In youth baseball one of the easiest things for a fielder to do, but one that is so often
neglected, is getting into ready position on every pitch.
Any player, no matter how good or bad they are at fielding, is capable of getting into
ready position.
So why don’t youth players do it more consistently?
It may be in part because it’s never seen in televised games.
We see the pitcher, catcher, and hitter, but we don’t see the infielders right before
the pitch.
Next time you’re at a live Major League Baseball game, watch the infielders move.
They do it every time.
Being in ready position at the right time is crucial to having fielding range as an
infielder.
Some youth coaches teach players to “creep” as the pitcher starts his pitch.
I am not a fan of this method because it’s not teaching what should actually happen,
when it should happen and why.
Not to mention I’ve seen short stops so close in they looked like they were fielding
a bunt by the time the pitch was thrown.
This coach is simply telling his kids to be moving on the pitch, which is arguably better
than just standing there like a stature, but players shouldn’t be moving when the ball
is actually hit, they should be ready.
I’m also not a fan of teaching youth players to do the hop.
It’s generally too much for a young player when being ready is the key.
What I prefer to teach is for fielders to time their movement off of the pitcher.
They ought to take two steps, one with each foot, and land the second step at bat contact,
thumbs up preferably, but out front at a minimum.
They are on the balls of their feet and ready to move any direction.
When you see a player who is not in ready position, before he can make a move toward
a hit ball, he first must drop to a ready stance and then move.
It takes time and reduces range by a significant amount.
It’s not possible for a person to make a sudden move without getting into that ready
stance first, so we want kids in that stance before they need to move.
To finish this video, you can watch the 2015 Little League World Series Texas team demonstrate
to perfection what we are talking about.
Listen to the commentators.
that we will watch tonight is the pre-pitch preparation of the Pearland defense.
Why is that so important?
Well, everything starts with getting a good jump.
And to get a good jump all the players have to get into rhythm with the pitcher.
He's actually the conductor of the orchestra.
I mean they all have movements related to his movements in his windup and his release
point.
Now they have to expect the ball.
They track the ball out of his hand anticipating the angle of the bat will make at contact
with the ball so they can get a good jump as the ball is being hit.
And it's paid off.
Their defense has been nearly perfect this week.
When you get a good jump you go after the ball with confidence and you feel much better
about your chances of being able to handle the play.
When you get a bad jump your body knows it and your really feeling it as you move toward
it and a lot more errors are made when you get a bad jump.
Boy you can see the entire infield stepping into the play and Tadlock, that's 95 plus,
97 plus at MLB distance at the knees in the black.
Hard to catch up to.