help!!!

Question
I play 14u competitive fastpitch and im scared of grounders. How do I get passed this fear. Help Please

Answer
Hello Amanda

Remove the fear with face protection and practice using good fielding techniques to build confidence.

Here is a drill that will help remove some of the fear by building confidence. Buy a few cheap tennis balls or rag balls. Start down on one knee in a fielder's stance without a glove. Have someone about 15 feet from you roll the tennis balls or rag balls at different speeds on the ground and you catch them with both hands. Later stand up in a normal fielding position with a glove and have the thrower move back a few feet do different things like bouncing the balls at different speeds and hop rates. Then alternate rolling, bouncing, and throwing. Practice attacking the ball and moving left to right.

 I had a fielder that played short stop that never had a bad hop. The reason she never had a bad hop is because always attacked the ball by charging it.

Charging the ball allows the fielder to play the ball, instead of letting it play the fielder. Bad hops frequently can be prevented by getting to the ball before it has a chance to change direction. Look the Ball Into the Glove. Concentrating on the ball all the way into the glove encourages keeping the glove down and avoids letting the ball play the fielder.

Have someone hit you some soft ground balls and count the hops the ball took. Practice fielding the ball on the short hop (right as the ball hops). This drill will help you keep your eye on the ball. Practice stepping or moving to the ball and fielding the ball on a short hop. Slowly increase how hard the ball is hit. To help eliminate the fear of being hit by the ball wear a batting helmet w/ face mask during practice.

There are also protective masks that can be worn during game play to help remove being hit by the ball fear. Example: www.gameface.com