Title
Players shuffle laterally to field ground balls, emphasizing quick feet and soft hands in an athletic stance.
Compilation
If this video stacks several distinct drills back-to-back, split it into individual, draggable drills — each with its own clip, steps, and tags.
Coach's take
Great for building: Lateral agility, quick first-step reaction to the ball, and maintaining proper athletic fielding posture through the catch.
Builds toward Making plays on ground balls hit hard or softly to either side, improving fielding range and ensuring clean transfers to initiate throws.
What it is
Players line up side-by-side, spaced apart, in an athletic fielding stance. A coach rolls ground balls to their left or right. Players shuffle to the ball, field it, and shuffle back to their starting cone.
What it practices
This drill trains lateral agility, quick first-step reaction, maintaining an athletic fielding posture, and using soft hands to receive ground balls cleanly.
Focuses on improving
It targets players who struggle with lateral movement to the ball, getting low and balanced in their fielding position, or maintaining focus through the catch.
How to run it
Perform 3-5 reps per player, then switch the order or direction for a new set.Setup
- 1Set up cones 3-5 feet apart in a line, with each player positioned behind a cone.
- 2The coach stands 10-15 feet in front of the line of players with a bucket of baseballs.
Run the drill
- 1On the coach's command, players get into an athletic fielding stance, ready to move.
- 2The coach rolls a ground ball to one side of a player.
- 3The player shuffles laterally, keeping their body in front of the ball, to field the ground ball cleanly.
- 4After fielding, the player shuffles back to their starting cone.
- 5Repeat the process, varying the direction and player for each ground ball.
Coaching cues
- Stay low through the shuffle and catch.
- Watch the ball all the way into the glove.
- Soft hands to absorb the ball.
- Quick, choppy feet to get to the ball.
- Glove out front, eyes down.
Common mistakes
- Standing up too tall while shuffling or fielding, losing athletic base.
- Not moving feet enough, reaching for the ball instead of getting body in front.
- Taking eyes off the ball too early, resulting in misplays.
- Stiff hands, causing the ball to bounce out of the glove.
Progressions
- Increase the speed of the rolled balls to challenge reaction time.
- Have players field two consecutive ground balls (one left, one right) before returning to the cone.
- Use smaller tennis balls or wiffle balls to emphasize soft hands and precise glove work.
Coach notes
transcript
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