Funneling (Infielders)

I prefer to teach them to funnel to their midsection/belly button. They should field the ball off the left side of their chest. I like the midsection because it allows them to stay balanced while thier footwork plays out.

Can you share your thoughts as to why you think taking the ball to their ear is an advantage?

Agree with Redbird. Funneling to the mid section also allows them to keep a bobble in front of them. Funneling toward the ear could allow a bobble to hit them in the head or go behind them leaving litte chance for a quick recovery and any play.

Here are a couple of advantages and how I sell it to the kids.

It's about attacking the ball. A controlled attack, but an attack. Any other sport, when the ball is on the ground you go get it. Baseball is treated differently. You still attack the ball with your body, but have your hands move in the opposite direction. I promote playing through the ball.

Funneling to the midsection created "alligator arms" (not to be confused with "gator grip"). If a SS is moving toward first and coming around the ball, his body will be going one way but his hands the other. A lot of the time they field the ball too far under their body and not out in front.

Go through a fielding motion and funnel to your midsection. Once you get to your midsection, stop and look at your feet. You are one shuffle away from making a throw and the ball is at your belly button. A lot of the high school players I deal with lose arm strength or take too long to get the ball out because they are trying to catch up to their feet. This also cause them rushing their throw.

Now, funnel to your ear. When doing so, the glove is on the ground and it's a flat push to the ball. Same glove angle as normal and extend out front, then "shovel" to straight to your ear. Now look where your feet are and where the ball is. Your arm is much closer to a throwing slot before you shuffle, therefore you have no choice but to use your legs.

Because everything is moving toward the play (1st or 2nd), funneling to the ear ended up "closing the gap" 12-18 inches, on average.

As for deflections. If you bobble or deflect it, the "flat push" helps keep it in front of you and gives yourself a chance to recover. You don't get to your ear until you "catch" it.

I know this isn't perfect and their are many ways to teach it. Just one thing I like and for us, it works. We have some very knowledgeable baseball minds on here and I want hear all opinions.

Thanks guys

I have fielded GBs both ways....probably millions over the years.

I promote playing through the ball as well, but I focus more on doing so with your feet. I have found that many kids get in unathletic positions by attacking every GB with their hands.

Alligator Arms - If you have a kid who has "alligator arms", it isn't because of funneling to the midsection, it is because he gets into poor fielding position. Mostly likely, poor hip flexibility or he just doesn't get his butt low enough.

Feet - We can go a couple of ways here but the best method (IMO) is to step through with your R foot to your target. If you can't get enough momentum to get off a good throw by doing this, you shouldn't play IF. If you lose arm strength by funneling to your midsection, you need to go to the OF.

Deflections - As the game speeds up and guys run 6.7-6.9 60's, any deflection that bounces more than a 4 feet away from you will result in a runner being safe. By pushing your hands toward the ball, the deflections tend to be further away from you.

Short hops - This is the only ball I recommend "attacking" or "going to get" with your hands.

In between hops, long hops, and flat GBs - I like funneling toward the midsection.

Just my thoughts...

Thanks redbird, that's what I was looking for.

You're right, most of these kids are in a poor position when trying to field a grounder, regardless of the technique. A couple of things...

Alligator Arms - Not a major problem, just one I see on occasion.

Feet - So do you promote any or all of the three, step in front, step behind, or replace?

quote:

Feet - So do you promote any or all of the three, step in front, step behind, or replace?

Replacing gains direction and distance with the feet. As far as funneling to the ear, I think that works best on slow rollers and balls that you have to range too, for a backhand, any ball that can be squared up to, needs to be funneled to the midsection as the feet are replacing. JMHO

quote:

Originally posted by JBaioni:
Feet - So do you promote any or all of the three, step in front, step behind, or replace?

I promote stepping in front - aggressively taking the right foot in front of the left in the direction of the target. It gets momentum going toward the target (which I don't feel the other 2 methods do) and it closes the gap between me and the 1B.

What about you?

I typically promote step behind mainly because the fielder already has his glove side foot slightly forward. Plus, it helps to keep his front shoulder "closed" and pointing to 1st. (I had one kid that opened up horribly when throwing to 1st. Some of the worst mechanics of a starting infielder I've ever seen. Needless to say, we didn't win very many games that year...)

Honestly though, this is one thing I allow them to use what's comfortable then adjust only if necessary. Well, one of the many things...

I have found that many kids that step behind are off balance. They tend to drift toward their heels and the ball sails high to the arm side.

Also, the step in front method keeps them from standing too tall (popping straight up) and losing velocity. I am also an advocate of following your throw. With proper footwork, you don't need to throw with max effort to give a strong accurate throw (e.g. Ozzie Smith).

I do two things to try to keep them balanced. 1) Keep them on the balls of their feet and 2) point their front shoulder to the target.

We follow every throw two steps in the direction we're throwing, whether we're warming up or taking infield...

We work very hard on creating momentum towards our target before we ever field the baseball. Fielding the baseball is something you do after you have used the proper footwork to get in the proper posistion to field the baseball. There are three types of momemtun. Neutral - The ball is crushed right at you and there is no mementum created when fielding the baseball. Negative momentum - the ball is hit in a direction that is taking you away from your throw. Positive momentum - the ball is hit in a direction that is taking you to your throw. An example of positive mo would be a SS with no one on and the ball his hit to your left and an example of negative mo would be a SS and the ball is hit to your right.

The goal of every fielder should be to created positive mo towards the target on the approach to the baseball so when you field it the mo is carried through the ball and to the target. I call it playing through and to the target. Too many players either sit back on the baseball or work to the ball and then sit on it stopping all of their mo and then having to create mo all over again. The whole idea is to create a path to the baseball that takes you through it and to it.

In rare situations where you can not create positive momentun towards your target ie - ground ball up the middle for the 2b that he has to backhand - he muct learn to quicky stop the negative mo and plant with the outside foot and then create positive mo quickly towards his target 1B and learn how to get rid of the baseball with something on it. The same scenario for the SS fielding a ball in the hole at short.

In most cases the player can create a positive mo path to the baseball that creates a through the ball path towards his target. I have taught the funnel to the throwing side which allows the player to instantly point his throwing to his target on the funnel. The only thing left to do is throw the baseball as he is coming through the ball and towards his target.

I am often asked "Coach how do you teach fielding a ground ball?" There is no one way to field a ground ball because there are so many different situations that you must learn how to defend. The slow roller to your right , left , the hard hit ball right at you , the ball hit hard to your left or right , the situation in the game and where your going with the ball , the conditions of the field , the speed of the runners etc etc.

What I do believe is the path to the baseball will dictate what kind of posistion you are in to make a play once you get to the baseball. There are many kids that can sit there and field a ground ball. The difference in players is who can get there with the ability to not only field it but play through it and make plays from all angles and all situations.

Proper path to the baseball , proper fielding of the baseball , creating positive mo to the baseball which allows you to use that to play through the baseball towards your target , funneling the baseball in a way that eliminates waisted time in the throwing process and making consistent accurate throws to the target.

We work very hard on the slow roller left and right , gb's glove side and arm side and hard ground balls right at you. Its all about creating positive mo towards your target by taking the proper path to the baseball. And then funneling to the throwing side getting your shoulders turned on the funnel playing through the ball and towards your target.

There are many drills you can use to get players to play fluid and athletic baseball. Coming to the ball stopping and restarting will not get it done as you move up the ladder. The funnel and release should be one continuous motion and it should be a fluid and athletic motion.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
We work very hard on creating momentum towards our target before we ever field the baseball.

.....

The funnel and release should be one continuous motion and it should be a fluid and athletic motion.

Ton of great points in this whole thread coach. Great post.

How do you funnel the baseball into the midline and create positive momentum?

quote:

Coach May

One of the top fielding ithought processess that I have ever heard. Great POST. It is all about, preperation, angles and abilty to be fundementally sound, notice, the drills, that COACH works, are the routine balls that can be "focused on".

quote:

We work very hard on the slow roller left and right , gb's glove side and arm side and hard ground balls right at you. Its all about creating positive mo towards your target by taking the proper path to the baseball. And then funneling to the throwing side getting your shoulders turned on the funnel playing through the ball and towards your target.

playing through the ball and towards your target.

"the ability to "nose up" to the ball and push thru to target. This ability will let you have the opportunity to play at the "next level". IMHO.

If you read my post I do not teach this. I teach funnel to the throwing side. The positive momentum is created by the path taken to the baseball and playing through the ball and to the target. When you funnel to the throwing side your turning your shoulders to your target at the same time.

Great points!!

Coach May,

When you say, "...funnel to the throwing side..." do you teach it to the hip or higher?

To the throwing slot on that particular play. A slow roller your coming through may require a lower throwing slot so the funnel would be to that slot , etc. For instance if you funnel a slow roller to the midsection you then have to bring the ball and arm back in a second motion to throw. If you funnel directly to the throwing slot you can make the throw in one continuous motion.

One other point. When you funnel to the throwing slot this turns your shoulders to your target as your funnelling the baseball. In other words your turning the entire process into one continuous fielding motion. You can actually go through the motion yourself and see what I mean. Come through an imaginary baseball on a play your making to your throwing side. Funnel to your midsection and then make the imaginary throw to your left. Now funnel to your arm slot needed to make that play and see what it does to your shoulders and how much more fluid and quicker it actually is.

That's what I teach, I just use the ear as a point of reference.

Gotcha. I would say the ear would be a great reference point especially on the gb smoked right at you where the mo was neutral.

Good stuff guys!

Great points, Coach May. As players get older and develop proper mechanics, good infielders naturally develop this ability "as they get bigger, stronger and faster". I feel if fielders are first instructed at young ages to bring the ball towards their midsection, the good ones will learn the slots Coach May speaks of. Like hitting, there might be a slight differance from player to player.

This thread reminds me of the threads that got me on this site in the first place. We are actually talking baseball and not all this nonsense , but thats another story.

Here is another point I would like to make. When kids are younger they are taught many times ways to play the game that allow them to have success at the level they are playing. Sit on the baseball , reach out in the triangle , gator the baseball , funnel the baseball , step to your target , throw the baseball. The problem with this is they become static players. They become robotic. If you teach a 12 year old to field at the level he is playing then he will be a 12 year old fielding like a 12 year old. If you want to be an elite player you need to be a 12 year old fielding like a 16 year old. I hope you get my point. The problem for many is when you teach them to play athleitc and fluid the errors will increase at this young age. But they will be learning how to field properly at a young age. And they will continue to progress and be an outstanding fielder as they grow. The others will be good stoppers of the baseball but they will never field at a high level. You have to be willing to have some failure to ultimately have success.

When I work with a young player I teach him to learn how to attack the baseball and learn how to take the proper path to and through the baseball towards the target. The approach , actual fielding , funnel , etc is all one motion , all one task in itself. People would be surprised how good a young kid can learn how to field when they are taught the proper way to actually do it from the start and not have to relearn how to do it and wipe of years of poor instruction.

Most kids that can not throw , hit or field at a high level can not because they were taught and learned the improper way to do it at a young age and then it was reinforced time and time again. A player is better off to have never had any instruction at all and then get proper instruction than to have had years of improper instruction and then have to relearn.

Coach May,

I remember teaching my son to step through after fielding a GB when he was 6. His feet would tangle and he would fall to the ground. His friend would laugh at him and I would whisper to my son..."Don't worry. He won't laugh when you are in HS with good footwork."

Coach May,

Threads like this are the reason I joined this website. I love discussing technique and learning other philosophies.

On a side note, I've thought about bringing in a Tai Chi instructor a couple of days a week. A lot of what Tai Chi teaches is what we stress on a daily basis...

Is there any video of the two different ways, one funneling to the ear, and then funneling to the midsection. Also, and drills you could practice in the basement? Thanks

I don't see an advantage of one method over the other (ear vs. midsection). For the record, I went out and took 200 GBs today experimenting with both methods. The timing was a bit different for funneling to my ear but I could adjust within 20 or so GBs.

I used to teach funnel to the midsection as well. The reason I changed is because when you funnel to the midsection you still have to take the baseball to the throwing posistion in order to get rid of it. #1 You still have your shoulders pointed straight ahead and not at your target when you field it. #2 You still have to take the ball from the midsection and to the throwing posistion. The reason I teach funnel to the throwing side is #1 by doing this you are turning your shoulders to your target as you funnel #2 Your funnel brings the baseball to the throwing posistion at the same time your funnelling it. So what your doing is turning this into one motion instead of two or three.

It is just much quicker and more efficient and gets your body into a better throwing posistion while fielding the baseball. Many times kids make bad throws because they are not in a good throwing posistion when they field the baseball. They look up and see they need to get rid of it and throw the ball across their body and their shoulders are not turned to the target properly. If you funnelling to the throwing side your setting up your throw as you field the baseball.

Its just the way I teach it. It has worked very well for our guys both in hs and with the Dirtbags. It doesnt mean that your way is not also right redbird. If it works for you Im all for it.

When I funnel to the midsection, my feet set up my throw and my shoulders turn to 1B. I accomplish the same thing by being very active with my feet.

I agree with you on the cause of bad throws. That is why I like stepping in front AGGRESSIVELY. It closes the distance toward 1B AND creates the direction and shoulder turn needed to make the throw.

redbird5 / Coach May,
Great posts. I really like the points, about agression with the feet. The step in front methoid is a frontrunning concept, even above replacement, simply because of the distance gained.

Coach May, we had some of our more advanced guys 14U and up work with the ear transfer today, it worked great in certain situations. Catchers especially had tremendous improvements in pop times.

CoachMay- Let me propose this to you,,,,,As an infielder, if you are fielding the ball on the left pec (RH), then as you funnel to your midsection, "not bellybutton" just towards your midsection, your hands would actually be moving towards your throwing slot, correct? and from this point, each individual coach and player will refine this with developmental progression. Would you agree?

Good posts fellas.

Don't forget this old piece of advice: "There's nothing wrong with your hands but your feet."

Coach exactly! Thats what I mean by funneling to the arm slot. It would be counter productive to bring the ball all the way around to the ear in this situation. Its important for kids to understand that the situation will dictate the way the baseball is fielded. The path to the baseball is critical but sometimes it takes everything you have just to get to the ball - thats when you have to have the ability to just "make a play" and the ability to throw and field from all angles is critical.

I am not a coach ( sorry - I know this is a coaches forum)but son is a MIF and I am interested in the thread. Can someone define funneling so I can fully grasp what is being discussed? thanks.

463,

Funneling is the motion immediately after the ball hits the infielders glove. Most of the time this is to the midsection. Some are starting to teach it more to the proper arm slot.

Coach May,

You are exactly right. We only funnel to the arm slot on groundballs that allow us the time.

We number all of our grounders.

1) Bare-hand slow roller
2) Gloved slow roller
3) Routine 2-3 hopper
4) Smoked 1 hopper
5) Smoked short-hop

Of course, these may not be right at you but we try to funnel to the arm slot on 3, 4, and 5. We've made a lot more plays on the 5's than in the past. I've also found that we get the 2 ball out quicker because they're going straight to their arm slot and not "around".

Also, for some reason we have trouble with the path to the baseball. We work on footwork without a ball, with rolling a ball, and with hitting a ball. Everything's perfect until we start hitting it to them. We don't drop-step to the ball if it's to our right or left. A ball that we should be able to field pretty easily turns in to a tough play because of our path to the ball. When I say "we", I mean our program as a whole. I have individual players that take great angles, of course they're at SS....

JBaioni,

What problems are you having with path to the ball? How do you teach the approach?

The trouble is that they can't figure out how to apply what they learn to the field.

We start with "shadow" drills so they can focus on mechanics and not the ball. All infielders line up and work on their footwork together, without a ball. We simulate all 5 of the grounders above in all three locations; right, left, and right at us.

Next we go to "small" drills, which is me rolling them the ball, so they can again concentrate on mechanics and not worry about the ball. We work the same 15 grounders, multiple times.

Finally we move on to fungo drills. All three drills we use a bucket to come around the ball, if applicable.

Any other ideas?

I don't know a lot of technical terms but I found video of a kid that looks like he has great footwork and gets the ball out of his glove real quick not necessarily even funneling just getting the ball out even before it gets to his hip.

My son went to a camp where a pro scout told him you should strive to field with pretty much just your glove hand and make the transfer by your feet.

I would say the player in the video would be a good example of that.

infielder