Looking for a drill

The first thing I would check is the player's footwork and make sure he has a field, skip, and throw technique. Does he hop a few times while patting the ball in the glove before throwing?
I would check the player's fielding position and make sure his basic fielding position and make sure he breaks down with the foot on the throwing hand side staggered back slightly. This makes it possible to (after fielding the ball) execute the correct footwork.
As far as a drill....use your stopwatch. Start the watch when the ball is fungoed to him in practice and stop it when it contacts the first baseman's glove, announce the time, put PRESSURE on him in practice to improve the time and he will improve. Make it gamelike.

I'll check my garage and shed. Should I ship it overnight?

A player who has a slow release has one because he can't throw hard until he gets loaded. And, he doesn't know how and when to do it. So, he does it after he catches the ball. Everyone likes to blame footwork when bad footwork is the effect of a deeper cause.

He doesn't know how/when to load the body before the catch and/or during the transfer. If he did, he could throw quickly.

Teach him how to load his hips and carry the load.

There are several reasons that can cause a kid to be slow to release the ball. I have had kids with outstanding arms that took way too long to get rid of the ball. They have either relied on their strong arm to load up and take their time or they have a lack of confidence in getting rid of it untill they feel comfortable in doing so. Sometimes the player does not feel they are ready to let it go either because they are out of posisiton mechanically to throw the ball or they have put themselves in a non throwing posistion while fielding the ball. Teach them the proper way to field funnell and release. Dont worry about speed to start with. Gradually increase the speed of the exit as you go. The previous poster is correct sometimes kids are slow to release because they are trying to load up because they lack arm strength. But sometimes it is due to poor fielding fundementals that puts them in a poor throwing posistion. Thus they must regroup before throwing the baseball. Fielding includes putting yourself in a good throwing posistion while fielding the baseball. It is part of the equation of fielding. The approach of the ball the fielding of the ball the throwing of the ball are all equally important. We use cones. Or as we say the cone drill. PM me and I will be glad to send it to you. There is no one way to field a ground ball because the way the ball is hit , the situation , the speed of the runner , the conditions of the field etc etc will dictate how you want to field it. But like hitting there are certain things that are always part of the equation. JMHO

Cong, some good advice already here. A lot of possible reasons for a slow release.

A drill that we do a lot is the wall drill (it's actually a series of drills). We use either a paddle or no glove to promote 2 handed play and quick, confident exchanges.

Start anywhere from ten to fifteen feet from the wall and throw a ball against it so it bounce back like a grounder. Don't throw overhand or it will bounce up to your chest...throw it low 3/4 so it comes off the wall low. This part is a footwork drill. Use the proper footwork and techniques every time.

Next move to about 6 feet away from the wall. Set your feet in proper fielding position and throw the ball so it bounces to your glove's fielding position (so you don't have to move your feet). This will isolate the arms and hand positions building good exchange techniques. This is done about 30 seconds at a time as it becomes tiring for the legs.

Lastly, move close enough to the wall that you can bounce the ball off the wall and catch it about 12 inches from the wall. This isolates the hands and improves the exchange and confidence. Start in front of your face for several bounces, and move down the wall until you bounce it to the ground and then move back up the wall again. Work as fast as you can always trying to get quicker. 30 seconds per round.

If you move your hands closer than 12 inches from the wall, it gets easier to do but reduces improvement. If you catch it every time, you aren't challenging yourself.

The good thing about this drill is that your serious players can do it at home. The more they do it, the better they will get.

Hope this helps,

Mike F

Fist Linear's advice is worth noting. Also, this might have nothing to do with the mechanics at all. It might be a case of constant and consistent brain ****. Get a big soft toss net and place it at either 1st or second. Whichever doesn't really matter. We do "3 ball drill." For instance, we might put 3 balls on the ground (spaced apart) at ss and have our ss step as if the pitcher is throwing a pitch. Now, the ball is "hit" and he has to get that ball in the hole and get the ball on the way with a "dead leg." We tell the kid we don't care where the ball goes but try to hit that screen. "Don't care where the ball goes" is important if this is a mental issue. We take the "3 balls and do them on both sides, in front and play a bad hop up. Each time we just want the ball thrown quickly. Now, take your 1st baseman and show the fielder that his arm span is close to the span of that screen (Naturally with proper footwork) and so, don't think throw. I have left some details out and the "dead leg" is the only time the 3 balls are not being fed by another player. However it is typically where we start first. (BTW, if it is a 3rd baseman, we have them throw the "dead leg" throw from deep on the line and tell them to throw a 1 hopper to the net. After each 3 ball, we talk to our player about what he has just done. Don't discared footwork in this drill as well. JMHO!

I've had two people with this characteristic. One a youth player one an adult.

The youth player was intent on being a pitcher all his life and only threw from the wind up. His bat was decent so I tried him everywhere. At third, he took too much time winding up. At first he was fine unless there was a follow to the play. The saddest thing was seeing him do that wind up allowing a picked off runner to reach second base before the throw. He learned to throw as a pitcher and never changed. He switched to a different sport.

The adult had a habit of taking the ball out of the glove as if it were dripping wet. He held it like it had to drip before bringing it up for the throw. I had some success with him in getting him to throw side arm. He was at third so he had the time.

Good luck.

My son still drives me crazy at times with that.

First, make sure his glove isn't too big. I'd also check to see if his fingers are getting stuck in the webbing.

Second, I'd have him practice throwing thr ball up in the air, catching it, and getting his throwing grip, all without looking at the ball.

I know this is not true to the theme of this thread but take caution.

My son played 3B and would get hit a shot. The batter was hardly out of the box when he had the ball at third.

I have seen him double crow hop/ shuffle and throw on the second one. I asked him why and he said he had plenty of time and wanted to be in a balanced position at release The coach allowed it as he did have a good arm but he could make the charging play too throwing on the run.

Quick release can translate to a sore arm and failure to use the whole body if the mechanics break down....obviously

Totally agree it is about the lower half getting ready early. QB's with a quick release have the the hips coiling and uncoiling torquing the torso just as the receiver makes the cut. What you notice is the arm action but there is much more going on...you right

Great advice by all.

Wall ball is the greatest tool as long as he works on all the plays he will need to make in games.

Teach him to field the ball out front, but “left” of center if he throws right handed. This will make him come through the ball, toward the target with momentum AND allow him to close his feet and body off at the same time.

Make him practice much deeper and also work on both do-or die charging plays (throwing off his right foot)

Tell him you will not say a word to him for the entire season when he makes a bad throw as long as he got rid of it as soon as possible.

Hope this helps.

THop

Learn to load the body.

Could you share how you teach that Linear?

I’m with Larry Thompson on this one..Here's the drill I recommend

Seriously... there are a number of things that come into play here. Soft hands, transfer, arm strength, body position, footwork yada yada. I devised a game with my son we called hot potato where the object was to catch and release the ball as quickly as possible. I would throw the ball to different locations (L and R, grounders and liners) I had an instructional tape on fielding by Brian Doyle http://www.loadedbases.com/doymvpfielvi.html and used this tape as a guide to teach proper fielding technique to a couple of players.

Worked for us.
Fungo

Just as a pitcher can stride and load his pelvis, and just as a hitter can stride (or not) and load his pelvis, so can a fielder load while fielding a ball or a catcher load while catching a pitch.

It's internal. It's muscle anticipation. It's neural. It's getting the muscle on call....waiting for the command. It's doing more than one thing at a time.

It has very little to do with footwork. The focus of attention should be some where other than on the feet and the arm.

Watch Dan Marino. But.....don't watch his arm or legs. Watch the important part.

A very good drill is burn out..... if done correctly. If he can't do it correctly, then have him start his throwing motion without the ball and you toss it to him while he's in his motion and have him complete an aggressive throw. He will quickly learn how to do one thing with the arms and legs and yet another with his pelvis.

Linear

Marino threw mostly from a stationary position as a QB--fielders are in motion when fielding the ball-- do not agree with what you say-- to me footwork is key in throwing

Put him under a stop watch on groundballs. It should take him 4 seconds or less to get the ball to 1B from the time it is hit.

He doesn't have to throw hard but should have the footwork to throw accurately and quickly. Ozzie Smith has a below average arm but is wide regarded as one of the best SS's in history. Why? Great feet allowed him to get the ball to 1B before the runner got there.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Linear

Marino threw mostly from a stationary position as a QB--fielders are in motion when fielding the ball-- do not agree with what you say-- to me footwork is key in throwing

From a mostly stationery position as a QB he can instantaneously (maybe the quickest release ever) throw a football, which weighs considerably more than a baseball, 60-70 yards. (Don't know what his exact arm strength was but have seen him launch a few).

I'd have to say that footwork had little to do with that. Not that you don't have to have the feet pointed in the right direction and not that you don't have to move them quickly to get them in the right direction.

But, the difference between those who can and those who can't isn't in the feet. It's up the chain a little.

Those who move the feet into position and still have a load v those who move the feet into position and don't have a load.

Try the "throwing motion without the ball drill" I mentioned above. It will make a drastic difference in your understanding.

linear, can you please clarify that drill. I think what you are saying has tremendous merit, based on what i have learned about hitting. keep leaking the knowledge!

Linear is absolutely correct......It is in the loading of the body......Get the concentration off the feet and hands......

TRhit, listen to Linear and learn......

quote:

Originally posted by s2fmf:
linear, can you please clarify that drill. I think what you are saying has tremendous merit, based on what i have learned about hitting. keep leaking the knowledge!

I assume you mean the "start without the ball and add it midstream" drill.

This is exactly what every good infielder and catcher does. Their movements are disquised by the actual catching of a pitch or fielding of a ground ball. The load for sure and most of the time the stride happen before receiving the ball.

It's as simple as that. Play catch with someone. Start your throwing motion (stride, counter, load) before you get the ball. Catch the ball, transfer the ball and release the ball while not interrupting what you've started. Add the catch, transfer and release to what you've already started. Don't stop and restart in order to catch, transfer and release.

Now, practice it while constantly trying to do it faster and faster, quicker and quicker.

Linear, simply one of the best posts I've read. Exactly what we discuss. If you catch the ball then work on the torque or load as some call it, you lose precious time. Linear, do you do this drill with a tennis ball and no glove for the catcher? That is how we do it to get an unobstructed view of the player. Just a thought!

Have never used tennis ball and no glove.

What are you trying to "see" that you can't see otherwise?

Seems to me the lack of a glove kind of defeats the purpose. Not completely. Probably ok to start with to help a kid understand what you mean but I eventually want the ball throw very hard while the receiver does this drill.

quote:

Originally posted by Linear:
Have never used tennis ball and no glove.

What are you trying to "see" that you can't see otherwise?

Seems to me the lack of a glove kind of defeats the purpose. Not completely. Probably ok to start with to help a kid understand what you mean but I eventually want the ball throw very hard while the receiver does this drill.

For lack of a better term - Flex for the catcher. As the feet change and the body rotates, we say chin, nose ear for the load but the real result is the pivot or load in the mid torso area. Does this make sense? You are right on the throw, we ask that they "get the ball on the way." We don't advocate throwing a tennis ball hard. Also, we do these as "ghost drills" and then add glove and real ball. We have to be careful about throwing and so, we let the catcher make a couple of throws with a real baseball prior to the throw.

Coach or Linear,
What type of catcher footwork are you teaching with this? Jab step Jump step or No step pivots?

It works with whatever footwork you use.

For catchers, I prefer no steps.

Most don't believe it, but if you learn to load your center, the steps aren't necessary.

Steps simply create momentum from which to add something to your throw. I can create the same momentum without steps.

Linear, I left out an important reason we start with tennis ball and no glove. We find that catchers often will use that glove and extend towards the pitch. Therefore, they block their body out from being able to react to the pitch and be more efficient. Using bare hands enables the catcher to get the feeling of giving as the transfer occurs.

Linear (teacherman) & CoachB25:

Will not teaching right handed catchers and infielders to catch the ball left of center, not force them to sub consciously “load the body” and use proper footwork without requiring them to consciously think about numerous body parts and their feet?

THop

quote:

Originally posted by THop:
Linear (teacherman) & CoachB25:

Will not teaching right handed catchers and infielders to catch the ball left of center, not force them to sub consciously “load the body”

Every throw can't be caught left of center. But, even if they could, the answer is no it doesn't. I can catch a ball any side of center or center and not be loaded. A great example of limited knowledge of the center.

quote:

without requiring them to consciously think about numerous body parts and their feet?

Coach to coach or poster to poster we are describing with the written word what is involved in a quick release. No one expects a player to think about what he's doing in the terms we are using in a baseball forum.

First and foremost, eliminate all talk about the feet. Go up the chain to where the power and the quickness are, teach him how to load it and unload it and it will become a part of him with simple repetition in practice.

Teach them how to load and carry the load. Carrying the load allows him to do more than one thing at a time.

Linear, I undestand that you are suggesting that the load will set the feet. I haven't had a lot of success without talking about the feet. Why? Seems that if the load occurs and before the player is effecient, they "block" the body as they recieve the ball and then their throws are off target. No we don't teach to catch the ball on one side. We do attemp a drill that has the catcher rotating between catching alternating balls of outside, middle and inside so that they have to work on load and (Linear I don't think you will agree) getting that glove to chin-nose-ear to set the throw. Comments?