Many softball players believe that practice always involves doing things that aren’t fun. However, there are many fun softball practice drills that can be done. Not only are these drills fun but they’re also beneficial. Three such drills are – Knock Barney off the Can, Pickle, and Beat the Ball.
Knock Barney off the Can
This drill involves hitting a stuffed Barney (the purple dinosaur some kids love) off of a garbage can that’s turned upside down. A player stands about 50 feet from Barney and all the other players line-up behind her.
The coach should then hit a grounder to that player. That player has to field the ball and then try to hit Barney with the throw. A little prize can be awarded to any player who is successful.
Of course there can be many other fun softball practice drills that are similar to this but use a different object or a different stuffed animal. As long as it works on a player’s fielding and throwing accuracy the drill will work great.
Pickle
For this drill players need to be divided into groups of three. In each group there will be a runner and two fielders. The fielders will line-up on bases that are placed up to sixty feet apart. The runner will begin on one of the bases.
Then the fielders will first throw a grounder to each other and then a pop fly to each other. During one of the four turns (two grounders and two pop flies), the runner has to try to advance to the other base.
Once the runner gets thrown out three times or steals three bases, the runner becomes a fielder and one of the fielders becomes the runner.
This drill gives the runner practice trying to steal a base and it helps the fielders work on fielding grounder and pop flies, throwing, and applying a tag.
Beat the Ball
This drill needs to be done on the base pads. The catcher lines-up behind the plate with a ball and a player takes each base. Then a player starts at the plate and will run around all the bases.
On the coach’s signal, the runner takes off. Meanwhile, the catcher must throw the ball to third base, receive a throw back, throw the ball to second base, receive the ball back, and then throw to first. The first basemen will then throw the ball back to the catcher, receive the throw back and then throw to each of the bases.
This continues until all 4 defensive players have taken their turn throwing to every base and home plate. This should happen before the runner makes it around the bases twice.
This fun softball drill helps work on every major facet of the game – running bases, catching, and throwing – except hitting.
Practice Can be Fun!
Practice doesn’t have to be boring and tough all the time. There are plenty of fun softball practice drills to add some excitement and entertainment. Most of these drills are beneficial too. Three such drills are Knock Barney Off the Can, Pickle, and Beat the Ball.