Ideally, if you have pitchers that are able to throw live, thats the best option for your hitters. The wall can be the back of the dugout or a cement wall near the field. Hitters create power by having separation, a good sequence, and hip rotation like we talked about earlier. Weve focused on properly fielding and chasing down flyballs, this drill will focus on developing your throwing accuracy. These are great tools for teaching how to frame pitches. Mark Hertz has played baseball most of his life and ended up getting a scholarship to Louisiana State. In a game, outfielders will have to run while a ball flies overhead, and theyll quickly learn that they need to make some adjustments because the ball moves from one side of their body to another. And if you are in the market for a new outfield glove, check out everything we have in stock. Repeat until your arm falls off! Succession through repetition of fielding ground balls routinely. Members of The Hitting Vault can utilize our library of drills to help with mobility and rotational strength. Give each player about 15 tosses (roughly 60 seconds) before you move on to the next player. Sometimes its hard to do outfield drills in the winter if you live on the east coast or other snowy areas. Proper throwing mechanics to the cutoff man. The coach will be roughly 20 feet away from the outfielder. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Infield Glove DURATION: 5 Minutes REPETITION: Daily Younger players can use their gloves. JUPITER, Fla. Buck Showalter has an interesting balancing act to perform this spring. Catching the baseball under limited space creates fielding efficiency. >> Catchers need to be in full gear for this drill, as theyll get into their stance and walk in their low squat position forward to each baseball. This can be a great drill to use for spatial awareness on the field. 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. The ideal spot for an outfielder to throw the ball is at the head of the cutoff man and towards the cutoff mans glove-side. Players will field ground balls for a total of 15 minutes, following the template below: In this round, the third basemen are throwing across the field to first, so the second basemen and shortstops will field grounders and work on their feeds and footwork to turn a double play without actually finishing. Ground ball to the pitcher, who throws to second to complete a 1-6-3 double play. The ball grip drill is performed with a baseball and glove. 3:00-3:30 Warm-ups. One inevitable obstacle that all outfielders will face is the dreaded sun. This outfield drill you can do inside is great for teaching players to field and hit the cutoff man efficiently. During this round, players should get down three bunts, execute two hit and runs, one get him over, and drive the runner in twice. This is a skill elite center fielder Kevin Pillarhas mastered over the course of his career. See how the hitter has his lower half still facing the pitcher? /F2.0 10 Tf Hit a mix of fly balls and ground balls to the outfielders, forcing them to take different routes and make harder throws (including throwing through the relay). The first athlete will crow hop and throw the baseball to a spot on the opposite side of the gym. % For the first drill, set up six balls about 10 feet apart, off to the side of the baseline. This drill not only helps with hand-to-eye coordination, but also helps players develop the proper backspin on a baseball to make those perfect throws. Now sprint to the cone on your left, making sure you are properly turning your body so that you are leading with the foot closest to the direction you are trying to go. Shortly after his college career came to a close, Mark coached several high school baseball teams. This teaches efficient fly ball fielding and this is one of my favorite drills to do indoors for outfielders. To perform this drill: Set up three cones in a triangle The outfielder starts at the front cone The coach stands/kneels about 10 ft. away with a tennis ball. The Number 1 Resource for Baseball Tips and Drills. This means coming to every practice session with a thoughtfully-considered schedule that (at the very least) outlines exactly what drills youll be doing that day, how long youll be spending on them, and which players will be participating in which groups. Put one or two players in the center of the circle (island) - identify who the center fielder is if two players are in circle c. Coach has a buck of balls and a player to feed the balls to the coach. White Sox Romy Gonzalez had an issue with his tonsils last year that caused him to lose 30 pounds. This drill isnt relevant for softball, as pitchers arent required to cover first. An effective outfielder needs to be able to catch fly balls near the wall. Aside from bat control, this drill also helps with learning the right sequence, since were forcing the hitter to have their hips starting ahead of their hands. Follow Kenny Gajewski is the head softball coach for the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cowgirls in . From research in our lab, we know that heavier balls (including . What are the best baseball outfield drills? The shortstops are playing in and making throws to home as if theres a runner trying to score. The drill is ideally suited to polish your lousy side in the baseball ground and help you be a complete player. Atlanta Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is one of the best defensive catchers in the MLB, and this video helps dive into more of the philosophy of a strong receiving catcher. Players will stand in a line and each player will take turns. Its a skill that will translate into charging ground balls and fielding line driveson the short hop. In order to improve their reading and reaction times, they need to get plenty of reads off live hitting. 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. All you need is a tennis ball, a floor, and your baseball mitt. The player will sprint ahead 15-20 yards and immediately make a sharp right turn at a 90 degree angle. You can increase the intensity of this drill by pointing the ball back and forth several times before you throw it. Then they should run to the end of the line before the next player performs the drill. This drill teaches proper fielding mechanics by not picking up the ball with their glove. The coach will then take a ball and throw it over the head of that player so the player can still catch the ball. The coach calls out a base and the player responds as if a ball was hit towards the base. /Filter [/FlateDecode] To get a better idea of how many cuts eat player needs, check out our article on how many reps hitters should be taking. This drill is good for players to practice catching line drives on the run. The outfielder must then shade the sun and catch the ball. The fielders head and eyes should be behind the glove not only for protection, but also because it helps with tracking the ball into the glove. What you need to do is separate your outfielders into three groups and position them at cones arranged as shown in the picture below. Outfielder chases ball, plants feet, grabs ball, shuffles and throws. Train your outfielders to get to more balls and cover more ground. After the short hop drill is completed, infielders should break into a double barrel infield. Equipment. This drill is as old as time. endobj From there, have them throw until their arms are loose. After receiving the ball from the catcher or umpire, pitchers are required to begin their . Cody Bellinger, who is absolutely on fire for the Los Angeles Dodgers, does this extremely well. Although some players will wear glasses to play in the sun, most block the sun out with their gloves. Roll ball to outfield wall. /Length 4 In addition to remaining aware of the wall, outfielders need to be effective communicators. Once the player reacts to this direction, the coach will then throw the ball as a pop up in the opposite direction the player started running initially. Each player is thrown a fly ball . For the six balls, the catcher should slide to their left twice, slide to their right twice, and drop straight down twice. Teach your athlete to keep their drop-step position with their opposite hand out behind them to feel for the wall. While laying on your back, flip a ball a few feet into the air and try to catch the ball without moving. Rawlings Official League Baseball / Rawlings Flat Seam Practice Baseball. The defensive revolution has arrived at Baseball Express. The new rules: The bases are now 18 inches square (previously 15 inches). If an outfielder doesnt know how to dive, theyll be less efficient at catching balls or, at worst, get injured by doing a dive. Balls are so light that they have to catch them with two hands over the head. Its important to evaluate what kinds of work your team needs and then develop a concrete plan that meets those needs. For a lot of outfielders, throwing out a runner at home will be the most memorable moment from a game. In the left picture (below), Coach Peterson is in a good launch position. 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. The final drill of the batting tee station is the Crossover Drill, which helps hitters keep their back side from collapsing during the swing. You should be changing direction with your body, but you should keep your head steady so as to not lose track of the baseball. Have the players stand in a straight line as the coach tosses up balls. Bunt down the third base line, forcing communication between the pitcher, the third baseman and the catcher. >> Teach the players how to move smoothly to catch a fly ball 2. /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding Step-By-Step Guide To Putting on A Lizard Skin Bat Grip. CONTACT US To keep players thinking, the coach can call out what the situation is and the cutoff man can adjust their position accordingly, The outfielder will take their starting position at a cone, A partner will start the drill by pointing at a 45-degree angle to either the right or left side, When the partner points the outfielder takes off in that direction, looking for the ball to be thrown, The partner then throws a short fly ball towards the other side of the outfielder (forcing the outfielder to head the opposite way), The outfielder will need to adjust by flipping their head to the other side of their body and rotating their body to get in position to catch the ball (see the video below for a visual explanation), The outfielder will take their normal position in the outfield, A partner will hit a ground ball to the outfielder, The outfielder must properly field the ground ball by placing their glove on the ground with their glove-side foot just behind their glove, Once the outfielder has fielded the throw, they are in the correct position to perform a crow-hop and throw the runner out at home, The outfielder will line up in the outfield about 20-30 feet in front of the fence, A partner will throw a fly ball so it will land just on the other side of the fence, When the ball is in the air, the outfielder will run towards the fence and find the fence by placing their hand out, When the outfielder gets to the fence, they will jump up and rob the home run. The goal of this drill: even though it is unlikely for outfielders to rob a home run, this drill still helps outfielders practice finding the fence. It is the players job to make the catch without bumping into the wall. A crow hop in baseball allows players to generate momentum toward their intended target which helps generate distance and velocity behind the players throw. Likewise, to make the exercise easier, all a coach has to do is shorten the running distance for players. This site is owned and operated by Steve Nelson. Performing it allows an outfielder to add distance, speed, and power to their throws. I'm the owner of Baseball Training World. 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. As hitters improve, you can shuffle locations, moving the ball inside, up, down, etc. Theyll load, stride and pretend to swing at the ball. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. By simply laying on your back and catching the tennis ball into your mitt, youre subtely teaching yourself to see the ball into the mitt on every single catch. Objective: Quickness drill for outfielders Description: a. Set up the cones in a triangle. /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding Every ballplayer has done this drill at some point in time as its simplicity makes it so it can be done while you are just watching TV. How it works: Set up a ladder in the outfield. Barlow brought a new two-seam fastball to spring, and the feedback he's gotten from hitters so far is clear: Throw it more. /Type /Font The tennis ball should always be caught with the mitt. The first movement will be to get the upper part of the body into a loaded position while keeping the lower half facing the pitcher. As you do this, pay attention to where your arms and hands are. Ball! Using this drill, especially with younger athletes, will help build confidence to go after balls that may be out of their comfort zone. Typically, you will see an outfielder lose the ball in the air when they look back to see where the wall is. Two to three players can participate on this drill at a time. Outfielders will have to sprint to where the ball is going, catch it, and throw the ball back to the infield. BT Simple: youre fastest when your head is down and youre in a normal sprinting position. endobj The team can improve their outfield and infield skill level by carrying out fielding drills from high school baseball. Working from that position gives the hitter the ability to have their body work on the plane of the pitch the right way with power. If you would like some tips on how to implement your youth baseball drills during practice, please visit our Baseball Drills - Coaching Tips page. As the ball is moving, the outfielders will have to move to where the ball will land. Youll never miss a fly ball again. The goal of this drill: outfielders will be throwing over much longer distances than other players on the field so they need to learn how to gain velocity and distance on their throws while still having accurate throws. The home of Nighthawks softball is the on-campus Haynes and Carolyn Hill Stadium, more popularly known as simply "The Hill". Quarterbacks . From here, the hitter strides forward and fires his lower half to the ball while shifting his momentum into his front leg. 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. /SMask 6 0 R Ready to refine your skills on the infield? The coach will then point in one direction, indicating to the player to run backward in that direction. But it also works with front toss, where it can be used to develop even more rhythm and timing. Do these drills consistently and you will find yourself playing like a pro the next time you take the field. Stand in your ready position over the center cone as though you are waiting for a ball to be put into play. 2) This is a small conditioning drill as it strengthens your legs and gets your heart pumping faster. Have fun and good luck with your games Here is a listing of the drills under the Team Drills Section: Team Drills: Game like Practice Team Workup Drill Relay Throws To be an effective outfielder, players must know how to take the correct path to the ball. Thats why its essential to have stations and aspects of your practice that are devoted to learning these movements and sequences. 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. With that said, lets dig into some of the specific considerations and drills that you can implement to make your practice plans more productive. Crossword; Sudoku; Crossword; Sudoku _____ About Us Every day, infielders should be working on their hand-eye coordination by reading ground balls. Incorporate these drills as a regular feature in your outfield practices. >> The Rawlings REV1X is back! This site is owned and operated by Steve Nelson. Lets dive into some outfield drills you can do indoors. The Fly Ball Angel Drill is a great drill for outfielders to practice how to turn their bodies to run and catch a ball that is hit over their heads. Then a coach will throw a flyball near the wall that the outfielder must catch. Once the outfielder catches the ball, they will throw the ball to their designated cutoff man. Also, note that elite players need to be able to sprint to a spot on the field without looking at the ball, then picking it up in mid-air on the run. Seeing the baseball is just as important as the mechanics of hitting it. Use a training ladder or cones to mark where you want your feet to be with each repetition. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] 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. Turn toward throwing side if directly over. The ball will then be lobbed to the player so that the player will have to catch the ball and land on their glove side foot at the same time the ball is caught. This site is owned and operated by Media Guppy LLC. Ive been playing for most of my life and have played for several AAA teams. Pederson has been doing work on the infield all spring, with the staff hopeful that he can provide another left-handed option at first now that Brandon Belt is a Toronto Blue Jay. Ideally, the back foot of the player will be moving forward at the same time they are catching the ball. 1 0 obj These drills will help your outfielders take better angles to the ball, which will result in more caught fly balls. (720) 218-0737, 2023 Baseball Training World - All Rights Reserved, link to Step-By-Step Guide To Putting on A Lizard Skin Bat Grip, link to How to Throw the Perfect Soft Toss Every Time, Have someone hit standard fly balls to a player in the outfield, When the ball is heading towards the player they will first run to the ball where will be landing, To take proper form, the leg on the glove-side of the body will be in front of the other leg, As the player is catching the ball, their back leg moves forward which is the beginning motion of their crow hop, After catching the ball the player will complete the crow hop and throw the ball to the cut-off man, Two players will be set up in the outfield, with plenty of space between them. One of the most basic drills players learn in baseball and softball is the soft toss drill, also known as the side toss drill. There are many high school baseball outfield drills such as doorstep, wall drill, head drill, ball grip drill, and several others. What we mean by coming through the ball is getting behind it and taking a good angle to be ready to crow hop and make an aggressive throw to the relay or base. Add second ball to stress importance of footwork providing some momentum. If you cant see and track the ball, how are you supposed to hit it? Popup Communication Watch this video to see how you can do a drill on Pop Ups and get the most repetition out of your team. By implementing the aforementioned drill progression into a daily practice routine, outfielders will undoubtedly help develop at a consistent pace, putting themselves in position to enjoy success patrolling the vast green space when under the lights. . The goal is to force the pitcher to make a decision between covering the bag or fielding the ball.