i have a friend who is starting softball with me and she is not very good at softball. where should she play?

Question

im working with her everyday to help her get better at catching the ball and throwing.

Answer 1

It sounds to me like she is very young and she should have a chance to play every position so she can experience the game of baseball. When you are young it is not always about winning and she should have some fun when she is playing.

Answer 2

Well, right field is generally the place that the weakest players play. You might also consider the 4th outfield position, since she'd be more backing someone else up rather than fielding all on her own.

I know a lot of times people will stick a bad player behind the plate in softball. In slow-pitch, you don't need to catch every pitch directly. There's also no area to roam around and defend, so you don't have to be a good judge of where a batted ball is going to go. You do have to throw the ball back to the pitcher on a lot of pitches, but it's not a throw where there is any pressure like say a throw from SS to 1B. There's rarely an opportunity where the catcher will have to try and throw someone out either. The catcher also isn't going to have to back-up other positions very often either. Then, if she misses a throw to the catcher, the backstop is there to help.

Now personally, the reason I don't like this strategy is two-fold. First, most throws home are coming in pretty hard, and someone who isn't a very good catch risks getting hurt trying to field these throws. Second, you want someone at catcher who has a good glove in order to catch all those throws home, to prevent runs from scoring. This is not as important as safety, especially in a casual league, but it is still a reason.

So I'd say RF or the 4th outfielder. In slow pitch, most hitters who are going to put the ball in the outfield are going to get ahead on the pitch and pull it, and since most people are righties, that means most of the flies to the OF are going to be left of center. It's a lot of ground to cover, but she'll have fewer opportunities to mess up, which should help boost confidence.

Answer 3

Probably in the outfield, have her play deep so she won't have to worry about missing the ball. Tell the middle infield to get out to cut off her throw so she won't throw that far b/c she isn't that good yet. Don't put her at catcher b/c there is a lot of responsibility involved (not calling your friend irresponsible) and more than throwing to the pitcher and catching 50-60-70 MPH pitches.

Answer 4

Catcher. She is less likely to get hurt and should not hurt the team. If the team is really competitive the catcher is much more important and you should put her in right field with a strong center or rover to back her up. Also as a catcher she gets to touch the ball more in non-critical situations which will make her more comfortable. Really practice catching throws from the shortstop with her too.

Answer 5

The bench until she improves. What you are doing with her is good. Through that you will see if she has a strong arm and accuracy as well as reflexes. Then you will be able to find out which spot would fit her level better and develop it.

Answer 6

Will she can play out field bc some times balls don't get hit out there that much so it will be ok .......

Answer 7

catcher. cause hse doesnt really have to do anything as long as the batter is hitting the ball.

Answer 8

right field?