Softball Infield Practice Plan for 13 to 15 Year Olds

Exit speed is honest now and the clock never was generous. Control every hop, own the short game as a system, and stand where the story goes.

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Creep timing, dance-step rhythm at pace, forehands, backhands, short-hop picks both sides, two charge plays, and six on-the-move throws at building effort. Ten minutes, whole career recited. Rust noted for tomorrow, never chased today.

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Honest-pace grounders with mixed hops, the attack-choice still called aloud, the drift still banned, plus four deliberately vicious skidders taken with the deep-set glove and giving chest. Twelve reps. Velocity shrinks the choosing window; the call keeps choosing conscious until reflex takes the job over completely.

The in-between hop, answered instead of suffered: smother it (chest over, glove trapping down) or beat it (the extra charge step that converts it to a short hop), alternating on your call and then by the kid's own read. Eight reps. Fear of the bad hop retires the day both answers feel available; that retirement party is this drill.

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Do-or-die reps at full speed against a counted clock: dead rollers and soft choppers charged through, fielded mid-stride (glove or bare hand as the ball dictates), thrown side-arm on the run, timed honestly to the target. Eight reps, times logged, raced against the log only. The play must finish inside the slapper's honest window, and the log tells the truth about progress.

The system, drilled solo: you announce short-game pictures ("slapper, runner on second!"; "bunt shown, corners crashing!") and the kid executes their answer in the imagined scheme (charge and play to first, crash-and-look, cover the vacated bag when the corner crashes, or the stare-and-fake that freezes a delayed steal) while narrating who else moves where. Eight scenarios plus two live balls to honor or punish the answer. The short game beats teams that improvise; it feeds teams that rehearsed.

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Feeds and turns against the counted runner at real speed: chest-high gifts from every angle, exchanges clean through the bag, the re-throw out before the count lands. Ten plays alternating roles, exchange cleanliness graded before speed. Softball turns are precious; rhythm is what makes them exist.

The arm-slot menu drilled inside its plays: over-the-top with the shuffle (routine), three-quarter on the run (charges), sidearm off the backhand plant, underhand flips close. Three each, never from a standstill. The play picks the slot at this level without asking permission; owning the whole menu is what saying yes looks like.

The pre-pitch brain at selection grade: hitter-and-situation packages announced ("lefty slapper, drop-ball pitcher: two steps in and over"; "cleanup, riseball count: back and honest"), the kid moving and explaining, then live balls to audit the answers. Six scenarios. Close with ninety seconds of full-voice situation play: every ball called, every base named, every teammate-cone commanded. The infield runs on one loud brain per pitch; be it.

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What to watch today: the clock's effect on cleanliness. Everything here survives slow reps; the position is decided by what survives the count. When charge-play times drop while the exchanges stay clean, and the positioning answers keep their reasons at full tempo, this infielder has passed softball's real exam: thinking at the speed the small diamond demands. The log is the diploma; keep it honest.