Five Recommended Girls' Softball Drills

We’ve compiled this list of our five favorite softball drills for youth players. This collection of videos features several different youth softball coaches teaching a variety of fundamental game skills such as throwing, fielding, and hitting. The first drill, Throwing With Balance, highlights the importance of weight transfer during the throwing motion. Coach Ricciardi does a fantastic job of demonstrating how a simple weight shift from the player’s back leg to her front leg can help improve balance and generate more power.

The next video, Backhand Fielding Drill, is great for helping youth softball players build confidence in fielding ground balls. In youth softball, it’s common for errors to occur when a player has to reach across her body with the glove hand to field a hit or thrown ball. All position players can benefit from learning how to make a backhand play when there is insufficient time to adjust their body positioning.

In the same way, Fly Ball Drill teaches the all-important skill of how to catch a pop-up or fly ball. Youth softball players often struggle with a fear of balls that are hit into the air. However, by using the hand placement and glove positioning tips shown in this video, infielders and outfielders can give themselves the best possible chance to make the play.

Hitting is perhaps the most exciting part of youth softball. In order to be a consistent hitter, young players must learn how to keep their eye on the ball. We love the Numbered-Ball Hitting Drill because it’s a fun drill that lets the batter practice training her eyes to follow a moving target.  When it comes to game situations, this skill will help hitters to make better contact with the ball and to improve in pitch recognition.
 
The series concludes with another one of our youth softball favorites, the Angle Toss Hitting Drill. This video demonstrates proper hand positioning for swinging a softball bat. Use this drill to teach batters how to keep their hands inside of the ball to increase bat speed and to avoid getting jammed by the inside pitch. Before beginning, make sure that the "tosser" is sufficiently angled and distanced away from the hitter.