Teaching Fly Balls to a 9yo

Start him in close (10') to work on his drop step (first step) with a tennis ball. Have him turn with his back to you, then ask him to turn around as you toss the ball to his left, right or straight back. This forces him to make that first drop step in a direction. Because his back was to you, he can't cheat to one side or the other. If you really want to get fancy, you can video tape him and show him on a replay.

Also, using a tennis ball may relieve some of the fear of getting hit in the head for the younger kids.

Completely elementary but...

Make sure you are using balls he is not afraid of to practice with (tennis balls, safety baseballs). Keep the height fairly easy and gradually increase. Every once in a while, get one much higher. When he starts asking for the high ones, you know he's going to get it.

NO RUSH. KEEP IT FUN. Some kids get it early. Some get it late. Some don't. But they all want to have fun being out there.

And it never hurts to repeat that "the first step is always back...."

9-10 is about the age they start figuring it out. You can hit the tennis ball with a racket once you are ready to move to higher popups. ANother good techingue is using a pitching machine to consistantly lob the ball into the spot you want to work on, it gives the player some confidence as to where the ball is going and you can work on one direction for a period of time.

I don't know if this works, but I read (maybe on here) about someone who taught kids how to catch fly balls by using soft balls (not softballs hahaha) and having the kids try to let the ball hit them in the top of the head. Once they got that down, it was easy to teach them how to simply raise their arms to catch the ball. Who knows if that will work but maybe something to think about.

Tennis balls and start out low as many have suggested. Gradually increase and above all make it fun.

I have read that many don't develop or grasp this till 12 or so, stick with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
I don't know if this works, but I read (maybe on here) about someone who taught kids how to catch fly balls by using soft balls (not softballs hahaha) and having the kids try to let the ball hit them in the top of the head. Once they got that down, it was easy to teach them how to simply raise their arms to catch the ball. Who knows if that will work but maybe something to think about.

Now you tell me to use soft balls, not softballs. No wonder he never liked this part of our practice sessions.

I taught young kids how to catch fly balls from every angle using the pitching machine as a cannon. The kids knew approximately where the ball would come down. It allowed them to focus on the fundamentals on how to approach the ball.

Before my son turned 9, I started playing a game with him called the "football drill." Had him stand about five or ten feet in front of me, facing me with ball in hand. I'd call "hike," he'd toss the ball to me, drop step and run a post pattern. I'd throw the ball high, up, and out over his shoulder causing to him the have to adjust his run to catch the ball running away from me. I now use the drill with my Bronco-aged kids. They find it fun and noone is bummed to have to play in the outfield.

The coach my son plays for now runs a warm-up drill called "over-the-shoulders" which is essentially the same thing. FWIW, the kid tracks balls quite well.