Movement 2: Fielding a Ground Ball off the Mound

Follow Through on the Pitch Phase
- Pitch the ball and make sure you rotate your back leg around the body and plant it in front of you.

Fielding Position Phase
- Once the ball is pitched, you should automatically be in a fielding position facing the batter.  Both knees should be flexed and you should be in an athletic stance in which you are ready to move laterally to which ever way the ball is hit.  Your glove should be out in front of your body and almost touching the ground.


Cues: Bent knees, straight back, butt down, hands out.

Reaction Phase
- Once the ball is hit you need to shuffle laterally to get in front of it.  Knees remain flexed and both arms remain extended out in front of your body. You are reading the speed of the ball and the hops the ball is taking as you are shuffeling towards the ball.


Cues: Read the ball and approach it. Get in front of it.

Action Phase
- In this phase you are directly in front of the ball and it begins to enter your glove. As you catch the ball with your supinated glove hand, your opposite hand is pronated and covering the ball up to make sure you don't drop it.  You then "funnel" the ball, which means to bring it up into your body.  Your knees are still flexed at this point.


Cues: Funnel Ball into your body.

Throw then Recovery Phase
- Take the ball out of your glove and rotate your body around until you face the base that you want to throw to.  Plant your back foot and make a strong quick throw to the base. If the out is made, you will be getting the ball back so keep an eye on the base runners if there are any.  Look around the diamond and if there is no action, go back to the mound for the next pitch.  


Cues: Rotate hips, Strong Quick throw.

Drill

Get in Front of the Baseball

When fielding a ball hit back towards the pitchers mound, the most important thing is to get in front of the ball and block it from getting past you.  You need a wide base and need to make sure that your chest is over your knees and your hands remain out.  

In this drill two people will be gloveless and will both be in a fielding position with their hands out, head down, knees bent, and butt down.  They will be facing each other.  One person will roll a tennis ball either to the left or right of the other person and that person will need to shift laterally and get in front of the ball to field it cleanly.  Once the person has fielded it, he or she will roll it back to their partners left or right side.  This will be done 20 times each so 40 times total.  each person will get 10 rolls to their left and ten rolls to their right.