Slow rollers to short

Just uploaded a portion of a video we use when instructing slow rollers. Let me know if this helps and if you have any follow-up questions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-eYk9AgcYc

Catch on your left leg and throw off your right leg.

Always come in on the ball if possible.

Catch left and throw right.

But practice arm angles when warming up.

How is this? This is my son when he was a junior in High School.

http://www.getmynameoutvideo.c...o/GrabeFielding1.wmv

Feel free to break it down if anyone wants to, critique it anyway you want. I am fine with any comments that you may have. I only post it to further general discussion on fielding mechanics.

@FLfan, he looks good. I try to teach my IFs to field a little more toward the left side of their body.

So, is this player "funneling" or "shoveling"? Is he "folding"? Is he low enough? or too low? Are his feet working properly? Redbird thinks he should field more to the left...etc.

I posted this film for discussion, to give film of a HS infielder that you could all look at and comment on, to discuss pros and cons of the mechanics that are being used here. Terms are used that people do not understand the meaning of. If you have video it may be easier to explain what you are trying to teach or what you are talking about, that is the only purpose of posting the video.

quote:

Originally posted by HRKB:
Catch on your left leg and throw off your right leg.

I used to teach the same thing, but I recently got a drill dvd from a major DI coach that has completely changed my thinking on this.

Eric is funneling and he looks great. I love his quick transistion from fielding to throwing and his approach is oustanding. I also enjoyed watching his arm actions as well. The kid can play no doubt. Very nice video thanks.

One problem we might be having in this discussion is simply based on terminology. What Eric is going I consider funnelling the baseball to the throwing side. Look how quickly he transistions from fielding to throwing. Look how he plays through the baseball and uses good mo to his advantatge and creates positive mo when he needs to. Very nice FF.

quote:

Originally posted by CatchingCoach05:

quote:

Originally posted by HRKB:
Catch on your left leg and throw off your right leg.

I used to teach the same thing, but I recently got a drill dvd from a major DI coach that has completely changed my thinking on this.

How do you catch a ball that bounces 2-3 inches to the right? Have you seen video of the best MLB infielders using this technique?

Yes. I several videos of this technique being used at the MLB level. One in particular is Mark Reynolds fielding a ball deep off the right foot.

Like I said, I also just received a drill DVD from one of the best fielding DI schools in the country and they do not teach the field off the left, throw off the right technique.

It is taking me some time to adjust to my thinking, but I am starting to see the advantages. However, this technique can only probably be done by higher level infielders. I have a few kids that can do it and others that can't. For those who can't, it is the old field off left, throw off right technique.

quote:

Originally posted by CatchingCoach05:
Yes. I several videos of this technique being used at the MLB level. One in particular is Mark Reynolds fielding a ball deep off the right foot.

Like I said, I also just received a drill DVD from one of the best fielding DI schools in the country and they do not teach the field off the left, throw off the right technique.

It is taking me some time to adjust my thinking, but I am starting to see the advantages. However, this technique can only probably be done by higher level infielders. I have a few kids that can do it and others that can't. For those who can't, it is the old field off left, throw off right technique.

The person training the guy in the above clip (you can hear him if your audio is on) played MIF for the Phillies and Redsox a combined 14 years with 1 World Series and has been teaching about 20. I am not sure if he is teaching "field off his left and throwing off his right" or not.

floridafan I think he looks great and agree he's funneling to throwing position. What I love best about the video is his footwork. I love how each step has a purpose to create the mo Coach May talks about. He has no wasted steps that you usually find with players his age.

I really love how he uses the "quick slow quick" or "long short long" footwork in approaching the ball. He gets to the ball very quickly and then is in control with short / quick steps and then gets to throwing position in a strong way.

quote:

Like I said, I also just received a drill DVD from one of the best fielding DI schools in the country and they do not teach the field off the left, throw off the right technique

CatchingCoach05 can you post videos of that on here or tell us what video it is so we can get a copy for ourselves? I would love to see it.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:

quote:

Like I said, I also just received a drill DVD from one of the best fielding DI schools in the country and they do not teach the field off the left, throw off the right technique

CatchingCoach05 can you post videos of that on here or tell us what video it is so we can get a copy for ourselves? I would love to see it.

I will see what I can do.

First, I need to get permission from the coach to post a few clips from the DVD.

This DVD is not a commercially done DVD. It is not sold otherwise I would give you a link. This video was shot during fall practice. It has the coach and 2-3 MIF working drills for routine groundballs, backhands, forehands, slow rollers, DP pivots, DP feeds, etc. It is video only. No audio.

Next, I will have to figure out how to get some clips from the DVD to post here. I am not too tech savvy, so I will have to do some research on how to do that.

Thanks coach - appreciate the effort.

So when fielding a ball, do you teach to catch it in the glove then grab from glove? Or is it more of a deflection from glove into throwing hand?

The player in the video above has been taught more of a "deflection" methodology. Note that he rarely closes his glove. The flatter the glove the better. No deep pocket..

quote:

Originally posted by Coach Yosten:
So when fielding a ball, do you teach to catch it in the glove then grab from glove? Or is it more of a deflection from glove into throwing hand?

I never teach catch. Unless it is a forehand, backhand, or slow roller play that the player is athletic fielding one-handed, I always teach deflect and get the ball into throwing hand below the knees.

My slow roller approach is this. If the ball is on left side of the fielder I teach them to field off the left foot, right foot back) one handed with the glove and throw off the right. I want them to round this ball a tiny bit.

If the ball is right at them or to their right, I teach them to field with left foot forward, right foot back (same as above), however this time the will use both hands deep in front of right foot. They will "deflect" into throwing hand and throw off the right foot (which is next step). I will also work the barehand and backhand play off this setup as well. On this ball the player attacks the ball straight on with no round.

So, I guess I still teach field with left foot forward, right foot back, however I do not teach always fielding the ball off the left foot or side. I guess that is the main difference in the philosophies I have seen lately and now instruct to my students.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Eric is funneling and he looks great. I love his quick transistion from fielding to throwing and his approach is oustanding. I also enjoyed watching his arm actions as well. The kid can play no doubt. Very nice video thanks.

One problem we might be having in this discussion is simply based on terminology. What Eric is going I consider funnelling the baseball to the throwing side. Look how quickly he transistions from fielding to throwing. Look how he plays through the baseball and uses good mo to his advantatge and creates positive mo when he needs to. Very nice FF.

Coach May I always thought funneling was when a fielder fields a ball and funnels the ball back to their belt buckle and then brings it to their hip. When players do that they are not in position to get rid of the ball quickly.

In Eric's video he does a real nice job of fielding out front and getting it out of his glove below his knees. I think the term I've heard to describe his style is hinging. I would agree with Redbird he needs to field a little more left of center but overall he looks really good.

The video offered at the top of the page covers almost every aspect of fielding a ground ball and footwork. It is one of the most informative tapes we have ever watched as far as fine tuning your skills.

quote:

Originally posted by sloroller:
The video offered at the top of the page covers almost every aspect of fielding a ground ball and footwork. It is one of the most informative tapes we have ever watched as far as fine tuning your skills.

I agree. Solid information.

That DVD, plus a couple others I have gotten from some college coaches, and a few conversations I have had with MLB infield instructors have been instrumental in helping me develop the philosophies I now use to instruct my infielders.

Well charge the ball but time it (which takes practice) catching the ball as your left foot lands. The glove and hand are next to each other but your glove has the pinky down and thumb up. Receive the ball in front of your left foot and as you bring your right foot up, stay low and throw (off the right foot) and if you can twist your left hip in order to get more velocity on the throw.

Rule of thumb, use your glove unless you can see the seems of the ball. Then you use your hand.

I like that rule of thumb about using your hand if you can identify the seams of the ball, interesting!