddenly so that it has the other team all frazzled up. If the catcher’s throwing it to first then take off for 2nd base, and if she throws it to 2nd get back to first. If she runs at you though, you’ll have to make a decision of where your gonna go. Make sure to keep an eye on the other teams catcher to see how smart and good she is. There are lots of other different Base-running techniques, and I wont be able to list all of them, so talk to your coach about some, or your private lesson couch if you get one.
Hitting is a big thing in softball. If you can hit you will play. Look fastball and react change-up is what my couch tells us. Try to recognize the spin of the ball when it comes out of her hand. That will give you the heads up of whether it will be a curve, change-up, drop, ect. Make sure that when you take your step to balance your weight on both legs, not more on the right and less on the left. Try to hit through the ball, dont roll-over, that will result in a chopper. If your a righty, make sure to lead with your left hand and get full extention. When you swing dont just use the power of only your hands and arms, but be sure to also turn your hips so that you can have full power in your swing. There are more things to know, but your couch will help you with the rest. Hitting takes some practice and time, and you have to be really dedicated to getting better, but if you keep it up you will get better. A thing that I do is that my parents videotape me when I’m hitting at games, and it shows me what I’m doing wrong and what I need to work on.
Hope that helped. Good Luck!
References :