Be in the ready position before every play. You cant field a ball and make the play unless you are down and ready. Infield Down and ready means just that. But what exactly is down and ready? It does not mean hands on your knees , as we so often see in youth baseball. Coaching your youth baseball team will be a lot easier with these baseball ready position tips .
Ready Position
1. Feet should be spread a slightly wider than the shoulders and weight
should be on the balls of the feet not the heels.
2. Butt Down!
Having your butt down I feel is the most important part of the ready
position…if your butt is down the knees bend and the hands go
down with them. This gives balance, and allows those hands to get down
and keep those ground balls from rolling under the glove. If you see
a ball roll between a kids legs under his glove it is because the glove
wasn’t down. I know you have heard or will hear coaches yell “get
your glove down!”, Getting your “butt” down will help solve this.
3. Hands in Front
Two hands-Its not always possible but the ball should try to be fielded in
front of the body. Its easier to stop a ball you can see in front of you and your body will also act as a barrier for any missed balls, thus keeping the
ball in front to easily be picked up and a play still being made or extra
bases not given up.
4. Eyes on the Ball
It’s very difficult to catch what you can’t see. Catch the ball in front with
two hands.
It’s for safety too. I have seen several kids, and a few coaches get hurt
because of not simply paying attention to the ball.
5. Creep
As the ball is being pitched your players can take a couple of tiny steps to
get their body in motion. This will get them off their heels and it just is
easier to react once in motion. Watch a pro game sometime and you will
see what I mean.
Diamond Training Secrets! – Click here to learn how to improve performance
Shortstop Ready Position Drill
A simple drill to reinforce the ready position/fielding/and make the play at first
Do this first thing at every practice after players warm up throwing on sideline!
1. Line Players up at Shortstop/Coach at shortstop making sure ready position is implemented/ Coach at first to catch/Coach at home to hit ground balls
2. Hit ball to 1st player-fields ball throws to 1st starts a new line at 2nd base position
3. Repeat for every player
4. Start over hitting balls to 2nd and player throwing to first
REPEAT
This is a great way to get the kids ready, fielding, and moving, while adjusting throws from different lengths.
As your practices progress you should start letting your first basemen catch first and place catchers at home.
More to come
