Groundball Footwork

quote:

Originally posted by TheRick:
Coaches,

I've noticed an increasing amount of coaches teaching a left foot behind the right foot approach to grounders as opposed to the old-school left in front of right method. I can see pros and cons to both.

What does everyone favor and why?

p.s. 3 weeks til we hit the field!!

Where are you seeing this instruction and what are the pros you see? Is this position-specific or situation specific-instruction?

This earlier thread may be discussing what you are talking about as far as footwork.
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...1074461/m/2921000482

I have a couple of generic comments.
* If an infielder has plenty of time to set up and sets up with left foot in front it does tend to translate to 'hard hands'
* left foot back is a dangerous habit for an inexperience fielder and players tend to pull up early and let balls below them
* if the fielder is fluid thru the ball and is gaining momentum toward the target he is in a better position now regardless of which foot is in front, or perfectly square, when the ball touches his glove

A lot of west coach college coaches teach this way. After consulting a few of these coaches, plus some professional infield instructors, it is a way I have adapted into my infield teachings as well. I also see quite a few MLB SS and 2B fielding this way as well. Reyes and Pedroia are two.

The main reason for putting the left foot slightly behind, is that is creates more of a "forehand" play. It gives more freedom to the glove hand to react and keeps the elbow in a soft fielding position and keeps the ball on the glove side of the body, which can be a huge problem for younger kids that often times get the ball in the middle or right side.

As any infielder their most comfortable play and 9 out of 10 will say the forehand. On a ball hit directly at the fielder, I teach a angle jab step up and to the right. This lets the fielder gain some ground and also get to the right of the ball. I then teach them to field "10 toes to target", which would be first base. So the left foot is slight behind the right, but they are still in a good fielding position with the chest over the ball (they are not playing ball off to the side). Instead of the old "rounding" technique, I teach them to play through the ball towards the target, first base.

This also helps them in not leaving the ball behind on and catching it on the right hip when making the transfer to throw.

Another thing I got from Perry Hill, one of the best infield coaches at the MLB level, is that I do not want my infielders crossing their feet to throw. Most infielders that field with left foot forward or square feet will crossover with the right foot and immediately get themselves off balance. I want them to shuffle the feet to throw. Gain ground quickly (quick feet, quick release) and throw.

I might be hard to visualize this in words, but like I said, I saw this a couple of years ago and had my doubts, but since implementing it I see my fielders being more athletic, keeping their balance, and working their angles better and not rounding.

Catchingcoach,

I disagree with kids getting off balance by stepping through with their right foot after fielding. That has not been my experience at all. In fact, I have found the opposite to be true...a good step through with the right foot helps establish balance.

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:
Catchingcoach,

I disagree with kids getting off balance by stepping through with their right foot after fielding. That has not been my experience at all. In fact, I have found the opposite to be true...a good step through with the right foot helps establish balance.

I guess it is all preference. I would rather shuffle with my feet not crossing. Whenever the feet cross over one another, you run the risk of getting the feet messed up which will throw off balance.

The other thing I have noticed is when kids crossover the hands usually get left behind and go to the right hip which can throw off the transfer/throwing mechanics.

Just try this experiment. Spread your feet apart, bring right foot to left foot (pause), and then left foot back apart from right foot (simulate the shuffle motion). Now, do the same thing same, but crossover with right foot (pause), and now take left foot back apart.

I know I feel a lot more balanced with the shuffle mentioned instead of a crossover.

Can anybody provide video links showing players fielding with a right foot forward bias?I've allways been taught and teach right/left to the ball right/left throw with the left foot slightly forward while receiving.I'm curious as to how the transfer looks.---I'm allways open to new ideas.

I will see if I can get some video off my DVR of Reyes, etc.

In the meantime, here is a still photo of Pedroia in the left foot back and "10 toes to target" position.

Alright, I have to agree that it opens the glove hand up and makes it softer.

The only issue I see with this technique is the front shoulder flying open. With the left foot behind, it seems like the fielder would have a hard time getting closed back off which obv results in flying open on the front side and not being able to get on top of the ball.

Thoughts?

quote:

Originally posted by CatchingCoach05:
I will see if I can get some video off my DVR of Reyes, etc.

In the meantime, here is a still photo of Pedroia in the left foot back and "10 toes to target" position.

I can also see how it would make the glove hand softer but wouldn't the natural flow while receiving the ball take the transfer towards the left shoulder/ear?I'm just having a hard time visualizing how this would equate a quicker throw to first base.With a left foot forward bias the receiving of the ball and the transfer would take the ball more naturally to the right ear/shoulder.The hips and shoulder would allready be closed and the throw could then be made to his left/first base.

By all means,I'm not doubting this technique to field ground balls but more so wondering the benefit as opposed to the way I'm teaching.It would seem to me that the throw from Pedroia's position would be a sidearm/underhand throw.Is this the quicker?

My son has gotten lessons on middle infield with an X-MLB'er for several years. He has been taught left foot forward at short stop with a crossover or heel-click on the throw. Standard left toe-up, right toe-down at the point of receiving the ball. This puts your body moving through the ball with good momentum going to 1st. SS is what they call the "active" or aggressive position.

At second, he has been taught to drop his left, which opens your body slightly for the throw to 1st. Second is the "passive" position and doesn't require you to work through the ball. There's obviously plenty of time to just set with left foot dropped, field and now your already open for the throw to 1st.

I think has to be broken down more by position and which foot drops (SS vs 2nd) rather than just general groundball footwork.

quote:

Originally posted by Sugi:

quote:

Originally posted by CatchingCoach05:
I will see if I can get some video off my DVR of Reyes, etc.

In the meantime, here is a still photo of Pedroia in the left foot back and "10 toes to target" position.

I can also see how it would make the glove hand softer but wouldn't the natural flow while receiving the ball take the transfer towards the left shoulder/ear?I'm just having a hard time visualizing how this would equate a quicker throw to first base.With a left foot forward bias the receiving of the ball and the transfer would take the ball more naturally to the right ear/shoulder.The hips and shoulder would allready be closed and the throw could then be made to his left/first base.

By all means,I'm not doubting this technique to field ground balls but more so wondering the benefit as opposed to the way I'm teaching.It would seem to me that the throw from Pedroia's position would be a sidearm/underhand throw.Is this the quicker?

I teach my kids to get the ball into the throwing hand as quickly as possible, so most transfers are done around knee level. They field on ball on the glove side, so transfer is low and slightly left or at the midline. So ball is never taken up to a position where it could be trapped on the right hip or left behind. I want them to get the ball into bare hand quickly and get a solid grip while the feet are shuffling to make the throw.

One other thing to add is that when player fields the ball his momentum is not going to the left. Once he turns the hips (10 toes to target), he then right/lefts into fielding position, fields, and then shuffles towards first base (working through ball and following throw). So, his body is not working or drifting to his left, but straight towards the target (1st base) to make the throw. Therefore, throwing is still a normal high 3/4 release. I can see where it might appear that momentum would be going left and cause a sidearm throw, but that is not the case on the "routine" play. Now, on balls farther up the middle and extending more on the forehand side, yes, it will be more of a sidearm throw across the body.

All and all I feel this approach gives us soft hands, athletic fielding ability, quick transfers, quick feet, momentum to and through the ball, and the ability to "re-play" a mishandled ball by keeping ball on the glove side and going through it instead of "rounding" it.

Ok- Just thought I would refresh this thread. I don't know about you guys, but whenever I'm looking into something new or a new way of doing something that I'm not too sure about, I like to try it for myself. So I strapped on the old cup and had one of my infielders meet me at the field. Oddly enough, he was pretty excited to get to hit balls at me.

Anyways, I went position by position and worked different types of balls and just played with it for a little bit and this is what I found:

Over all I liked it, and I'm not easily swayed. I felt like I had more extension with my glove hand and could get under the ball better. I was odd to try to get closed back off with my front shoulder, BUT the step through with my right foot was much much easier.

Being the has been that I am, I booted a few. However, balls that popped up on me were knocked down towards 1st for the most part. This obviously made recovery much easier.

At 3rd and SS it felt really good on DP balls. I did like left foot fwd a little more at 3rd, just because of the angle involved. 2nd base is really where I'm sold on this footwork, except on double play balls.

So my personal opinion - I like it. The freedom you get with your glove and the ease of being able to step through much easier outweighed the focus it took me to get my front side back to 1st. This was after an entire lifetime of one way. I feel like it would be an easier adjustment if you get players early enough.

I have been looking out for this type of footwork and have to say that I have seen quite a few plays by middle infielders in the MLB this season with a right foot forward bias.I have also seen video of Derek Jeter taking groundball warmup routines with a slight right foot forward bias.