Hit ground balls, alternating between the first baseman and the pitcher (with some in between). Balls are so light that they have to catch them with two hands over the head. This one allows you to work on correctly positioning and readying your body to make a perfect throw from the outfield to the infield after making a catch. An outfielder sets up about 15-20 feet away from a wall. After the short hop drill is completed, infielders should break into a double barrel infield. The drill begins by spacing out two outfielders in the outfield. 1. Outfielders who have never performed a diving play before might be intimidated by diving for a ball so the best way to prepare for a diving catch in a game is by practicing it before hand. Q 1 play with the infield in to cut a runner down at home. This drill will teach outfielders how to throw balls to cut off men. /Width 125 Eliminate players bad habits of back pedaling to a ball. This drill is great for field awareness. They will then catch the ball with their glove and quickly get their fingers into the proper position by grabbing the baseball with a four-seam grip. If thats not available, then the next-best option is to have a coach throw. The goal of the drill: outfielders should know how to catch the ball and get the ball back into the infield as quickly as possible. Because the long toss requires two teammates to be further away, players will most likely be utilizing the crow hop to make the throw. When one of these scenarios occur, outfielders need to be able to make and adjustment in order to catch the ball. When a player has to catch a sinking ball, they have two options: they can dive and catch the ball as its falling, or they can field the ball on the bounce. Improves footwork and timing of the players catch to transitioning to a throw to the infield. Spray Foam Equipment and Chemicals. October 16, 2018 - Footwork Skills, Coaches, Defense Skills, Ken Eriksen, Outfielder . With that said, lets dig into some of the specific considerations and drills that you can implement to make your practice plans more productive. To start, begin the drill with the hitters front foot crossed over the back foot (as shown in the picture below). 2 0 obj In order to catch the ball, the outfielder will need to briefly turn their back towards the ball and quickly find the ball again. You can also use this drill to practice your transitions from catching a flyball to fielding a ball on the ground. The players can dive for the ball or wait for it to bounce and catch it. Thats because its easier to adjust to a bad hop that jumps than to one that stays low to the ground. Ready to refine your skills on the infield? This will increase the players hip turning efficiency. Have yourself (the coach) and the player stand at one of the corners of the triangle. Youve probably heard the old adage that says practice how you play. As a baseball coach, your goal should be to make practice competitive, challenging and fast-paced, so that when your players step into a game they can relax and have fun! A coach will then either hit a ball or throw a ball with the intention of that ball landing somewhere in between the two outfielders. Your teams total warmup should take about 25-30 minutes. Efficient outfield throwing mechanics and accuracy. This drill teaches you how to get a faster first step on a fly ball as well as how to position your body so that you are always facing the direction the ball is going and not trying to look over your shoulder, contorting your body and slowing yourself down. This process will continue with all of the players getting a chance to field and throw the ball. If you have Jaeger Bands or similar bands, youll want to use those. As the ball is moving, the outfielders will have to move to where the ball will land. 500; Split the team into 2 groups and have fielders in right field/left field and one hitter for each group. 2. Tips on Calling a Good Game Behind the Plate, Mon - Fri 9am 5pm (CST), Closed Weekends. The circled player has priority, meaning that if they call for the ball, the other two players must get out of the way. Tennis balls are very light and bouncy. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. It doesnt require more than 20 yards of area as well. Shortly after his college career came to a close, Mark coached several high school baseball teams. The coach will then point in one direction, indicating to the player to run backward in that direction. Outfielders can use their glove to shade the sun or they can use their free hand, depending on what feels comfortable for the player. The swing should look just like a real swing, except that the hands are taken out of the equation since the bat is barred across the chest. /Height 125 When performed correctly, this drill will help hitters prevent themselves from wrapping the bat around their head, and instead teach the correct movement of the shoulders. This will produce varying bounce back angles creating a different ground ball every time. Thrown to farthest reachable. Step-By-Step Guide To Putting on A Lizard Skin Bat Grip. If this drill is practiced enough, youll see players evolve into fielding machines. Outfielders need to have the ability to anticipate where the ball may land to be in prime position to make the catch. stream The finish position should have the knob of the bat pointed to the pitcher, with the hitters back facing home plate. 533 Likes, 6 Comments - Kiki Baldassari (@coachkiki_softball) on Instagram: "Fun outfield drill for ALL AGES! Performing it allows an outfielder to add distance, speed, and power to their throws. /Subtype /Type1 To teach outfielders to communicate with each other, 2. Focus on keeping the tilt during the drill. The coach or another player will then hit or throw fly balls to the players. Softball.com is your go to shop for all of your softball needs. Some of the best 14 drills for baseball outfielders include: The rest of this article will go more in-depth about what these drills are. This can include research and writing (such as watching instructional videos and writing short reflections, or watching and analyzing the swings of other players), or practice-based homework like indoor drills or exercises. Baseball Training World Set up the cones in a triangle. The player will track down the ball and make the catch on the move. We sell Wilson, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, Easton, Rawlings, New Balance and more. To help with this, start saving the plastic lids from to-go containers (like the one pictured below). Once the players have gotten a few reps of this drill in, they can set up on the other side of the coach to perform the same drill from the opposite side. Letting the ball travel means allowing the ball to come to you behind the plate; as a catcher, you want to receive the ball without reaching forward for it. As the pitcher approaches the bag, the first baseman gives a nice underhand feed, leading the pitcher to the base. Having a good movement sequence is one of the keys to unlocking your power, so hitters need to start learning early how the body should move towards the ball for maximum impact. Theyll need to focus on turning correctly to get a good angle on the ball while still turning their head so they can see the fly ball. Once the outfielder pursues the ball and fields it off the wall with their bare hand, they will throw the ball to the cutoff man. The player will run behind and around the coach and go out for a football style pass. Each tactic is broken down to provide instruction within three specific outfield drills: Footwork Drill Routine Ground & Fly Balls and Assists Overhead Ball In the Footwork drill, the emphasis is on fine-tuning your footwork skills and following the direction of the baseball. Hey there! Thats because shes now externally rotating as opposed to internally rotating. Good outfield drills should be a positive experience for everyone. The Mets manager needs to prep a handful of the team's players for the intensity of the World . Teaches efficient angles to the baseball in the air. /BaseFont /Helvetica I recently purchased a Lizard Skin bat grip so I could How to Throw the Perfect Soft Toss Every Time. Outfielder's Drop Step Drill with Molly Bolibaugh - DMACC View more from the video provider July 21, 2020 By Championship Productions Watch as Coach explains, and outfielders demonstrate this everyday drop step drill. Drill #1: Change of Directions. Catch the ball and then work on transitioning to your throwing position. Navigation Menu In order to catch the fly ball, the two outfielders will need to communicate with each other. Throwing is a fundamental movement in baseball. << And just like with any drill, repetition is essential. << Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | FUTURESLASH CORP. Get two articles delivered to your inbox each week. He has good rotation as his hips are facing the pitcher. 1. Several of one of the most interesting plays in baseball occur in the outfield. This one is at the foundation of hitting. Have your players jog, stretch, run through plyometrics or whatever warmup routine you have in place. For elite players and teams, our SwingFit and SwingFit Elite program includes a baseline testing and lifting regimen. Aaron Judge (left) has eight inches of height on Michael Chavis (right), but both show tremendous ability to rotate and drive the baseball with power. Seeing the baseball is just as important as the mechanics of hitting it. Youth Clinic - Aaron Klotz, Adrian College: "Infield Play and Every Day Drills" from the 2018 ABCA . OUTFIELD DRILL: Have players stand 10-15 feet away from each other with one ball. Enter camper details to start the camp registration process and to view available camp dates and pricing, By clicking Submit you agree to and have read our privacy policy: Privacy Policy. United States For the six balls, the catcher should slide to their left twice, slide to their right twice, and drop straight down twice. /Type /XObject Hover over the first cone in your ready position, and then run to the next cone, looking up as though you were tracking down a fly ball. Long arm throw drill many kids short arm the outfield throw instead of taking the time to get a strong, long-armed throw off. /BitsPerComponent 8 Although some players will wear glasses to play in the sun, most block the sun out with their gloves. The outfield is a teams last line of defense, so it must be strong and consistent. The drill is ideally suited to polish your lousy side in the baseball ground and help you be a complete player. As an outfielder making long throws, using a long hop opposed to a rainbow throw will be more accurate and quicker. The pitcher should never cross the foul line, as doing so puts the player at risk for getting barreled into by the runner. Incorporate these drills as a regular feature in your outfield practices. The new rules: The bases are now 18 inches square (previously 15 inches).