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Great Hands Practice Drills
Drills For Younger Players
Turn-Two Drill / Double Play Drill
This drill helps shortstops and second basemen turn quicker double plays. They will develop the ability to transition the ball from the feed to the throw to first very rapidly.
Feed the ball to the second baseman just as it would come from the shortstop or third baseman when starting a double play. The second baseman's hands should be held slightly out in front of his body, close together, ready to receive the throw. When he/she receives the throw remind them that they are not catching the ball, but rather transferring it. This should be accomplished in a quick motion, using the Great Hands™ simply to stop the ball, while grabbing it with their right hand. The player's right arm should come straight up in preparation for the throw to first (for purposes of this drill, the throw does not have to be made, but is preferable if it can be). Repeat many times until the player gets a firm grip of the concept. The player can practice on their own or with a friend as often as they like.
For shortstops repeat the process from the opposite side of the bag with the feed coming from the first or second baseman.
Relay Drill
This drill is designed for players at every position of the infield. They will develop the ability to transition the ball on a relay throw in from the outfield, and deliver it to second, third or home plate quickly.
Place players in a straight line about 40 feet apart, with coaches at both ends. 4 to 6 players are preferable. Starting at one end, a coach should throw the ball (not hard) to the first player in line. The player's body should be "squared up" to the coach in anticipation of the throw. The player should move his body according the direction of the throw, preparing himself to receive, transfer and throw the ball in virtually one motion. The player's throw will be to the next player in line, and so on, until the ball reaches the coach at the other end. Repeat the process back and forth many times. The coaches should see the time from one end to the other getting shorter as the players' skills develop.
Bare-Hands Drill
This is the classic groundballs drill formerly used without a glove. With the Great Hands™ glove, the player's glove hand is protected while he still learns to rely on his hand rather than the glove.
Players should line up at their respective infield positions, one behind the other. A coach should feed groundballs by hand to the first player in line. The player should field the ball properly, using his top (bare) hand to smother the ball into the Great Hands™ glove. The player may then throw onto first if another player or coach is available, or he can simply return the ball to the coach feeding the groundballs. The next player then takes his position to receive the next groundball. Repeat many times, watching that good footwork accompanies the player's fielding.
Feed the groundballs to the player's left and right, forcing them to forehand and backhand groundballs. Be careful to not allow the players to become frustrated. Developing the skills with the Great Hands™ glove to field these groundballs successfully will not come easily. Repetition is the key. As the player develops the ability to field forehand and backhand with the Great Hands™ glove, their confidence level will improve tremendously.
Eventually the players should graduate to batted balls. No need to hit rockets at them, just grounders at, and to the right and left of the players. At this point some situational practice may be implemented.
A player can develop skills for both catching and fielding all on his/her own simply by throwing a ball against a wall and fielding the rebound. No matter the age or skill level, a player can have fun practicing even when there is no one else to practice with. And quite often, as players have discovered for many years, a ball can be pretty tricky to field as it caroms off a wall. The faster the player fields and fires, the better his/her hands are going to be.
Flip Drill
Flip is really more of a game the players can play together. This drill (game) will develop the players' hand-eye coordination, as well as their ability to use their hands.
Stationed in a close in circle, 2 to 8 players may join in. One ball is used. The first player tosses the ball to any one of the other players participating. The receiving player does not catch, but rather "flips" the ball to another player. This repeats until the ball drops to the ground. Then start the process over as many times as the players would like.
Players can keep score by docking -- usually a quarter turn of the cap -- the player responsible for the ball dropping to the ground. Four quarter turns of the cap and the player is either out, or becomes a "Judge" who participates, but can no longer win. The last player without four turns of the cap is the winner. There are many "unwritten" rules to Flip (Spot, Clanks, Skating, etc.), and we're not here to be the first to write them down. Let the players make them up as they go. They'll have fun and improve their skills in the process.
Drills For Advanced Players
Great Hands® focus - The Great Hands® baseball training glove focuses on improving glove-hand skill, control and consistency. Some drills may focus on just glove hand or both hands. It depends on the ability of the fielder, as all drills should be made challenging for fielders. The smoothest fielders in the game are great with their glove hand, but still use proper fielding technique depending on the type of groundball.
Warm-up: Glove Awareness
Objective -Fielders are focused on their glove hand only. Fielding the ball in the Great Hands® pocket without relying on the top hand.
Area in use: Infield dirt.
Triangle’s, at ‘em
Players can do these drills with a partner. There is Player A (the fielder), and Player B (the feeder). Player A is in a fielding stance, creating a solid fielding triangle with his feet and his glove out in front. His feet will stay fixed to the ground while allowing his knees to bend. His throwing hand should be behind his back. Player B should be about 15-20 feet away throwing/rolling grounders to Player A. The player fielding the ball will focus in getting his glove out in front and funneling it in to his belly button as he fields. Speed of the feed should depend on the ability of Player A. Player B will feed Player A between 8-10 feeds. Then the players will switch rolls throughout all drills
Forehands
Player A will now open up his fielding stance as if fielding a ground ball off his glove hand. Player B will feed 8-10 ground balls and the fielder will focus on the raising elbow, of his glove hand, while fielding the ball. Players can move their feet depending on the feed.
Backhands
Player A will set up for a backhand and Player B will feed Player A 8-10 ground balls. Player can move their feet and continue into a throwing position. This will be the most challenging drill. Emphasis should be on fielding the ball out in front, working the glove back depending on the hop or distance of the feed.
Short hops, at ‘em/forehand
Fielders are allowed to use two hands, depending on their skill level. The ultimate goal is to get all fielders to use two hands, but not be reliant on both hands. Player B will now throw short hops to Player A, challenging his ability to cleanly field it in the Great Hands® pocket. Player B may also pull the hop slightly away from the fielder making it an in-between hop, for more developed athletes.
Coaches should emphasize glove hand awareness and encouraging fielders to feel the ball in their glove-hand over and over again. These drills take any where from 7-9 minutes if done properly.
“Attack”
Objective: The fielders will learn to control their approach to ground balls and focus on keeping their head/eyes down on the ball, while securing the ball in the Great Hands® pocket.
Area of use: the infield diamond.
Infielders will set up on the back edge of the infield, behind their position. The coach will hit an average ground-ball fungo to the fielder from the plate area. The infielder will charge and play through every ground ball hit. The infielder will be aggressive in his initial movements toward the ball, and make a read on his approach to fielding it. His approach may be to continue with his foot speed or slow down his foot speed in order to field the ball on a high hop or a short hop. Vision and hand/eye coordination will be challenged in this drill. The Great Hands® will increase the difficulty and better train these areas of fielding due to an increase in concentration. Two hands are recommended for this drill using the Great Hands® . As the athletes progress and become advanced, glove hand only will be the next step for athletes to take in this drill.
Double Play feeds
A myriad of infield drills can be done to improve the transfer from glove to throwing hand. The benefits of using the Great Hands® for double play feeds is the infielder not only gets the benefit of quickening their transfer, but they also improve their footwork. Anytime you do Double Play feeds, coaches need to make sure that the feeds are game-like and firm, even if they are inaccurate feeds. It will be very difficult at first for the receiving infielder to catch an off-target ball with just the Great Hands® . The receiving infielder will need to move his feet and secure the catch and transfer with both hands. This will enforce the infielder to step to the ball that is to the left or right of him/her. With repetition and practice the infielder will reinforce catching the ball with two hands and will also learn the proper footwork for the type of ball he/she is transferring. The infielder should learn with instruction whether to use the step behind, step back, or straddle footwork from second base, while learning to reduce the amount of time the ball spends in the glove. The ultimate goal will be to use the Great Hands® baseball training glove as a deflector of the ball into the throwing hand. This will take place at an advanced stage for infielders, but is attainable through hard work and repetition.
As with any drill that involves using the Great Hands® , concentration levels are elevated and imperative, in order to improve the desired skill involved. If you can do it consistently with the Great Hands® , you’ll be able to do it with your regular glove.
Outfielders
The Great Hands® baseball training glove can also be used with outfielders. A coach or fellow player can throw (not hit) fly balls to the outfielder. The Great Hands® will force the fielder to square up the fly ball and receive it properly using two hands -- no one-handed hot dogging here.
The Great Hands® can also be used with outfielders for charging grounders hit into the outfield. The drill is the same as you would normally conduct during practice. However, using the Great Hands® will cause the outfielder to again square up the grounder and field it more fundamentally sound.
Repeat these drills with your outfielders as often as desired to create good habits rather than bad.
Catchers Drills
Blocking Drills
Objective: To train catcher’s blocking technique, focus is on blocking the ball with their *belly button, and not the use of the glove.
Many young catcher’s make the mistake of using their glove to knock a dirt-ball down or to pick it with their glove. This reinforces improper blocking technique as some catcher’s fail to get into a good blocking position, due to this bad habit.
Catcher’s can use the Great Hands® for any blocking drill to reinforce getting the glove down, and program them to use their chest protector
*belly button – a catcher’s belly needs to be made the softest part of the body when blocking. This will keep the ball from bouncing too far away from the catcher.
Catcher’s Transfer
Objective: To train the catcher’s glove hand, to deflect the ball into the throwing hand as a part of the catcher’s throwing mechanics, and to improve footwork.
The concept here is to cut the amount of time the ball spends in the glove and train for a deflective transfer, rather than a catch and transfer.
A ball will be thrown (firm toss from about 35 feet) to the catcher and he/she will use the Great Hands® to practice deflecting the ball into the throwing hand, leading into the throwing position. The catcher may initially start out by being in an athletic stance to grasp the concept of deflection. There should be an auditory distinction between a deflective transfer and a catch and transfer. The deflective transfer should make two sharp sounds of impact, as the ball will hit the Great Hands® and the throwing hand. The more distinct the sounds, the better the transfer. Make sure that the catcher is not cheating by catching the ball with both hands or by putting his/her throwing hand under the glove hand and using gravity to assist the transfer.
It is key in instructing the catcher to attempt to make the transfer take place towards his/her throwing side ear. This will put the ball in the catcher’s throwing launch position sooner, than if the transfer happens out in front, below chest level. The benefits of this are multiple, as catcher’s will learn to stay down through their throwing mechanics allowing them to use more of their legs. This will also make the catcher focus on keeping a short arm circle.
Keep in mind, distance equals time. The longer the distance, the slower the POP time. This principle also relates to footwork.
As the catcher improves from this athletic stance, progress the starting position, down to a catcher’s full squat. The progression from an athletic stance, to a half squat, to a full squat will depend on the athletes’ development. As the catcher develops, the coach can begin moving the feeds around, so that they are towards the left or right shin guard.
This part of the drill will also reinforce proper footwork to the ball. Once the proper transfer has been repeated, focus should turn to the quickness of the footwork in conjunction with the transfer. The focus will now be on making the timing of the (hands) transfer and the planting of the rear foot (footwork), as close together as possible. I call this “closing the gap.” The “gap” equals the amount of time differential between the thud of the hands, and the planting of the feet. The challenge is to make them happen simultaneously, if the pitch provides. This will quicken the transfer and feet, making them work together, lessening the amount of time the ball spends in the possession of the catcher. Therefore, the catcher’s POP times (glove to glove) will improve, increasing his/her ability to throw runners out.
Tag Plays
Objective: The objective of this drill is to train catcher’s to field/catch the ball cleanly and position himself/herself to tag the runner.
There are frequent plays at the plate where the ball is not relayed through. Most times the catcher needs to communicate to let infielders know to let the ball go through. Often times the ball will take a hop or multiple hops on its way to the catcher. The ball will sometimes kick or stay down making it a difficult ball to field. The use of the Great Hands® will help catcher’s with their hand-eye reflexes and make them accustomed to fielding the ball with two hands. In essence they are becoming infielders, but are limited in movement as they need to field the ball as close to the plate as possible.
For this drill the coach should simply take a bucket of balls to the outer, back edge of the infield. The coach will then hit (or throw to younger or less experienced players) balls to the catcher’s (who must be fully suited), that will mimic different kinds of throws to the plate. The goal of the catcher must fully be on catching the ball, not blocking it (especially on the in-between hops). The catcher should be instructed to work low to high, and to keep their eyes under the ball is it bounces towards them.
Note: As the catcher’s work to field the balls at the plate, they should also be instructed to use proper footwork and positioning that will help prevent injury.
Other uses of the Great Hands® for Catcher’s:
- Pop ups
- Receiving
- Bunt plays
*This will discourage catcher’s from using their glove to pick up the ball, and encourages them to use a proper scoop or bare-method of fielding the slow moving ball. – This will make catcher’s catch the ball in the correct area of the glove, limiting past balls. It will also aid catchers’ in receiving the ball softly, limiting balls that clank out of their gloves. To prevent injury, this should be done with an “Incrediball” or a tennis ball. – Increases concentration and reinforces catching the ball with two hands.
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By Cal and Bill Ripken
By now you’ve probably gotten tired of reading that there are no shortcuts and that repetition is the key to success when it comes to developing fundamental baseball skills.
Making sure that your players get a lot of repetitions – whether we are talking about swings, ground balls or fly balls – can be a challenge when you have a roster of 12 or more players, but there are ways to maximize the time you spend working on fundamentals that you may not have thought about. Even if you have one assistant coach or volunteer helper, you can use that person to break your kids into smaller groups, keep them active and at least double their repetitions.
Realistically, by eliminating some throws and using strategically placed buckets, you can probably triple or even quadruple your players’ ground ball repetitions during a given session. Keeping your players active not only will make practice more enjoyable for your team, but also it will allow them to improve rapidly and dramatically.
Many coaches rely on formal infield/outfield pre-game and practice routines for their teams’ ground ball work. While traditional infield/outfield practice is great for having players work on moving their feet, throwing after the catch and hitting the cutoff, in most cases only one player is working on his or her fielding fundamentals at a time. Sure, you may be working on cutoff and or relay fundamentals or on turning double plays, but as far as fielding goes, you are hitting balls to one person at a time while the others are watching.
Professional baseball players field a minimum of 50 ground balls per day – either before batting practice, during batting practice or both. Those guys are the best in the world at what they do, so if it makes sense for them to field balls every single day – even though they play on pristine fields – wouldn’t it make sense for your young players to do the same?
Remember that your players are still developing their skills, so the more balls they get to field the better. We like to say that when the routine plays truly become routine – when players develop the muscle memory to feel relaxed enough on the field to react automatically to most balls that are hit their way – is when it becomes possible for the more challenging defensive gems to occur.
With that in mind, we feel strongly that it makes sense to spend 15 to 20 minutes at the beginning of every practice working on individual fielding. Of course, you want to accomplish a lot in every practice – baserunning, hitting, team fundamentals and so on – but if you really think about it, what is the point of cramming all of that stuff into a practice if your team struggles with the most basic part of the game (catching and throwing)?
Certainly, since time together on the field is a precious commodity, you want to be able to work on other aspects of the game during your allotted practice time. We are not suggesting that you spend your entire practice having your players field balls; kids are still kids, and we want to make sure they are having fun. If you spent even 30 or 45 minutes just working on fielding fundamentals, there’s no doubt a lot of your players would lose interest. However, we do want to stress that is important to have your players field balls for 15-20 minutes every time they are on the field. And if you are going to set aside that amount of time for fielding, you might as well do what you can to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible, right?
Here’s how you can do that:
Ask another coach or volunteer to hit ground balls with you. Get two full buckets of baseballs, or if you only have one bucket of balls, divide the bucket in half. Place half of your players on the left side of the infield and the other half on the right. It is best to put them in positions that they actually play, but for the first part of this drill, you want the players to be distributed evenly on both sides of second base so that they all get an equal number of reps.
Let’s say that you have 12 total players and want all of them to catch ground balls (definitely a good idea with younger teams). In a perfect world you would place three kids at third base, three at short, three at second and three at first. As you will see, an even distribution is the best scenario for the first part of the drill in which the players simply field balls and drop them in a bucket. Once you ask players to start making throws, it is important for them to be in positions that they normally might play to simulate the type of throw that they might have to make in a game. Likewise, it is a good idea for first basemen to work on receiving throws, proper footwork, etc.
Before starting the drill place an empty bucket or other type of container that can hold balls at each position in a location that will not interfere with the players attempting to catch ground balls. Place the buckets in foul ground at first and third and in the outfield grass behind second and short. One coach sets up five to 10 feet to the right of home plate, with the other five to 10 feet to the left of the plate. Each coach has a bucket of balls. The coach to the right of home hits ground balls to third base and shortstop, with the other coach hitting to first and second.
This is a rapid-fire ground ball drill, with both coaches hitting balls at the same time. The coach to the right of home hits a ball to the first person in the line at third base. That player fields the ball, focusing on the proper fundamentals, jogs to the bucket and drops the ball in it. The next player in the third base line quickly steps up and does the same. This coach hits to all the third basemen and then all the shortstops and then repeats that pattern until there are no balls left in his bucket. Meanwhile, the other coach follows the same pattern with the second and first basemen.
After each coach has emptied his or her bucket, have the players return the balls to the coaches’ buckets and then start over. This time, however the third basemen and shortstops throw to first after fielding the balls, while the second basemen continue putting the balls in their bucket. The first basemen put the balls thrown to them in their bucket after receiving. Hit balls until the buckets are empty and then reverse the scenario, with the second basemen throwing to first and the first basemen dropping the balls in their bucket while the shortstops and third basemen simply field the balls and drop them in their buckets.
This is a great way to ensure that your players field a lot more ground balls than they would get in a normal session, while also allowing them to work on throwing after the catch. Likewise, the first basemen get to field balls and also concentrate on proper footwork around the bag and receiving. This allows you to focus more on specific team fundamentals such as cutoffs and relays, force outs, double plays, throwing to bases and so on during your regular infield/outfield routine without having to worry if your players are getting enough reps fielding batted balls.
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By Bill Ripken
I’ve said it before, and I know if you are familiar with our articles and instructional products that you’ve either read it or heard it come out of my mouth on more than one occasion: The better we play catch, the better we play baseball.
It’s very simple. Defense is a huge part of the game, and when you really break defense down, every play that is made on the diamond involves a catch and a throw. Even the most complicated plays such as relays and double plays are comprised of a series of catches and throws.
A double play, for instance, includes a catch of the initial batted ball, a throw to the player covering second, a catch and throw by that same player and a catch by the first baseman.
Likewise, when a relay situation arises, the outfielder must either catch a ball that is hit and still rolling or pick up a ball that has stopped rolling and throw it to a relay person who has to catch the ball and then throw it to either another relay person or the base where the lead runner is heading. So, in its simplest form, defense really consists essentially of catching and throwing.
In baseball, like in most sports, defense often is overlooked or at least somewhat taken for granted. The reality, however, just like in other sports is that a strong defensive team can win a championship. To understand this, I’ll break it down a little further. If your team is really powerful offensively but can’t make routine plays, you could lose a lot of 13-11 games. If your team really battles to score a even a few runs a game, but your pitchers throw strikes and you are sound defensively, you have a chance to win every game. You can be competitive every time you take the field with that formula. And if by chance your team is an offensive powerhouse and you play good defense, look out! You definitely have the makings of a championship club.
Look at the Colorado Rockies of two years ago and their surprising run to the postseason. They emerged as the best defensive team in baseball and rode that all the way to a National League title. Our 1989 “Why Not?” team in Baltimore was very similar. Our pitchers were always ahead of the hitters and we were very strong defensively – up the middle and in the outfield particularly. Other than Cal we really didn’t have a bona fide power hitter or even an offensive star in the lineup, but we were able to score enough runs to come within one game of winning our division.
Another observation that I make all the time is that I can almost always watch two youth or high school teams play catch before a game and tell you which team s going to win that day. The team that plays catch the best, and by that I mean throwing and catching with a purpose – catching the ball with two hands out in front, throwing over the top using a four-seam grip, turning the front shoulders, stepping toward the target and working on good footwork – will win almost every time. The group that is lazy and clanging every second or third throw off of the fence … not so much. In my opinion the worst sound in baseball is the sound of a thrown ball hitting a fence.
I’ve never taken this belief to the extreme of turning it into a scientific study, but I don’t have to. I’d bet this is the case at least nine times out of 10 without a doubt, so in my mind there’s no need to validate the theory.
Despite the importance of throwing and catching to overall team defensive success – and ultimately wins and losses – the portion of practice devoted to warming up and playing catch often is ignored. Even high school players are still in their developmental stages, so it is important to understand that the more your team practices certain motor skills incorrectly, the more apt their bodies are to respond incorrectly under the stress of a game situation. Dad always said that perfect practice makes perfect. Well, sometimes I prefer to flip that around by saying, “If you practice like a moron, you’ll play like a moron.”
The problem is that younger players don’t necessarily understand the value of approaching everything they do in practice the same way they would in a game. Once they get beyond the fear of the ball and catching becomes more second nature, playing catch gets boring to them. So, with that in mind, here are a few ways to make things more interesting for players of any age and to help them improve at the same time.
Play 21
Twenty-one is a game that is played by baseball players of all ages. It promotes focus, concentration and proper mechanics while placing players in a situation in which there is at least some pressure to perform in a more competitive setting. Once your players are warmed up, have them stand anywhere from 60 to 100 feet apart. Ask them to play catch, but have them compete against their partners. Any throw that arrives at a player’s head level scores two points for the player throwing the ball, while throws that arrive at chest level are worth a single point. The first player to 21 wins. See who wins the head-to-head competitions and which player is the first on the team to get to 21.
Quick Hands/Quick Feet
Ask your players to stand between 60 and 90 feet apart, depending on their age and the distance between bases for their age group. You should have two lines of players playing catch, so make sure that all of the balls are held by players who are in the same line. At your command to start, the players in one line shuffle their feet and throw using as quick of a release as possible to the other line. Players in the other line catch the ball with two hands out in front of the body, funnel the ball to the center of the body, turn to shuffle their feet and make a quick throw back to the player in the other line. Throw for 30 seconds. Any pair that misses a ball or makes a bad throw sits immediately. The other players should count how many successful throws and catches they complete in the allotted time. The pair that records the most successful throws and catches in 30 seconds wins. Establish a team record and see if it can be broken every practice.
Around the Horn
Another game that promotes quick feet and a quick release as well as accuracy is a game that we play with the teams during the Cal Ripken World Series skills contest called Around the Horn. Place players at each base and home plate. The player at home starts with a foot on home plate and a ball in his or her glove. This is a timed contest. Start the clock when the first throw is released. The player at home shuffles and makes a quick throw to first. The player at first must catch the ball and tag the base before shuffling and making a quick throw to second. The ball continues in this manner until it comes all the way around to home plate. Once the player who started the series of throws receives the ball at home, he or she throws back to third and the ball goes back around the horn in the opposite direction. If players are pulled off the bag they must go back and touch the base before throwing to the next base. Place an extra ball near each base so that if there is an errant throw the player on the base can go and pick up the extra ball before running back to touch the base and making the throw to the next base. Players do not chase bad throws. The team with the fastest time wins. Again, have your team establish a record time and try to beat it every time you play this game.
Bunt-Run-Throw Game
This game is great because it allows your pitchers to work on fielding bunts and throwing to batters at the same time that your hitters get to practice bunting and baserunning and your defense works on throwing and catching under pressure. The pitcher delivers the ball and the batter lays down a sacrifice bunt. The pitcher fields the ball, with the initial throw going to first base. Once the ball is bunted, the batter runs all the way around the bases, making proper turns, no matter what happens in the field. The first baseman catches the first throw and throws to the catcher at home. The catcher throws to the second baseman, who is covering second and then throws the ball to third after receiving it. Once the third baseman receives the ball, he or she throws it to first, where the first baseman relays it to the shortstop covering second. At this point the runner should be rounding third, and if everything has gone well defensively there should be a close play at the plate if the shortstop can make a strong and accurate throw to the catcher. Players should come off of their bases to receive errant throws (they do not have to go back and tag the base), and they must chase down any ball that gets away and complete the drill no matter what.
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