Polar Bear Baseball Academy
Infield Learning Targets
Be Athletic – Create and nice base with our feet. Balance – (Jenga)
Butt stays down, don’t bend at the waist. That will help us to see the
whole baseball,
Not just the top of the baseball – See with your 3D glasses
Hands out in front of you and watch the ball into the glove – Alligator!
Get your glove to the ground and make a good triangle with your glove
and feet.
How should we teach our baseball players to get ready for
the baseball?
Our readiness for the baseball begins as the baseball crosses
the plate – Right up to that, players should be relaxed…Coaches,
don’t put them in fielding position that they have to hold for 5 to
10 seconds…and don’t have be stationary with their hands on their
knees.
Mass Infield – Purpose – to develop proper footwork for your whole team.
This footwork is also the footwork of the outfielders. We will field an
imaginary baseball in this drill work.
Coaching Points – Be Athletic, butt down, hands out, good triangle with
the feet –
Baseball in hand…Commands
Ready – (focus is on the baseball) Ready position is not glove and
hands positioned on their knees. Ready is relaxed waiting for
pitcher to deliver that baseball when pitcher starts to throw, we
move our feet.
“Step Step” players take a right, left step (opposite if they are left
handed) and are now in an athletic stance with weight on the balls
of their feet. “you will need to teach them what that looks like and
feels like”
Add in the footwork “Right Left Catch”
“Right Left Throw”
Drill Series - Coaches, give a quick explanation and demonstration of the
drill that you are going to have your players perform, have players than
perform the drill with lots of repetition –
Explanation, Demonstration, Imitation, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Infield Drills
Stationary ball – “Step Step” on go, the players position them selves in
front of the baseball with butt down, feet and glove forming a good
triangle – Coach checks and player does a self check to see if they have a
good triangle (5 Repetitions)
Alligator Drill – We are going to catch with two hands on a ball that is hit
to us. Throwing hand on top of the baseball – Like an alligator – Coach
commands Step Step, then rolls ball to infielder who uses good two hand
catching technique (5 Repetitions)
Rolled ball drill – Coach Commands, Step Step and rolls ball right at
infielder, infielder properly secures the catch and takes a right left step
to get throwing leg under and gets into throwing position.
Rolled ball drill – same as above but player throws the baseball back to
coach without stopping at check points
High Five Underhand Flip – “Step Step” Roll ball to players – they catch
the baseball and take step towards coach and underhand flip the ball
back to you following their throw – give them high five thus keeping
momentum towards target after throw – 5 reps
Orange – Group of fielders at 3rd base, Group of fielders at 2nd base,
Coaches roll balls to 3rd base and they field and make a throw to 2nd base
– Coach rolls balls to 2nd base and they make a throw to 1st base. 5-8
repetitions for each athlete and rotate groups (Sock Nets)
Blue – Set players up in a box with players at each corner 1st corner rolls
the ball at 2nd corner and they field and roll a ball to the 3rd corner and
they field and roll a ball to the 4th corner. Players follow where they
threw or rolled the ball – 3 minutes
4 Corner – ground ball – exchange, exchange, exchange
4 Corner – Ground ball diagonal, ground ball diagonal
4 corner under hand feed from 2B/SS
DYNAMIC WARM UP
Form Running – (90 ft) Run on the balls of your feet, maintain high knees,
(Hands should be thumb to fingers and loose) Arm action should be chin to
back hip pocket. Focus on loose, yet aggressive action!
Butt Kicks – (90 ft) Run on the balls of your feet, use the same arm action
as in Form Running. Use short strides and kick your butt with each
stride.
Side Shuffles – (90 ft) Start in a good basketball defensive position.
Shuffle sideways without crossing your feet or clicking them together.
Hold abs tight
Backward Run – (90 ft) – Proper technique involves good arm pumping
action, keeping loose hands and good reach with stride foot. This agility
is good for loosening up tight hamstrings sometimes caused by too much
forward running.
Carioca – (90 ft) – Cross over front, cross over behind, cross over front –
Focus is in taking smaller steps rather than large. We are working to
develop fast twitch muscle fibers. Swing arms out front- side to side to
help with balance.
Bound – Power Skip – (90 ft) – Form a jog leap forward and upward with
high knee. Reach out to gain ground. Land on ball of foot and repeat,
alternating legs
Slide and Glide (90 ft) – Heel to heel shuffle (don’t cross feet) sideways
down and back with side to side arm swings
Walking Lunges – (60 ft) - Placing hands on your hips with feet together.
Take one giant step forward then lower your body down to your backside
knee (Don’t let your knee touch the ground!!!) Repeat process for 3o feet.
Keep lead knee from going outside of lead foot.
¾ Speed Drills - Secondary lead and steal, Delay steal, Bunt Read, Two to
Four – this is our 2% Edge drill – we want in each game to take 2-4 bases
off balls in the dirt.
Stretches Prior to Throwing
Shoulder shrugs/rolls – Shrug shoulders straight up and straight down 10
times, slowly roll shoulders forward and back 10 times. Keep hands at
sides
Shoulder Stretch – Right arm across body at shoulder height and repeat
with left arm. 2 sets @10-15 seconds, Focus; shoulder, triceps
Straight Arm Circles – Circle arms forward 10 times and then backward 10
times in a swimming motion – Focus rotator cuff and shoulder
Interlocking finger push-out – Interlock fingers and push arms away from
chest.15-30 seconds – Focus: Middle back and forearm
Interlock fingers and push up over head. 15-30 seconds, Focus; upper
back and triceps.
Arm Across Chest – (right and left) bring target arm straight across chest,
shoulder height and switch, Hold each arm 15-30 seconds – Focus;
shoulder
Arm over top – (right and left) bring target arm over the top shoulder and
back hand on back and switch, Hold arm for 15-30 seconds. Focus: triceps
Four-way forearm – Work wrists palm up, palm down, 15-30 seconds.
Focus: wrist and forearm
Upper Chest – Grab your hands behind your back, palms out – raise to
extend arms to the sky. Do not bend over. Keep rib cage up!