At the beginning of the season, players need to get back into the habit of a quick pace for everything they do in the game. This basic softball ground ball drill is perfect for the early practices in the season and for quick drills to get ready for a game. The key is that it needs to move quickly and the players need to be focused and on their toes.
Basic Softball Ground Ball Drill
Use indoor balls which are easier for developing the aggressiveness because the fear of getting hurt is less. Set up 2 lines with 2 coaches hitting balls to them.
Line #1 fields ground balls and must get the ball back to the coach quick as possible because the next ball gets hit to the next player as soon as the player releases the ball in throwing back to the coach.
Line #2 fields slow rollers and must get to the ball quickly and get it back to the coach because the next ball is rolled out to the next player as soon as the ball is released back to the coach.
Players go to the end of the other line after fielding. You may have to walk them through this part as sometimes for some reason it is confusing for them. Once they get the hang of it though the drill should run pretty fast.
This is a great drill just to get the players in the groove for fielding ground balls. I do not allow much time in between grounders so that the team stays on their toes and is ready for the next one right away. If there is too much time in between, then they are not on their toes and sharp because they might start talking or waiting for the ball which we don’t want.
