365 Days to Better Baseball - Go Somewhere Fielding Drill

Wednesdays Web Gems Tips Fun Baseball Fielding Drill

A coach's dream is to have every defensive player moving somewhere on batted balls. Additionally, coaches want aggressive fielders who anticipate every batted ball coming to them. "There is always something to do on every batted ball," and "Who wants the ball hit to them," are comments I am constantly expressing to the team.

ready position (Photo credit: on2wheelz)

As an example of having something to do on every ball and even with nobody on base:

A simple ground ball to shortstop every player on the team has a responsibility:
Short stop fielding ball
1^st baseman to the bag
2^nd baseman moving to back up throw at first or covering second base when shortstop is moving towards third for groundball
3^rd baseman to his bag
Right fielder and catcher also moving towards first to back up any wayward throws
Left fielder moving to back up ground ball
Center fielder moving in to back up second base in case the play continues with throw towards second
Pitcher moving towards home plate that catcher vacated

Youth Baseball Fielding Drill

With a player at each position for infield and outfield practice, coaches set a ball somewhere near every player. The coach, who is hitting batting practice has everyone get to ready position before taking a practice swing, which is when every player runs to the ball in their area and picks it up in good fielding position. It's fun for players and fun for coaches to see every player breaking at the same time. It gets the point across and is a time when coaches can make sure players approach the balls correctly and square them up when getting to balls.