More Footwork

Hey Dad36, Wecome to THE site!

Get a rope ladder and have him do drills to his weak side. That said he is probably a bit young to be doing intense drills. But there is nothing wrong with getting one set up that he can challange himself with on his own as he is motivated to do so...

Sounds to me like he's timing it instead of moving hard because he can see it better.

Hit him some grounders, tell him to go hard, when he catches it make it sound like he just won the world series, when he misses it tell him it's ok and he just tries again. He's 8 years old - let him enjoy it.

I'm not trying to minimize anything you're trying to do but in 10 years he will be leaving the house as a man. Enjoy the time he has now with the game because pretty soon it will get super intense if your son still wants to enjoy the game.

Excellent advice.

NDD- what do you mean "...timing it instead of moving hard because he can see it better."?

(I do appreciate the input regarding age and degree of seriousness. Playing flag football now, Y basketball in winter, then baseball in spring all with guidance of parents, but he will play any sport we let him. He is crazy about baseball and enjoys most drills. The kid wears me out hitting, throwing, wanting doing drills but I do love it 99% of the time.) Thanks!

The Kid used to hold back because he was timing to arrive at the spot at the same time as the ball. Unfortunately when they are young they underestimate a lot. He was lagging to the glove side because he was over-confident.

Repetition and more reps.

We used to bet burpees. If I hit it past him, he owed. If he made an outstanding play I payed.

Like Coach said, make a big deal out of good plays. Positive reinforcement works well. We also play game situations with favorite players. "Bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, two out. Shot to the hole! Junior scoops it up..." You'd be surprised what fun will to do results.

We do the same thing with BP. I am Nolan Ryan and he is himself in a few years.  Make a game out of the game, afterall it's a game.

I am also a huge believer in counting hops...

Wanted to get back and let you know that the burpee idea has been a good one for us too. We used it in the fall when we were throwing the football. If he dropped an easy one, he owed me a burpee. If he made a great catch, I owed him one. We added them up and did our burpees after we were through throwing. It made him focus more with the idea that you play like you practice.

Used it in baseball yesterday. I put a bucket on the second step of a step ladder at 1st base. Hit him grounders at SS for him to throw to 1st. When he hit the bucket, I owed him three burpees (upped the payback since the target was fairly small compared to what a live 1st baseman can grab) and when he threw it in the dirt, he owed me one. Very good workout. He wound up getting me to bet a tablespoon of Nutella and he won that also! Thanks again.