turning your head or ball shy

Question
I am looking for drills or help on how to stop or limit the turning of the head on short hops from either throwing or from a hit ball that I can use to help my daugter. She just turned 15 and has been playing competitive ball for two years. A few months ago she was hit in the side of the head on a bad hop and has been somewhat gunshy since. Thank you for your help.  

Answer
Hello Tom

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

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.

Hit some soft ground balls to her and tell her to count the hops it took. This drill helps her to keep her eye on the ball. Have her 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 have her 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