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My 13yo son has gone through an interesting progression in positions since this point last year...

Up through last fall he had primarily been a catcher since kid-pitch started. A few stints in the outfield here and there - but mostly a catcher. He worked hard on the techniques, and was pretty solid defensively. In the spring rec season I was in desperate need of pitching, so up on the mound he went. Surprisingly he ended up being pretty good. During the summer we moved to a travel team where he was the number 1 pitcher and either was at 3rd or behind the plate when he wasn't on the mound.

The coaching staff of the team had little knowledge of how to actually teach the infield positions (myself included), so the coaching he received at third pretty much amounted to - stop the ball, throw it to first.

Looking for better coaching, we moved on to a new program after the fall season ended. During tryouts the coach - who is a former college and HS head coach said that he thought he would make a good SS. After a recent weekend tournament where he played SS and pitched, the coach told us that my son would be the everyday SS going in to the spring season.

Now, this is great for my son. He's looking forward to playing SS except for one thing - he has no clue what he's doing. Behind the plate he's great, heck - I think he can recite Dave Weaver's DVD from memory. At SS though - he has a lot of learning to do.

Basically I'd like to be able to point him in the right direction for some things he can read up on, or videos to watch. He's a smart kid with good basic skills, but he is looking for stuff like proper footwork and situational positioning. Defensive strategy kind of stuff as well. I know he will get solid instruction in practice, but he is looking for things that will help him elevate his game that he can do on his own outside of practice.

So, to the collective intelligence of the group - any thoughts on where I can point him?
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Meachrm, reading others shortstop stuff on your site, I read you are not in favor of a shorstop straddling the bag because they would have to backhand any ball to the 3B side. I then read you want their left foot near the bag. Help me understand, if their left foot is near the 2B bag and they catch the baseball, do they have to dive or reach, so to speak, over the bag to tag the runner, as opposed to just being able to drop the glove? Great site.
Thanks guys!
Nicholas25, It sounds like you are referring to a steal attempt with the SS covering. In that case, if possible, the SS should position himself in front of the bag (home plate side) until he sees where the throw is going. If the throw is going to be on the mark, he can drop his left foot back over the bag (straddle) catch and tag straight down. If the throw is poor, he goes and gets it without worrying about the runner being in the way. Does that make sense? I'll make a video of it today.
quote:
Originally posted by meachrm:
Thanks guys!
Nicholas25, It sounds like you are referring to a steal attempt with the SS covering. In that case, if possible, the SS should position himself in front of the bag (home plate side) until he sees where the throw is going. If the throw is going to be on the mark, he can drop his left foot back over the bag (straddle) catch and tag straight down. If the throw is poor, he goes and gets it without worrying about the runner being in the way. Does that make sense? I'll make a video of it today.


A video of this would be great because it sounds just like how I teach it. Would love to double check it with you to make sure I am.

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