Baseball Footwork Agility Drills
It doesn’t take an experienced coach to tell you that most physical errors are a result of poor, lazy, or
improper footwork. Baseball is a game that can be played by players of all sizes, but becoming bigger,
stronger, and faster can only help an athlete perform at a higher level. Agility is critical to having good
footwork. Below are some simple drills that can be done in the confines of your own home during the
long winter months.
Agility Ladder
Agility ladders are great for improving footwork and agility. If you don’t want to spend a bunch of
money on a new ladder, tie some rope together or use painter’s tape and make a ladder on the floor.
Here are a few of the drills you can perform:
1. Two feet in each rung (quick, short steps)
2. Bunny hops
3. Face sideways, two feet in two feet out of each rung.
4. Alternating feet side hop (one foot in each rung)
5. High knees, two in each rung
6. Carioca (crossover front, crossover behind)
7. One step (one foot in each rung, quickly, forwards and laterally)
8. In and out (In/in, out/out) go both directions
9. Crossover run (one foot in each box, crossover step
10. Side straddle hop (two foot hop in and out of boxes)
11. Centipede (one foot at a time, quick short steps on the count of 2 in/2out/2over)
12. Riverdance (count of “in/behind/out,” one foot in, other steps behind and out the other side of
ladder)
These and other ladder drills can be found at the linky:
http://www.kingsportstraining.com/blogs/training-blog/7694405-13-speed-and-agility-ladder-drillsfor-faster-footwork
Small Hurdles
Small hurdles are another inexpensive agility method that can be easily incorporated into a warm-up or
practice. Cones or other items about 10 – 12” high can be used for the hurdles. Here are a few drills.
Feel free to be creative and try new ones:
1. High knee 2 steps, two feet between each hurdle
2. Bunny hops facing forward
3. Sideways bunny hops
4. Sideways high knee 2 steps
5. Side facing, forward/backpedal weave
6. One step, quick step, fast as you can
7. Crossover laterals
8. 3 steps, move slow n control while arms/legs pump fast, touch ground 3x each hurdle
Videos of small hurdle drills at the linky:
http://www.kingsportstraining.com/blogs/training-blog/7696403-8-drills-using-the-king-mini-speedhurdles-speed-agility-training
Quadrant Drills
Quadrant drills can help with reaction time and change of direction skills. Tape a cross on the floor,
and number the quadrants as seen below:
Call out a movement pattern (see below), and the athletes will hop the pattern with one or two feet.
Use 10 second intervals with 30 second rest between sets. Keep the head and center of gravity over the
center of the cross, move feet as quickly as possible, and keep their chest facing forward.
Patterns:
1.) 1-2
2.) 1-4
3.) 1-3
4.) 2-4
5.) 1-2-3
6.) 2-1-4
7.) 1-2-3-4
8.) 1-4-3-2
9.) 1-2-4-3
10.) 2-1-3-4
Box Drops with Movement
The player stands on a plyometric jump box (milk crate or any other box) and steps off forward. A
partner or coach will point to the player’s right, left, up or forward as the player comes off the
box. When the player hits the ground they will immediately take two or three hard steps in that
direction. If the partner points up in the air the player will perform a vertical jump as soon as they hit
the ground. You can also put a glove on the player, have them take two or three steps and field a
baseball to that side or get into good fielding position.
Cone Agility Drills
Set up one or two sets of cones as shown below (c=cone) about 5-7 yards apart. Start a short line of
players at the first one (bottom left). They will shuffle, or run the pattern for each cone. Start the next
player begins when the players in front of them gets to the second cone in the pattern. Like the box
drop drills, you can have each player wear their glove, and break down to a fielding position when they
get to each cone. Make sure you do both directions for balanced work.
Pattern #1
Pattern #2