Coaching Softball - A Winning Defensive 1st and 3rd Strategy

[davidemerling]

Also, the best indicator of a poorly coached team is when it is obvious that they have no plan for what to do in 1st-and-3rd situations. How many times have you seen a runner scamper down to 2nd while the catcher just holds the ball, paralyzed in fear that the runner from 3rd might score? That's a poorly coached team! At a minimum, the catcher should make a fake throw. Every team should have at least 4 1st-and-3rd plays. 1) throw to 2nd, 2) pickoff at 3rd 3) some kind of cutoff 4) fake throw.

[davidemerling]

You should not equate throwing down to 2nd in an attempt to retire the runner attempting to steal with conceding a run. Not necessarily! Often, the throw is so unexpected by the runner on 3rd that she is not even prepared to advance. Also, you need to evaluate the athleticism (speed) you have on the bases. Throwing down to 2nd is a bad idea if you have 2 speedsters on the base. If one of the runners is a "slowpoke", the strategy becomes more sound. Also, the score of the game is factor.