Fielding Ground Balls: 3 Drills That Fix Bad Hops and Soft Hands
If you searched for fielding ground balls drills youth players can actually use, you already know the pattern: the barehand stab at the last second, the pop-up out of the crouch, the routine grounder that squirts through. Here are three coach-credited drills from our index that fix the real causes, not the symptoms.
Why is fielding ground balls so hard for youth players?
Three problems show up over and over at the youth level. First, the approach: kids charge in on a bad angle or stop on the ball instead of moving through it. Second, the hands: they stab or wait, misread the hop, and let the ball play them. Third, the body: staying low is uncomfortable, so they stand up early and the glove rises right off the ground.
The good news is that each of those has a clean drill fix. The three below map directly onto those three problems, and all of them work at any level.
What are the best fielding ground balls drills for youth players?
The Line Drill, by @coachmurphbaseball
The fielder works a ground ball along a chalk line on the ground, which forces a straight approach angle and teaches them to keep moving through the ball into the throw instead of stopping on it. If your player fields flat-footed or takes a lazy angle to the ball, this one gives them an obvious visual guide to fix it.
Watch @coachmurphbaseball's drill →The reaction and hop-read drill, by @lessonbygonzo
An infield drill built around eye-hand coordination and reaction time. The fielder trains to read the ball's speed and hop early, then move the hands precisely to the point of contact rather than stabbing late. This is the fix for soft hands and for the kid who keeps getting fooled by short hops.
Watch @lessonbygonzo's drill →The constant eye-level drill, by @suzu8779big
A fielding drill focused on holding eye level and hip height steady while the player moves, so they stop standing up too soon and losing their low position. It doubles as lower-body conditioning, which is a bonus for younger players who fade late in a practice. Perfect for the kid who pops up out of the crouch.
Watch @suzu8779big's drill →Run one drill per practice, ten to fifteen focused grounders, and rotate through all three over a couple of weeks. Fielding is built on clean reps with feedback, not on one long session. These drills belong to the coaches linked above, so go follow them for more.
How often should my kid do these drills?
A little, often. Two or three short sessions a week beats one marathon. Ten to fifteen good grounders where your player is actually thinking about the cue will do more than fifty sloppy ones. If something hurts, or if you want mechanics checked in person, work with a local coach and check with a physician before ramping up any volume. This post is information, not a substitute for hands-on instruction.
When is it not a fielding mechanics problem?
Sometimes the glove work is fine and the real issue is elsewhere. A quiet, tentative infielder who freezes on the ball may just need to play louder and more confidently, which is exactly what communication drills like @chipsperformance's Purple Elephant Drill are built for. And a kid who boots easy plays but makes flashy ones is usually a focus and routine-consistency problem, something @lessonbygonzo also covers. If you are not sure which one you are looking at, describe what you actually see and let the index sort it out.
Get the 3 best drills for your player.
The drills above are a sample of a much deeper index. Tell us your player's exact version of the problem, their age and level, and what you actually see at practice or in games, and we'll email the 3 best fielding drills for them, within minutes.
Find your drills → Coaching a team, or want a full weekly plan for your player? See Fungo plans.