As coaches, we all know how crucial it is for young baseball players to develop solid fielding skills. Fielding is an essential aspect of the game that can make all the difference between winning and losing. In this newsletter we'll be sharing drills for improving your players' fielding abilities. With these drills, you can help your players build their confidence, agility, and reflexes, and prepare them for success on the field.

The Ozzie drill helps infielders develop quick reflexes and proper throwing mechanics. In this drill, the fielder will be down on both knees, facing the coach or teammate, who will throw the ball overhand to the fielder. The key is to throw the ball so the fielder gets a short, sharp hop. As the drill progresses, the coaches should alternate throws to their backhand and glove sides.

Coaches should pay close attention to the throwing motion as the fielder throws the ball back. In order to make quick throws, the fielder should use a sidearm throwing motion, rather than bringing their arm all the way up.

This short throwing motion is a good habit to instill in young players as it enables them to get the ball back to the target as quickly as possible. Infield flips and throws, especially shorter throws, should almost always be done sidearm or underhand to improve delivery time.

The Hop drill is designed to help infielders select from a variety of “hops” in a confined area to improve their reaction speed and their timing. For this drill, create a rectangle using four cones around your infielder. Depending on their skill level you can shrink or expand the size of the square.

Coaches should use a fungo and hit the ball to different corners of the box, encouraging the fielder to get in front of the ball whenever possible. Coaches should create a variety of hops during the drill and make the fielder move around as much as possible so they can learn to read the hops at all angles.

The Pancake Glove drill is designed to help young infielders develop “soft” hands when fielding the ball rather than stabbing at it which can lead to them botching the ball. Coaches will need to get a pancake glove for this drill, but rest assured it is a useful training tool!

Coaches will stand in front of the fielder wearing the glove and through the ball to them on a hop. Coaches should alternate between straight ground balls, glove hand balls and backhand balls. The goal of this drill is to have the fielder draw the ball in and catch it with their other hand without it bouncing away. For more advanced fielders, coaches can hit the baseball at them with a fungo to increase the difficulty.

The Three Cone Tag drill is designed to improve the awareness of an infielder and their tagging ability. By getting the fielders on the move during the drill, they will need to be mindful of where they are in the moment to ensure they can get a tag down quickly on the cones.

Coaches should set up a triangle of cones roughly 6-8 feet away from each other. The infielder will start at one of the cones and the coach should throw the ball to them, have them tag the cone and toss the ball to the side. Immediately after, the fielder should move towards the next cone as the coach throws another ball and the place the tag on the move. Repeat in a clockwise rotation as many times as needed, without getting them dizzy!

To increase the difficulty, coaches can intentionally make poor throws that require the fielder to turn and make a more athletic tag.

By incorporating these drills into your team's practice routine, you'll be sure to see a significant improvement in your players' fielding skills. Remember, consistency and repetition are key to mastering any skill, so encourage your players to practice these drills regularly.

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