Basic of Fielding

   Fielding a baseball can be a difficult and scary task for young athletes. I can still imagine, as a new player to the game, a hard-white ball smacked in my direction. You always hear coaches YELL stay in front of the ball but your head is SCREAMING “GET OUT OF THE WAY!!”  This can certainly be a scary moment for a player that has not been taught the proper approach to fielding a baseball.  I’ve seen this look in the eyes of young baseball players, asking themselves that very same question, ‘do I stay in front of the ball and attempt catch it, or do I move out of its way to safety’?  New coaches/parents please take my advise --- begin each season teaching fundamentals!  No matter what level you are coaching, start slow and progressively move faster according to the progress of your team.  It is said by professionals that many problems, are created by bad habits from a poor fielding position¹.  The goal of every coach should be to teach the proper mechanics and develop muscle memory.   

   One of the top reasons I work hard in building my player's confidence in their mechanics, is so that they will no longer have to think about “fielding” because they developed muscle memory to able to react instinctively as a fielder. This can only be accomplished with lots of practice and performing thousands of reps.  In this article I will demonstrate a few of the basic fundamentals of fielding, techniques that can be taught to a newbie or used to just refresh  muscle memory of a experienced player. Please remember these are only the basics steps to fielding a baseball hit straight at you and is within two steps of either direction of a fielder.

Fours easy steps to becoming a better fielder

1.              Feet – I like to train all my athletes from ground up for a couple reasons. First, I do not want to miss a step when training my athletes. Second, my athletes can create a simple routine of steps that

are easy for them to remember when they are practicing their fielding from the ground up.  I would never say that our feet are the absolutely the most important body part of an athlete, however, I do consider them extremely important.  My observance in coaching youth athletics for the last nineteen years, is that young athletes who have good feet usually turn-out to be fairly good athletes as the they get older. To properly field a baseball, they must start with their feet. I train my athletes to keep soft knees (knees are slightly bent) and be able to move in any direction.  I have my fielders key off the pitcher's, a the pitcher breaks their hands, I have all my players on the field take a small step to engage their lower body (butt and legs) and prepare their bodies to break on the ball, we call this the “ready position²”. When the ball is hit directly at a fielder, I coach my players to take small, choppy steps while reading the path of the baseball.  Small steps will allow the athlete to play the ball even if it makes a slight change direction i.e... a bad hop.

2.              Flat Back – Now that our feet have placed our body in the proper path of the movement of the baseball, the fielder must get their eyes and hands into proer position to field the ball.  In order to

get the upper half into proper position, the fielder must get into the flat back position. Flat back is simply positioning the back parallel with the ground, pushing the head down(eyes looking forward), this will place the fielders eyes in the best position to see the ball.  To properly get into the flat back position the fielder must have wide feet, wide enough that their arms can comfortably hang down in-between their thighs, bending at the waist, and getting their butt back and up (not down in a squatting position).

3.              Hands – now that the arms are in position between the thighs as the ball is in reach of the

fielder, the fielder will need to extend their hands out passed the bill of their cap reaching out to the ball, this will allow the fielder to be able to see both ball and glove at the same time. Fielder will also need to keep a strong wrist to control the glove and keep finger tips extending downward toward the ground to keep the ball from hitting the edge of the glove.

4.              Eyes – obviously, seeing the baseball is very important in fielding the baseball.  I am positive that you guys have heard it said many times at the ballpark “keep your eye on the ball all the way to

your glove”. This is actually important concept!  I teach my fielders to approach the ball with their left eye, this puts the fielder into best position to field the baseball to make the throw, making the throw is the sole purpose of fielding the ball.  This video Ripken Baseball Fielding Tip-Fielding a Ground Ball will provide a visual of the steps  Link to video³

   Reminder these are four basic steps to fielding a baseball.  I am fully aware that fielding can be much more difficult than I have just presented, although these four basic steps will certainly give most any young athlete a solid start to developing a foundation in becoming a better fielder.  These simple steps are not only helpful to young athletes but can also be used to assist a more seasoned fielder in making minor adjustments to their mechanics.  Coaches or parents, if you guys ever a have questions or concerns about this topic or any of my blogs, please do not hesitate to ask me the question and will do ye very best to get you answer.  Thank you and please remember God and Family First!

References

¹Bernier, D. (N.D.). How To Field A Ground Ball. Pro Baseball Insider. Retrieved from: http://probaseballinsider.com/baseball-instruction/how-to-field-a-ground-ball/

²American Sports Education Program., & O’Connell, T. (2007). Coaching youth baseball 4th edition. Fundamentals of fielding a ground ball. Human Kinetics. Retrieved from: http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/fundamentals-of-fielding-a-ground-ball

³Ripken, B. (2013, June 11). Ripken Baseball Fielding Tip-Fielding a Ground Ball [video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqSNwFVv1s