im scared to catch groundballs?

Question

i play baseball for bout 3 years now. and i hate catching ground balls. i always misjudge them. im afraid to try and catch them cause they might bounce up and hit me in the face. any advice not to be scared of the ball and learn how to catch the groundball

Answer 1

well i played softball so ill give you my advice, put the tip of your glove on the ground so the ball just rolls in but be ready with your throwing hand to cover the ball. it should really come natural. but the only way to get over your fear and make yourself better is to practice! I am surprised that you are afraid of ground balls, i was afraid of the pop up balls, especially when it was sunny, lol.

Answer 2

one thing you can do is to take a bunch of ground balls in practice using tennis balls. Since tennis balls are softer you have nothing to fear, at worst it might sting slightly if it hits you. You will develop technique and fielding the ball will become habit. Once fielding a ground ball is natural, you can switch to using real baseballs, you will get over your fear because you will have the confidence which comes from having successfully fielded so many balls already.

On bouncing balls that get to you after a few buonces but aren't skimming the ground, watch the bounces, move in or out on the ball (preferably in whenever possible) so that you field the ball when its on its way down, not right after a bounce. This way if the ball takes a bad hop you have the most time to adjust, if you are fielding it right after a bounce you have the least time to react to a bad hop.

Make sure you wear a cup to protect yourself.

You could also ask the coach to move you to 2nd base if you are currently playing 3rd or SS. At 2nd you can play deeper since the throw is shorter and the balls don't get hit as hard. The combination of extra distance and softer hit balls will make the grounders much easier to field.

Answer 3

There are 3 basic hits; grounders, line drives, and fly balls. Obviously those types determine where the position of your glove should generally be. If the hit ends up being a grounder the most important thing is to have you glove on the ground and then move accordingly. Then, after u determine that it is a grounder judge it; play the hops (try to catch a hop on the climax or when its at the bottom of the hop). Also, keep your eye on the ball and catch it with your throwing hand wrist hovering over the glove so if it bounces it wouldn't hit you.
Obviously it seems like im saying to you how to catch a grounder, well that is partially true, but if you do what I say you'll be fine. Plus you have to have the confidence, if you got to be fake so be it, just believe or say you can catch a grounder.

Answer 4

Honestly I think to a point everyone is. Its all mental. Once you start thinking about it too much then you "pucker" Before the play, think to yoruself, that ball is being hit to me, when its hit to you, charge the ball, keep your butt down, chest out, glove down, watch the ball all the way. If it hits you in the chest, good, it means you were in front of it. But you stopped it and can still throw the guy out. IF you go to the side you'll act like a bull fighter and OLE the ball and prolly miss it. Yea there will be bad hops sometimes and you might get a bruise but its only temporary. The pain will wear off once the guy gets thrown out. OH, and always wear your cup!

Answer 5

i used to be like that as well. The only thing that helped was that I made sure my glove always touched the ground when scooping up the ball. Keep your eye on the ball and watch it all the way as it goes into the glove. Being scared is only mental and if you have proper technique the ball will hardly ever bounce and hit your face. Good luck.

Answer 6

All you have to do is not think about it man. Play like you been playing for three years. Trust me if you think about getting hit in the face with the ball all it will do is mess up your game. I had the same problem when i came back to play in high school i couldn't stop thinking i misjudge a line ball which happened and i got a black eye for a couple of weeks. BRUISES HEAL!

Answer 7

Think of the ball as your enemy, and it wants to hit you in the face. You can stand there and let it hit you in the face, or you can charge it and scoop it up in your glove. Being scared and timid is what is causing all your problems. Start with someoen throwing you ground balls, and work your way up to someone hitting them, and you will be doing great in no time. Also, catch them after they have bounced, not as they hit the ground.

Answer 8

It sounds like the store is being pretty decent. They're not pressing charges. They've just asked that you not come back. Do your best to avoid the store. If you have to go back with your mother, maybe you could tell her you'd rather just wait out in the car and read a book (or listen to your iPod or do homework or whatever). If you have to go in, just keep a low profile. Stick close to your mother and look down more than up. Or, depending upon your mother, you could just 'fess up. It was stupid what you did, but it's not the worst thing ever. You're not about to become a teen parent and you're not doing drugs. Tell her it was stupid and you've learned your lesson. Be prepared to suffer some consequences. Just because you 'fessed up doesn't mean she's got to let you off without a punishment. Man up (or woman up) and take it.

Answer 9

Yeah I too had to play outfield because I couldn't handle hard hit grounders, I also thought about them coming up and hitting me in the face. I had that fear of the ball ever since I was hit in the head with a pitch in a game when I was 10. It kind of faded as I got older, but I never could play the infield again.

Answer 10

Start by using softer balls, then as you gain confidence, work towards harder balls. You'll find the more scared you are, the more you will get hit. My advice is to just keep your glove on the ground. If it pops up, it will hit you in the chest, which doesn't hurt that bad.