Hey...what are some drills to block pitches in the dirt...i play ss 2b and i pitch and catch so this will really help me...thank you
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just have someone throw you one hops from 20 ft away and block them keeping your body angled toward home plate
you can also just get down on your knees with hands behind your back with gear on and have someone else have fun and throw one hops at you
you can also just get down on your knees with hands behind your back with gear on and have someone else have fun and throw one hops at you
I'm going to assume you've never really done it so much, so it's going to very difficult to get into the habit of getting in front of all of them, but when you got it down, I find them fun. You gotta be ready for them - every pitch. Also, do visualization- that helped me. Do all the drills njbaseball21 said. good luck.
Just to reinforce what Catch43 said,
When I started to learn to block it was hard. What was harder was, after you get the from down, getting yourself to do it in the game. But once you start doing it consistently in games it becomes fun to do. Just expect to have a lot of black and blue marks on your arms and thighs when you are just starting out. What looks really cool is seeing the seams in your arms. You'll see what I mean shortly if you know yet.
-Kevin
It takes a special breed to catch.
When I started to learn to block it was hard. What was harder was, after you get the from down, getting yourself to do it in the game. But once you start doing it consistently in games it becomes fun to do. Just expect to have a lot of black and blue marks on your arms and thighs when you are just starting out. What looks really cool is seeing the seams in your arms. You'll see what I mean shortly if you know yet.
-Kevin
It takes a special breed to catch.
I had trouble getting down blocking, I am still having trouble getting down on both knees, but I have gotten my natural reaction to almost always dropping down on at least one knee, attempted to get my body in front of the ball, and rolled my glove over. It is a huge improvement from the beginning of the year when I always tried to pick it. As long as your have a good chest protector, it wont hurt. A lot of people think, a foul ball off the chest hurts somewhat, so a 90 mph fastball will to. When you actually do it, and after the ball has hit the dirt, it has lost most of its speed and momentum. Especially if it is a breaking ball, it probably doesn't have much speed on it anyways. In the end, try to make a game out of it, or if that isn't your thing, have fun doing it or something.
Just have someone go up to the field with you, even if its a sibling, and have them throw them as hard as you can, trying to hit the dirt. Draw a box or something where they should hit it, and have them aim there. If they don't want to, tell them it will be like being able to hit you without getting in trouble for it.
Just have someone go up to the field with you, even if its a sibling, and have them throw them as hard as you can, trying to hit the dirt. Draw a box or something where they should hit it, and have them aim there. If they don't want to, tell them it will be like being able to hit you without getting in trouble for it.
All good drills...you might want to consider doing all of these with tennis balls---if you can control that (after it hits you) a baseball is easy....to be honest...it doesnt hurt of the gear...getting it off the bat on the inner thigh is what really hurts! Have fun!
In addition to blocking drills, understand that you need very quick feet to block pitches. Do jump roping to build quickness; it will help with your infield play as well.
