ground balls

(‘Your feet make your hands work’)

Footwork is the foundation of sound ground ball fielding technique.  We want the feet moving throughout the process of approaching, catching the ground ball, and throwing the ball ...‘Your feet make your hands work’.

• Feet: ‘Fast, Slow, Fast’ - fast to the ball, slow down to catch the ball, fast feet (momentum straight towards the target) to throw the ball

• ’Feet Wide to Catch’- the wider the feet, the closer the hands and butt are to the ground.

• Get in front of the ball to catch the ball’ - don’t get in front of the ball until the last step before fielding the ball.  When a player gets in front of the ball too soon, the feet stop moving. Stay to the side of the ball when approaching the ball. Step in front of the ball to catch to catch the ball.

Major League Shortstops - Fielding Footwork (VIDEO)

The first 1:30 is a Series of short clips (1-2 seconds each), at regular speed, illustrating the ‘Fast-Slow-Fast’ footwork rhythm of the ground ball fielding action. 

• First Clip - watch for ‘Move Feet to Throw’ resulting in the player ‘Gaining Ground’ towards their target.

• Second Clip - watch the player get their ‘Feet Wide to Catch’.  They ‘Step in Front of the Ball to Field the Ball’

• 0:18-0:24 - Four clips in a row where the ‘Fast-Slow-Fast’ Rhythm of the Feet is quite clear to see.

A. Fast - note the quick choppy steps preparing to catch the ball

B. Slow - players actions throttle down to make the ‘Wide Feet to Catch’ action ...under control

C. Fast - player ‘shuffling’ feet towards the target, generating power for the throw

The second half of the video (1:30 - 3:20) shows the fielding action is slow motion. 

Reading Hops (older kids / more experienced players)

…note which part of the hop fielders catch the ball in the video above

• Short hop (ball hitting the ground just in front of the glove)

• Top of hop

• Downside of hop (not ideal, but sometimes it’s the best a fielder can do)

VIDEO - Underhand Toss (watch: 0:00-0:10)