coaching up

Question
I am 13-14 pony league coach of recreational baseball. I spent the last 3 years assisting, and due to need, head coached for fall ball.

I have 5 players on my team that are very good.Due to age, I mainly have to concentrate on getting them to focus and stop goofing around. I want them to have fun, but fun learning and playing baseball. I do not want to turn practice into boot camp though, or should I? The remaining players require a fair amount of coaching up to improve their skill level. They range from fair to poor, which is fine. The issue is that at least 3 of them are scared of the ball(hard throws, line drives,and ground balls). Also, I can repeat and repeat and demonstrate,and do drills, but they make the same errors (turning head shying form ball, not centering up, not putting gloves all the way down, running towards fly balls with their gloves outstretched and last minute "stabbing" at the ball). I have one player that has been hit by the ball by either a ground ball hop or line drive in every practice and game. I have decided that until I can coach him up, I should not play him on infield.

1.) How do I help these fearful players?
2.) How do I get them to actually CHANGE what they're doing? I instruct them, show them, drill them, then when we take the field to either practice infield or a game, and they do the same thing.
3.) I am very competitive person, winning is not all, but TRYING is very important to me. I want them to be better players at the end of the season than when we started.

I am open to philosophical as well as mechanical suggestions. Thanks!

Answer
Hey Andy,
Unfortunately, I have answered the question about fearful players many times. (Check at my archived questions).
Some players will never get it.. If they are still afraid of the ball at 13 years old, then baseball is not the sport for them. It's like teaching a dog to meow..
Some players just can't do it.. You can start by hitting them tennis balls instead of league balls. This may help. Have them play fast ball against a factory wall, using a tennis ball.
OR
They may improve if you throw slower pitches and hit softer grounders, but it won't help them much in a game. Have them come out early and stay late. Have an older high school player work with the player one on one.  You can't do much more for them.. I'm sure you have been out early with them already..
Don't make it a boot camp. That won't be fun for you or them..
Good Luck..
Dennis