Catching A Fly Ball
| Catching a fly ball is one of the most difficult skills of all
for a young player to learn. This is mainly because of a child's underdeveloped
hand-eye coordination and their fear of being hit on the head by a
ball falling out of the sky. While all players will have to catch
fly balls from time to time, it's a skill mainly done by outfielders.
Try to get your players to think of fly balls as thrown balls that just go a little to high. That alone won't ensure all fly balls will be caught, but it will help your players get over the mental block fly balls can cause. To often in youth softball, coaches think they should put their worst players in the outfield because there aren't many balls hit out there. This is one of the worst things you can do as a coach because it tells young kids that if they are in the outfield they're lousy. How is a young player supposed to believe in themselves if they know right off the bat that you don't believe in them? Coach, don't fall into the trap that so many other coaches do by assuming your worst players should play outfield. Work with your players on the following Fly Ball Basics and give them a chance to develop this skill and really enjoy playing in the outfield. The Basics of Catching a Fly Ball
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