Ideas for teaching diving for the ball??

Wow, now I'm feeling left out. No one PM'd me..... :-/

I will be happy to send a PM to any of you who would like to receive one. Only nice replies to me though.

Diving for the ball!

Sliding and diving for the ball can be uncomfortable especially when not done properly and the experience of being injured can keep a player from ever trying it again, so getting it right the first time when teaching it will hopefully build confidence so they will try it again.

Have the player get into a push up position on the floor while wearing their fielding glove keeping the elbows more under you than in front of you so we can move forward. Have them get their butt a little higher in the air than would be normal if doing a regular push up. With both hands on the ground have them go a little backwards and up on their toes when they get their butt up.

Explain to them we are going to glide in like an airplane lands. We are not going to fall on our chest and bounce; we are going to go forward and down slowly arching our back up and using our ball throwing hand to propel our body forward.

Now have them lift up their glove hand and support their weight on their throwing hand and do what we term a crawler step and propel themselves forward and stretch out with their glove hand. We are using our ball throwing hand as a leverage point to allow our body to travel forward and down gently and our ball throwing hand will be at our side when we do the move forward. We also use this move for diving back to the bag.

An editorial point must be made at this time. Many of you have taught they must use two hands to catch the ball?good luck if you think they can do this diving for a ball with their glove hand outstretched. When trying to catch a ball and stretching out to catch it you can not put both hands in the glove while being completely stretched out doing it. This is why we say take the training wheels off after learning how to catch a ball and learn to catch the ball with your glove hand. At an NFCA convention Dr. Dot Richardson, Orthopedictic Surgeon, told us the person who came up with the alligator method of fielding the ball should be shot as she has to repair the broken fingers and torn ligaments from using this technique. She also pointed out you can not see the ball go into the glove with the hand over the top of the glove.

Now back to diving for the ball?.Any girl will tell you when this is not done correctly it hurts their chest and they aren?t too likely too try it again, so it is very important they realize the ball hand plays a major role in allowing the body to go down slowly at an angle so they don?t bounce and hit hard.

We teach this crawler move when we teach how to dive back into the bag so it is not a new move with our girls.

To keep repeating this push up move can not be over stated enough to get them to gain their confidence that they can control how they move forward and down at the same time.

Once they get over the initial fear of this, it isn?t that bad and we take them to the next step.

Have them get into a fielding position but a little lower and turn to the left and get lower into your push up position using your ball hand to lower yourself down. Don?t push them let them discover how they can get lower as they are moving downward. Then let them do it from a higher position while getting better.

When they go to dive for the ball emphasis? must be put on the left elbow leading and the right hand punching someone in the stomach or twisting and turning the mid section to get their momentum moving quickly and staying and getting lower to the ground smoothly. This gets the shoulders and hips moving in sequence to get into your push up / crawler position as you are getting your body lower while going down and forward/ sideways to the ground.

We incorporate this in our sliding technique when they can?t dive and they may be able to slide and catch the ball. The idea is not to get hurt and make the play and have fun while doing it.

I then get to a pre positioned point and have them go down to dive and I under hand them a ball. We do this on a concrete floor and they are surprised they can do it and it builds confidence that they will be able to do it on the grass or on an infield.

Once they get comfortable by going left then start them going right and build it from there.

Another point is making sure their glove strings are tight not loose. Some kids don?t understand they have a thumb lock and some gloves have a baby finger lock also. We encourage the girls because their hands and fingers are smaller, to try and put their baby finger and ring finger into the baby finger slot on the glove as we feel it gives you more control of the glove. All you need to do is move your thumb and you can trap the ball in the glove even when your hand is out stretched from your body. Just give it a try.

Howard Carrier

I guess this means no more pms.

i guess that makes me the anti-pm...too much info!
(maybe that should have been in a pm0
hey bear, i need my own board
"Statman's Silly Citations" or "Statman's Useless Info Board"
i expect to see it by the spring

;D

That's the beauty of this Board. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. Poor Howard; first they complain when he doesn't post the information for everyone. Now they complain when he does post it for everyone.

Man, theres always one in every crowd... :

If you knew Howard, you would know that he is one of the most selfless people you will ever meet. He only wants to help "his girls." I am thankful that my daughters are part of his family. His work speaks for itself, and we are fortunate that he is willing to share his incredible knowledge with us as he has in this thread.

I will not be reading this thread anymore. It isn't right to joke around about a man like Howard in the manner it is being done.

Amen, i think the "witty" comments go too far on here and get old fast.....

:'( was i complaining?
*where's that "get-a-life" bumper sticker when i need it

now THAT was a pm!
(not that everyone here will understand that reference, but anyways)

luv, thanks for the info, you know i can can get obnoxious (oh really?) from time to time, just feel free to slap me around...

Would anybody ever read it if you were given your own forum? LOL You better stick to the public threads for our mental welliness LOL

To get back on topic, diving is both technique and attitude. My DD learned to dive by playing a few years of competitive volleyball in 7th through 9th grade. Once you are trained to dive full out on a hard gym floor, diving in dirt and grass is easy.