Teaches players to overcome ball fear by moving toward the ball instead of stepping back.
Equipment: bucket of balls, fence
Players needed: 1
1. Put the player with their back to a fence — usually fields have a fence along the field so there’s often plenty of fence — as in “the ball was hit over the fence…”.
2. Have the player start on their knees, no glove — just bare hands.
3. Start from two feet away and toss the ball underhand, just keep tossing and tossing.
4. Gradually get further away as the player gains confidence.
5. Have the player stand up. It’s a progression.
6. If you have to start with a giant beach ball, start with one. Do what it takes.
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**Coaching Notes**
This drill is critical for some players who are always taking a step back when you throw them a ball. I recommend one on one if possible. If you have a young team, put an assistant across from each player and toss them the ball.
The fence is magic as the player can’t go backward — so they can’t run away, so that reflex goes down.
If you have a T-ball team or single-A team, please do this all the time until there’s no flinch at all. They need to be moving toward the ball, not away from it.
Tell the kids they are SMART to be AFRAID — it’s a hard ball and it HURTS when you get hit. So fine. Then tell them they can protect themselves, and oh by the way, most of the time when you are hit with a ball you’ll be OK within a few minutes.
Ball fear is a very natural fear that humans have evolved over time — if someone throws a rock at you, you get out of the way. It can kill you, so it’s GOOD we have this natural tendency. It just complicates baseball. It can be overcome — it just takes time — but as a coach you can help them through it. You can chide them and say BE TOUGH, or you can come up with drills like this to gradually get them over it. And sure, I say plenty of BE TOUGH as well, as it certainly helps — growing a mindset where you are willing to go after your fears is, I think, a good thing.
I don’t see many baseball blogs or drills on ball fear as I think it’s just not talked about very much. I say let’s go after it. Let’s call it what it is and go after it with all our heart.
Do what it takes to go after the fear, because as long as players are afraid of the ball, they won’t hit much, they won’t catch much, and baseball is not going to be much fun.
If this drill helped your team move toward the ball, grab the free Quick Start Guide and let’s keep building confident players together.
