Diamond Sports Training
Infield Play
All good infielders have five things in common
Quick hands
Soft hands
Quick feet
Strong legs
Body Control
Rest and Ready Position
You cannot get your best jump from a dead stop
A good ready position allows players to keep more balls in the infield
Rest Position
This is the time between pitches when nothing is going on
Must be thinking about the situation (outs, runners, score, etc.)
Must know what you are going to do if the ball is hit to you or goes to another player
Ready Position
This is the time when the pitcher toes the rubber and begins his wind-up
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Feet spread at least shoulder width for a strong base
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Knees flexed and ready to run (Athletic position)
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Weight on balls of feet
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Hands extended with glove open and facing the sky
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Slight rock back and forth to stay moving
Getting into Fielding Position
Getting into good fielding position in time, on time, and under control gives you a chance to
react to the tough hops as well as the easy ones
Charging the ball allows you to do 2 important things
1) Cut down the angle and distance that you must throw the ball 2) choose the hop
Charge hard but keep body under control
Infielders catch the ball with their feet!!!!
Feet take you to the ball, into fielding position, and into throwing position
The last two steps are the most important when getting into fielding position
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Never raise up from the Ready Position
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Attack ball with glove shoulder (or ball outside of body on glove side)
Ultimately positions ball in center of body
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Keep glove extended while going to the ball – Do not drop, pat, or flip glove
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Last two steps are 1, 2 Field – Must be smooth and under control (Do not jump into
fielding position)
Throwing foot straight to ball
As you go to ball, begin to lower into fielding position (Bottom goes down)
Be an airplane landing, not a helicopter landing
Glove foot then goes to the side - 2 times shoulder width and toe to heel
As foot hits ground, back should be flat and glove on the ground
Ball should be in center of body
Should be on the balls of the feet
Never get on the heels as an infielder – ball will eat you up!
This puts you into perfect fielding position and allows you to handle any type of hop
Only 4 types of hops
Long hop
Short hop
In between hop
Bad hop
You have control over 3 of the 4
If you go to the ball in the correct way, you will get the hop you want
Fielding Position
Getting into perfect fielding position allows an infielder to handle all kinds of hops
Four types of hops – Long, short, in between, and bad
Have some control over 3 of the 4
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Feet are spread 2 times shoulder width
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Feet staggered toe to heal (or toe to instep) with your glove foot out in front
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Bottom is down
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Back is flat and parallel to the ground (allows hands to get out front)
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Glove is extended out in front and on the ground (always work below the ball)
Allows for quick and soft hands
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Bare hand is extended beside glove or over glove (alligator)
Allows for quick hands
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Head is up to see the ball
While tracking ball, should be able to see glove out front with peripheral vision
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Hands are relaxed so they can react
When ball hits glove, cover ball with bare hand
Cradle ball into body for soft hands (Like catching an egg)
Ball goes straight to stomach with elbows out at side
Head follows ball (Should be able to see the button on the hat)
Moving Through the Ball
A fielder should never be at a dead stop when fielding the routine ground ball
Nothing in baseball looks better or draws more attention than a smooth fielding infielder
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As you cradle or funnel ball to stomach, feet have to get into throwing position
Two options
Throwing hand foot crosses inside glove foot
Cuts down distance and gets momentum going toward the target
Instep should face target
Glove foot then moves into straight line with target
As this happens, you should have separated the hands and be in a good
throwing position
Shuffle feet towards target replacing front foot with back foot
Feet must be in a straight line with target
Much quicker but usually doesn’t gain as much ground to target
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Never raise up to throw – Stay Low to Throw