Softball Infield Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds

Down early, chomp with two hands, charge the slow ones, and always finish the play. The short diamond teaches hustle from day one.

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The ready position game: feet wide, knees bent, hands out front off the knees, frozen on your countdown ("pitch coming, three, two, one"). Eight freezes, then four with the little creep-hop on "one." Wobbles restart with laughter. Ready is a choice made before every pitch; make it a reflex that thinks it is a game.

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Gentle rollers from fifteen feet: glove all the way down EARLY (fingertips brushing grass), ball rolls in, bare hand chomps on top. Ten reps. The big ball makes the two-hand chomp feel natural; praise the ones where the glove was waiting low before the ball arrived, because early-down is the whole secret.

Add the softball funnel: after each chomp, both hands bring the ball up to the belly button in one smooth scoop ("feed the alligator"), body already turning toward the throw. Ten reps. The funnel tames the big ball's bounces and pre-loads the throw; it is the bridge between catching and playing.

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Slow rollers the kid must beat: charge hard, break down the last two steps, alligator-and-funnel moving forward, and carry into a pretend throw. Eight reps, raced out loud ("you or the ball?"). On sixty-foot paths, waiting back loses every race; charging is softball infield's first commandment, installed here as a footrace they can win.

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Every ball finishes now: chomp, funnel, one shuffle-step at the target, throw to the bucket. Ten full plays with outs counted like a broadcast. The shuffle toward the target is the accuracy secret at this age; bake it into fielding so it never becomes a separate chore.

Called-base plays ("FIRST!" or "SECOND!" shouted mid-roller), then one dramatic finale: a roller placed a stretch away, fielded with a grass-safe dive-step and thrown from a knee, narrated like a championship highlight. End the session there, always on the highlight.

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What to watch today: the pull-up flinch. Missed grounders at this age go under gloves that lifted early. Soft balls plus the early-down habit cure it without a single lecture; when the glove starts living low through whole reps, add gentle pace and watch the courage compound. The big ball is a patient teacher; let it teach.