Fielding Drills from Coach Jim

I don't claim that these are original ideas, but I have learned them through the years and they WORK.

Drills For Everyone

Defensive Back Drill

The instructor stands opposite the player in the outfield. The outfielder reads ball direction as the instructor points to different areas. The fielder is to sprint 3-5 steps in the correct direction, then repeat the process. This drill focuses on getting a good jump. Your first step will often determine if you catch the ball or not at the end of a long run Top

Wide Reciever Drill

This helps to get fielders running correctly on their route to fly balls. Often younger players experience a fly ball "bouncing" when they look up at a ball while running. This is caused by running in the heels of your feet. Watch David Justice going after a fly ball. He seems to "glide" like deer. This is because he runs on the balls of his feet. It is a graceful technique that is not for show. It makes a difference as to how the ball appears against the sky. Top

Soft Hands

This drill is great for developing soft hands for your infielders. Get a sheet of 1/2" thick paneling or plywood. Cut out circles approximately 10" in diameter and attach a section of rope with a staple gun that is large enough for a player to slide his hand under and "hold" the wooden glove. We then place the players 20 feet away and roll them ground balls-easy throws to begin with and then progressively turn up the speed. The players must provide a cushion or the baseballs will just bounce off the wooden glove. It also forces them to place the non-catching hand on top of the ball. The players enjoy the drill because of the variety it provides and you can set up competition between your players. The drill emphasizes the use of the top hand, to ensure the ball doesn't become loose and so that the throwing hand is there to throw or flip the ball. Top

Alligator Drills

Toss grounder to players from 10 feet or so. Players must keep glove hand palm up and off hand palm down. Catch the ball like your hands are the alligators mouth. Do 20 or 30 repetitions then let them use a glove. Increase distance and ball speed as player improves. Top

Alligator Drill 2

Position player about 5 yards in front of you. Have the player in the fielding position with back flat, head looking forward, and glove down on ground. Throw the ball so that it bounces and forces the player to raise hands from ground to catch ball. Stress the importance of having glove on ground and raising hands up to ball. Top

3 Man Fungo Drill-benifits fielder and hitter

Drill has one fielder, who stands 40-60 feet in front of the hitter (depending on their age), and one shagger,who stands on the right side of the hitter. (Three person groups.) Drill can have as many groups as desired. The hitter hits 10 ground balls to the fielder. The field fields the ground balls and throws them to the shagger. After fielding 10 ground balls, the fielder becomes the shagger, the shagger becomes the hitter, and the hitter becomes the new fielder. The drill continues to proceed in this manner for as long as desired. Top

Situation Drill

This drill is great. It covers base running, lead offs, fielding, relay throws, pick off moves, rundowns, fly balls, even slidding if you want, etc. You can practice everything except stolen bases. You can even turn it into a competion by seeing which group scores more runs. I would let each group run for three sets of three outs. After the third out each time, remove any runners who are on base and start again.

Position your fielders, including a catcher and pitcher. Take four other boys and they are your first group of runners. A coach who has good bat control stands off to the side of the plate with a bat and ball in his hands. The four runners line up on the other side of the plate, but not so close as to get hit by an errant pitch. Make sure they don't start running until after the ball is hit, and don't let them keep inching their way up the line as they are prone to do! Base runners take their normal lead off, but cannot run until after the ball has been hit. Pitcher can try and pick them off. (some leagues do not allow lead-offs)

The pitcher makes his delivery to the plate(good pitches as this is also a pitching practice), the coach than hits a ball out of his hand, and the "batter" runs as if he has just hit the pitch. That is all there is to this drill, yet you can see how it opens up countless oppurtunities for practing all, or a few select areas you want to work on. Double to the left field fence - is the shortstop lining up the throw with third, or did he just run out there and line it up with second? Did the pitcher cover a base after the hit? Did the runner round first properly? Did the infielders communicate with each other while the ball was in play? Did the throw come to the correct man or base? Did the runner know how many outs there were? Was the third baseman in the proper position to apply the tag? As I said earlier, you can work on as much or as little as you like. Have a coach at first and third to direct the runners, and the coach hitting the ball can observe the fielders.

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Short Field Drill (From Coach Omar Alvarez)

Position bases and pitchers plate half the normal distance from home plate. Players take positions, including all outfielders, infielders, pitcher and catcher. Coach walks players through situation drills, back ups, who goes where when, etc. Have pitcher "pitch" to catcher. Coach hits fungo as practiced. Everyone moves as instructed. Fantastic drill to teach rotations, back ups, defense with runners on, etc.

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NO Glove Drills

The following drills are done with no glove. You should think of your glove as an extension of your arm. So, we first field balls with our bare hands until we master the techniques involving proper form. These techniques involve actually catching the ball, transferring the ball to our throwing hand, and stepping toward our target and delivering an accurate throw.

Ground ball that is hit right at you.

Ground ball that is to your left.

Ground ball that is to your right.

A ball that takes you far to your left and leaves you with a long throw.

High chopped ground ball

Slow rolling ground ball

These drills are then duplicated with your glove on. The pace of the ground balls will be picked up as well. Keep in mind that even the ground ball hit right at you can be bouncing several different ways and with different spins.

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PROGRESSION TEACHING - Fielding Grounders

Coach Tom Osborne, Coach at Nebraska does progression teaching and always starts at he beginning.

This set of progression drills follows Coach Osborne's recommendation. This is a set of progression drills for teaching how to field a ground ball. They start from the very basics of footwork, body postion, and hands. As we are all aware of practice time, some of the individual drills will be combined.

DRILL #1 - Players paired. First Basemen down first base line with gloves. Fielders two steps behind second-third baseline and two steps to the right of the third base line without their gloves. Fielders place ball 4 to 5 feet in front of themselves. Fielders assume good infield postion.

1-On signal, or individually if prefered, fielder advances toward ball aligning at ball with both hands around ball, head down looking at ball, and feet in the manner in which you have coached them. (Note: I prefer for the glove side foot to be even with the ball and the throwing side foot about 6 inches behind.)

2-On the count of two, player picks up ball, crow hops toward the first baseman and gets into a ready position to throw ball. (Glove side foot should be pointing toward first baseman, weight should be on back foot, both hands at chest.)

3-On three, if desired, throw should be made.

DRILL #2 - Start as in DRILL #1, but this time, fielder places ball to their right or left. Remainder of drill is the same as DRILL #1.

These two drills provide opportunity to measure basic fielding fundamentals and emphasize the importance of feet, body and hand position. It also provides the opportunity to check the relationship of the ball to the body when fielded.

DRILL #3 - Start as DRILL #1, except fielder keeps ball in hands. On signal fielder rolls ball forward and continues on to field ball. This is reverse motion, but is effective in teaching the fielder not to overrun ball. If fielder over runs ball, he will have to reach between his legs and will inexitably miss the ball as he tries to reach behind him. It is also imperative that the fielder catch the ball the moment he stops. Having he player stop when the catch the ball will also enable a good lesson in the importance of having good body control when stopping to field a ground ball. The remainder of the drill is done as in DRILL #1.

DRILL #4 - Start as DRILL #3, except fielder throws ball to right or left. These drills add movement and work on body control and balance.

DRILL #5 - Start as DRILL #1, except have first basemen keep ball. First baseman throws an easy grounder (Remember fielders do no thave gloves.) to fielder. Fielder fields ball and throws back to first baseman.

It is imperative in these drill that attention be paid to how the fielder fields the ball with their hands. Some may be tempted to pick the ball up with one hand on each side. In doing this, they with have a hesitation in thier fielding which will be noticable. Fielders should field the ball with the glove hand coming in contact first and sort of swooping the ball up with the glove hand moving under the ball and almost pushing it into the throwing hand. This is how one fields with a glove. A fielder who waits for the ball with the glove on the ground and the hand in a 6 o'clock position will miss more balls than he catches. When fielding a ground ball, the golve is brought from a natural 9 o'clock position, sweeping under the ball to a 6 o'clock position, then raising the ball as the throwing hand comes down. When doing progression teaching, you must replicate the task as closely as possible, changing only that which helps teach the part of the skill desired.

These drills give a good take on how well the fielder understands the skill and how well they perfom the skill. They can be done fairly quickly with the progression done smoothly. I use DRILL #5 as part of my pre-practice/pre-game loosening up drills.

Quick Draw Race Drill

Stack two 5 gallon buckets at home plate with helmet on top. Split team into two lines with starting cones about 5 yards behind the pitchers mound. Set two balls equal distance from the bucket on the mound. When coach calls"draw" two players race to the balls, barehand them and throw at buckets. Quickest hit wins match. Fun drill, everyone loves to knock the buckets down. Distance and targets can be varied for age and abilities. Older kids throw from second base or even center field.

Outfielder Drills

GAP COMMUNICATION DRILL. This requires more than one player. Two or more players are separated in the outfield and a fly ball is hit between them. The players are to then communicate and use rules of fly ball priorities to make the catch. The player that is "called off" the fly ball is then responsible for backing up the play and telling the outfielder with the ball where to direct the throw. Top

FENCE OR WALL BALLS. Players stand near a fence or outfield wall. Balls are then hit over their heads. The outfielder must read the flight of the ball to determine the best course of action. Is the ball to be caught, or played off the fence ? This drill may be done in conjunction with the gap communication drill to involve more than one player. Top

SACRIFICE FLY SITUATIONS. The player must work on footwork, form, and momentum to correctly catch and throw a ball with a little wasted time as possible. Top

OVERALL SITUATIONS. The player assumes his correct defensive position, whatever that may be. The situation of a hypothetical game is then said allowed. (i.e. The number of outs and where the baserunners are.) The coach will then deliver a fly or ground ball and the player must make the correct decision as to what to do with the ball. There are different answers for different game situations. Top

Infielders Drills

Infielders take up their postions, including a pitcher and catcher. A coach acts as the batter, and the pitcher makes a delivery to the catcher. The coach has a ball in his hand, and after the pitch reaches the plate, he tosses the ball where he wants it to go. This is far superior to having a batter attempt to place the ball by actually hitting it. Top

Set up particular situations, and have the outfielders and other pitchers act as baserunners. Coach hits fungos to each player and in each situation (example: no out, runner on first)

Great Pregame Warm Up Ritual Set up infield with extra players lining up behind the positions and rotating in. Two first basemen line up at first base, one on the outfield side of the bag and one on the infield side. Two coaches at home plate. One coach fungos to the third baseman who fields and throws to the first baseman lined up on the infield side of first base. The other coach fungos to second and shortstop who make double plays - second to first - to the first baseman on the outfield side of the bag. The drill moves quickly and gives the players many opportunities. If they muff a play, they'll get another chance very quickly. It helps a lot if you have many balls. The first basemen can drop the balls in a bucket behind them and get ready for the next throw, or throw to a catcher or two beside the coaches.

1-2-3 Throw

Here's a nice simple infield drill (simple if the boys can count to three). This drill covers all of the throws an infielder will make, and it is so quick paced that the players enjoy it. Position a player at each base and home, give the catcher the ball. The players make three throws around the horn, then on the third catch, that player throws across the diamond to the player diagonally across to him. After four repetitions of this, the players run to the next base and start again.

Here's how it works:C-3b-2b-1b-across to 3b; 3b-2b-1b-c-across to 2b; 2b-1b-c-3b-across to 1b; 1b-c-3b-2b-across to c who makes a sweep tag. Players than run to the next base: c-3b, 3b-2b, 2b-1b, 1b-c. Repeat this four times until the original catcher is back at home plate. Whenever a player throws to the wrong person, stop and give the ball back to him so he can get it to the correct boy. You will be amazed at how often the players will forget to throw across after the third throw. Keep working with them and it will begin to run smoothly. Once your fielders are comfortable with this drill, it makes for a nice pre-game drill. It is just sweet enough to impress your opponent!!

Emphasis good, accurate, properly thrown balls; proper catching technique, and quick feet.

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Field and Charge Drill

The last go round of infielders drills are followed with the Field and Charge Drill. Coach hits fungo to each player in turn - P-3b-2b-1b-C. Player fields grounder hit to him and throws to first. 1st throws home. Catcher throws a grounder back to the same player who charges and fields it bare handed and throws it home. Fielder then exits the field except for 1b, who waits out the catchers turn and the pitcher, who waits for the throw from thne catcher.

 

Triangle Drills - players in groups of three in a triangle. Players take rolls as coach, Short Stop and Second Baseman.

Position players 10 feet apart. Players assume an "athletic position." The "Coach" then underhands the ball to one player, who catches it with their glove. The player takes the ball with throwing hand and flips it to other player. Repeat drill with both players. Coach starts with easy glove side underhand tosses, then moves toss to center and to throwing hand side. As players progress, move ball into all reachable areas.

TURNS AT SECOND BASE ON A DOUBLE PLAY.

The 1st and 2ndbaseman and the shortstop will be the only players involved with this drill. The out at second base is the first priority. The out at first base should be thought of as icing on the cake. Work on proper footwork and avoiding the sliding baserunner.

Avoid the sliding runner:

Get ahold of a 5 gallon plastic bucket. As the SS or 2B is about to release the ball to first, throw the bucket at them. If they don't get out of the way they get hit by it, but no one gets hurt. It will take a little practice to get the hang of how and when to toss it, but it will help enforce the need and technique regarding how to get up and out of the way.

Always use soft baseballs, incrediballs, tennis balls, etc. when working line drives with pitchers.

Full follow through on the pitch will land a pitcher in athletic position. This will provide the balance to field the ball. This is essential for safety also. A pitcher who cannot field their position puts themselves in danger of injury.

1 - "Dry pitch" the ball (pretend to throw the ball). Follow through to athletic position. Coach tosses grounders. Start soft and center. Progress side to side and then try harder tosses. After working grounders, work soft line drives, bunts and pop ups.

2 - Pitch to catcher. Coach stands to the side. After pitch, coach hits fungos to pitcher with incrediballs, soft t-balls, or tennis balls.

3 - Practice fielding grounders and throwing to 1st, Second, Third, Home. Situational practice. This drill needs a pitcher, fielder on base and catcher. This drill can be done with "dry pitching" or pitch and coach hitting like in #2.

Here are some links to sites that have great drills

Baseball Web Camp

Coach B's Fielding Drills

Youth Baseball Coaching