infielder...when to come set

I think you should always be in motion. Remember, it is much easier to move an object that is already in motion than it is to move a stationary object. Think about pushing a car! The hardest part is getting it to move the first inch.

A college infield coach told my players to just constantly move your heels. He said you should be in motion(never come set), so all you have to do is change the direction of the motion when going to field the ball.

This may be wrong, but it makes sense to me!

Hope this helps.

Any other opinions?

My staff and I have been teaching the same fundamental steps to our middle IFers for 15 years, and it seems to work for our players.

We start with the toe's of the players inside foot (closest to 2B) aligned with the heel of the outside foot. When the pitcher starts his windup (stretch or full, doesn't matter, they start moving when the lead leg starts to go up), the IFer steps with inside foot first and continues for 4 steps. These steps are taken toward the pitchers mound. The timing seems to coincide with the ball crossing the plate. The players weight is on the balls of their feet, and this makes reaction time a little quicker. This also allows the middle IFer to be in a better position to cover 2B in the event of a steal or hit and run. Also, this helps the player stay in position a little longer to defense the hit and run.

As for the corner infielders, we generally start them out with the foot ****hest from the respective bag being in back (same as above), and they time the steps the same way. Unless of course the 1B is holding a runner.

Hope this helps.

My son and I were just shown another way to do it.

When the pitcher breaks his hands the mif takes a short step back with his left foot and then steps forward with the right, then the left, then the right. The right foot should be on the ground slightly behind the left foot when the ball crosses the plate or the batter makes contact.

Any comments on this? Any other ways you know of to "dance with the ball"? I had no idea that there are so many different ways taught. I was a left handed pitcher and out fielder. so I never learned any of this stuff. My son plays 2nd and short.

Larry,

do they take big, medium or little steps. What if they have to go back and into the hole? What if they have to make a play by taking a backward angle on a hard hit ground ball? Does the forward motion inhibit their ability to do this?

I prefer short movements so you are in an athletic position when the ball enters the hitting zone. You can do anything you are comfortable with as long as you "quiet down" as the pitch enters the zone.

Here are the 2 methods I have used:

1. Right, left, hop. Short steps and a very small hop to keep your feet moving.

2. Tennis player "rocking". Watch a tennis player before he receives a serve to illustrate this one.

Understand that mid IFs should stay taller in their stance than corner guys.

Also, I don't like the "dance method" because it is too complicated.

Wheel...

We use short steps, with quiet knees and feet low to the ground. We stress keeping the head and shoulders level and still. We want the eyes on the same visual plane all of the time.

We feel that our motion, if practiced enough during B.P., practice, and other times, helps the player arrive at a peak athletic stance to react to the batted ball. We don't feel the forward momentum detracts from the players ability to change direction.

We focus on teaching techniques that will be most often used during the course of a game and season. Worrying about the SS ball in the hole, and the probability of fielding it cleanly, planting, getting the throwing hand on top, and delivering an accurate throw, is not a big concern in the grand scheme of infield defense. Don't get me wrong, we practice the footwork all of the time, but won't allow it to change our basic footwork that will enable us to field 95% of the groundballs hit our way.

And by the way...why do LHP wear the hat a little off center? I hope I was able to answer your questions.

LT...thanks for the replies. I'm going to give your approach a try and see if he shows some comfort with it.

It tricks the lefty's brain so that we can percieve the world around us as though it were really on the level.

Wheel...how old is your son?

He's 14

I think you should go ahead and work on this approach with him then. I would also clear it with his coach, and encourage you to have the coach work on this technique with all of the middle infielders. You will start to see in the coming years how baseball turns into a much more mental game. Doing the physical things correctly can help eliminate costly mental mistakes!