Teaching Fielding To Baseball Players

Many coaches attempt to teach fielding to players by first hitting them ground balls. You
cannot teach fielding and hit ground balls at the same time! In fact, the bat is the last item
a coach should use in teaching the correct fundamentals of fielding.

There are many things involved in teaching good fielding techniques. Three very
important areas that coaches should try to emphasize to players include: the glove, the
ready position, and the fielding position.

The Glove

Like any job, fielding is easier when you have the right tool to use and when that tool is
properly maintained. It has been my experience that many players, for various reasons,
try to use gloves that are too big for them.

If you, the coach, have influence over the gloves your players buy, help them select a
glove that is right for their size, age, and position. For example, if you have a young
player who plays only the infield, he should not use a long-fingered pitcher-outfield
glove. If you coach 8 and 9 year olds, they should not use gloves designed for 13-14 year
olds.

How to break in the glove is also very important. Help your players break in their glove
so that they form a wide-open pocket. This can be achieved by working the four fingers
of the glove forward as opposed to creasing the glove so that the thumb is against the
fingers. Breaking in the glove the wrong way will give it a flat appearance with a very
small opening (players should never sit or kneel on their gloves!). By applying a small
amount of glove oil or shaving cream which contains lanolin in the pocket area of the
glove, the glove will become more flexible and will help to develop the proper shape of
the pocket.

The Ready Position

It is very important that players develop a good ready position if they are going to be able
to react quickly to the ball coming off the bat. Many times young players assume what
they think is a good ready position when in fact, they are working against themselves.

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A good ready position has been described by some as controlled imbalance.
This description suggests that a player should be in the ready position only during the
time it takes for the pitch to travel from the pitcher's hand to the hitting zone. Players
should be taught to step into their ready position as the pitcher reaches the pivot position.

In a proper ready position, the toes should he pointed straight ahead, the feet should be
approximately shoulder width apart, and the pivot foot should be slightly behind the
striding foot (the pivot foot is the glove hand foot). If you drew a line from the right toe
of a right handed infielder to his left foot, it should align with the instep. The knees
should be flexed, the hips lowered, shoulders squared, head and eyes facing the hitting
zone, and the hands in front of the body.

The Fielding Position

The key to a good fielding position is balance. To achieve this balance, a player must
form a wide base. That is to say, his feet should be at least shoulder width apart with the
knees bent and the back straight. The hands should be well out in front of the body with
the back of the glove near the ground. The throwing hand should be above the glove or to
the side of the glove. As a player moves forward to field a ground ball, his forward
momentum should change to a downward momentum to field the ball and then back to a
forward momentum as he prepares to throw.

Repetition is very important in teaching young players good habits. Fielding drills should
be designed to help condition players so that they execute the same fundamentals over
and over again. As a baseball coach, help players develop good fielding habits and you
will win more games and develop your players.

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