Drills
8U softball drills
8U softball drills with video, setup and coaching points, grouped by skill: 4 drills for this age group.
At 8U players are ready for a little more speed and a little more thinking: fielding a ball on the move, throwing to a base instead of just to a partner, and running hard through first. Keep the groups small and the lines short, and turn the basics into a game so the reps add up.
- Football fielding drill — A coach rolls or bounces a mini-football at the fielders, and its odd shape sends it off in directions nobody can predict. Players learn to keep their feet moving, read the last hop and get in front of a bad bounce.
- Four corners fielding drill — One fielder in the middle handles a ground ball, a line drive, a long hop and a short hop in a row from four teammates, then rotates out. A quick, indoor-friendly way to work every kind of ball an infielder sees.
- Goalie fielding drill — A young fielder guards a small goal marked on the ground and tries to stop every ground ball a coach rolls at it. It turns fielding into a game and teaches kids to move their feet and get in front of the ball.
- One knee throwing drill — Players throw to a partner from one knee, which takes the legs out of the throw so they can work on the arm path, reaching toward the target and finishing with the chest over the front knee.