Infield Cover Drill
All infielders line up at the second base and shortstop positions. A player in front of the base rolls the ball to either 2B or SS. who in turn throws to the opposite player covering the bag, then turns double-play pivot.
Beat The Ball Drill
Set up the defense and a hitter gets one soft toss from plate to put the ball in play, the harder the better, no bunting. It is the job of the defense to field it and throw to first, second, third, and home plate in succession before the runner gets around the bases. [...]
Adding Pressure To Infield Drills
Divide the number of players into 3 equal groups. One group goes to SS, one to 1B and the last stays at home. A coach hits the ball to SS and he throws the ball to first and runs to first after his throw. The 1B throws a ground ball to the catcher and then he follows his throw to home plate. The catcher fields the ground ball and hands the ball to the coach and then runs to SS.
Simple?
- Coach hits ground ball to SS
- SS throws to 1B
- 1B throws ground ball to C
- Catcher hands ball to coach
- SS goes to 1B after his throw
- 1B goes to C after his throw
- C goes to SS after his throw
Where’s the pressure? Here it comes—-
The coach hits to the SS immediately after the 1B receives the first throw. In this way, everyone has to really hustle in and out of position to make this work.
Oh, one more thing. They must complete 3 full rotations without an error before we move on. So if you have 15 players that is 45 individual correct plays. A bad throw or a poorly fielded ball are errors. A player knocking down a ground ball and keeping it in front of him is not an error.
5 Ball Drill
Purpose: To practice footwork and releasing the ball quickly for the throw. An intense conditioning element is also a part of this drill.
Procedure
1. This drill can be used with any of the infielders in a variety of situations. For each position, place five balls in a line in an area where that player would likely field balls. For example, to help the third baseman practice fielding bunts, set up five balls in a line extending from the foul line toward the pitcher’s mound approximately 10 feet away from home plate, where the fielder would pick them up for a bunt.
2. The third baseman starts in his normal ready position and depth, then runs to surround the first ball and throws it to first. He then runs back to his starting position and quickly turns back to field the next ball. Repeat until the fielder throws all five balls.
3. Place the balls in similar areas for the first baseman and catcher. For middle infielders, place the balls to one side of each player and have them practice their throws to each of the bases.
4. Each player fields and throws two sets of five balls placed in slightly different locations.
Variation
• Two fielders can be fielding and throwing at the same time. For example, the first baseman can practice fielding bunts and throwing to first while the third baseman fields bunts and throws to second. Or the first and third basemen can work together to field balls and practice throws while the shortstop and second baseman do the same.
Partner… Glove Hand, Quick Fet to get around baseball to throw… Back hand, quick hands , Pop Flies – open step, get square and behind ball.
Run Downs Drill
Players line up in groups of three, spread evenly apart. The player in the middle, is the baserunner. One player holds ng the ball begins running towards the baserunner, simulating a rundown situation. We make one throw and a tag. Players rotate positions.
Around The Horn Drill
- C-3b-2b-1b-across to 3b
- 3b-2b-1b-c-across to 2b
- 2b-1b-c-3b-across to 1b
- 1b-c-3b-2b-across to c who makes a sweep tag.
Infield Drills
Short Hops: Practice all kinds of short hops: Straight-on, backhand, glove side, hot potato in the hole. Focus drills on the fundamentals of quick feet, centering the ball, moving to either side, keeping your eyes on the ball.
Put your players into circles – about 6 players to a circle. Hand a ball to one player. The players will throw a short hop to anyone in the circle. If the throw is poor, the player is out. If the throw is good and missed, the player making the fielding error is out. (Don’t call the player out if it’s a bad hop). Keep going until one player is left. The players that are out should be cheering the others on. Keep working all the players until you have a team champ. Repeat the drill at all practices so that other players get a chance to de-throne the champ.
Remember that keys to becoming a good infielder are learned skills, not merely the result of natural ability.
“Show Me The Button”: Have your players show you the button on their caps as they do ground ball drills. If you see the button on their hats it means their head is down and they’re watching the ball into their glove.
Quick Picks: Short hops don’t happen only after the crack of the bat. Every infielder will get bad throws and whether they can pick that throw or not will be the result of their practicing quick picks. Have your first baseman dig out bad throws. Have your middle infielders and third basemen practice “grab and tag”; this is where they’re simulating a bad throw from the catcher or another infield that they pick and then have to make a tag on. Have them practice pop-tags, sweep tags and swipe tags. The more game situations you can simulate, the more prepared your players will be.
Bare Hands: The best way to practice catching with two hands and working on soft hands is to do your infield drills with and without a glove. The glove is obviously an incredibly important tool, but it can sometimes get in the way of learning the best fundamentals
30 Second Drill
A GREAT DRILL! It creates competition. It teaches quick hands. It demonstrates the importance of good throws.
Goal: Teach infielders to get the ball off as quickly as possible after catching the ball.
Drill: With partners about 20-25 feet apart, the partners catch and throw the ball back and forth as quickly as possible. The fielders make sure they use their feet to square off their shoulders to make strong throws to their partners.
Start with all the balls on one side. When the coach yells, “go”, the play begins. When the player who threw the ball first receives the ball, he calls out “one”. This is one complete revolution. The play continues until the coach yells, “stop”. How many complete revolutions did they make? Don’t count half revolutions.
The players should quickly see how expensive it is to miss a throw. The winning players will always be the one using two hands to catch and making good throws. They aren’t necessarily the ones moving the fastest. Make sure the players understand this. You might want to have everyone watch the winning team.
Here’s another tip. Every once in awhile, after the players have each selected a partner and are on the line ready to begin, tell the players on one side to move down one player and have the player at the end come to the front. This will disturb the pairing and will allow better players to help weaker ones.
This drill is very effective if done as the last warm up done before every game or practice begins.