Category: Infield
Type: Tip
Equipment: Baseballs, glove
Venue: Indoor & Outdoor
GROUNDBALL APPROACH
This tip is based around a few things that I will begin to put into succession for fielding groundballs. This tip should be the first of about 3 to 4 that will encompass fielding groundballs.
First thing is that none of our fielders gets caught standing around in between pitches. They are always fixing the bad hop holes in front of them, or turning around and communicating to the outfield or other infielders. If they stay in some kind of motion, they stay in the game.
Our approach to the ball begins with some kind of a round to the ball. We never come to the ball in a straight line simply because of momentum. We round the ball to the right side so that as we field the ball our momentum is taking us to the left side of the infield where most plays are made. This can and does switch for first and second baseman.
We begin our round with good speed. We want to come to ball rather quickly. So as we actually come near the ball we have to slow down to get control of our bodies so that we can field cleanly. The key here is to shuffle our feet to slow down yet stay in control.
After we have control, our footwork is essential that it is correct. We begin by stepping with our right foot first and then glide our left foot to the left and back, not forward. If your shuffle isn't good and your body isn't in control, this becomes very difficult. However, we want to be able to step with the right foot in front of the left foot to gain as much ground toward our target as possible. If the left foot is in front of the right foot when fielding, the athlete has a tendency to bring the right foot behind the left foot therefore not gaining any ground as well as carrying their momentum in a different direction than the target.
In short then, we cross over with our right foot in front of our left foot to keep momentum and gain as much ground to make a shorter throw as well as keeping our momentum directly toward our target.
Next we will talk about body position and glove work while actually fielding a groundball.
Questions/Comments? email: coachb@eteamz.com
Submitted by: CoachB
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