In this video, we're going to cover basic in-field fielding and throwing technique
for fast pitch and slow pitch softball.
So if you want to play infield and you're new to softball
or you're a coach and you're working with beginning players,
this video is going to help you get the fundamentals a great foundation
for improved softball, throwing, mechanics and fielding mechanics
in the infield.
All right.
So we'll start with fielding position, but check out in the links.
In the description, you'll see time stamps.
You can jump back and forth from fielding position
to the throwing basics to the tee drill to the wide drill.
You can jump around this video, but we'll start here
with gearing mechanics for softball.
All right.
So the first thing, let's talk about fielding position.
If this is a ground ball, it's hit towards me.
My goal is that my feet are about shoulder width, maybe a little bit wider,
never really more narrow.
And I'm going to have my chest up,
my glove out in front and my butt back so I'll have a shallow bend at my knees.
Something like this.
We don't want to be hunched over
and we don't want to have our gloves in between our legs.
The reason for this is that if my glove is out here and the ball takes a bat
hop, it's more likely to bounce off, hit my chest, fall back
in front of me, and then I can pick it up and continue to make the play.
Also helps me keep my eyes on the ball longer,
whereas if my eyes go down, I'm going to lose it at the last minute.
So fielding position but back, chest up, hands out
and you should sort of fan your glove wide for a lot of beginner players.
They don't know to really push their glove open,
but the glove needs to be open so we can receive the ball.
The next thing this action is called funneling.
Funneling is the act of taking a ground ball.
When we field it and bringing it to our center all in motion.
And this should be done softly.
So as the ball is bouncing, we're bringing it into our center.
This is important and important to practice
so that once we get it here, we're going to start our footwork.
And from here
we're going to be in a consistent place each time to make good throws.
We need the ball essentially at our bellybutton
and then
in our midsection to make consistent throwing mechanics.
All right.
So finally getting in a really important step.
You don't want to feel the ground ball out here
and then start running with it out like that.
That's going to make your throwing mechanics much more inconsistent.
So easy ways to practice funneling a finery bound wall on a tennis ball.
You can bounce it to yourself and just work on as soon as it hits
your glove or your bare hands, you bring it into your bellybutton each time.
We also do dailies,
which is when you just roll each of the ground balls or bounce them
about 15 feet away as part of the daily activities
for a team, whether when you're practice or if you're just getting warmed up.
So this is just be working on your funnel or working on your funnels
or working on your funnels. All right.
There's also forehands and back hands, which we won't cover in this video
because the main thing, the main fundamental
that you want to know today is just how do we square up to a ball, funnel
it and get our feet moving with good footwork to make a good throw.
So once
we've gotten in good feeling position because the ball is coming towards us,
we've centered our body up with it or in good fitting position.
And as the ball hit my mitt, I funneled it to my center.
The next thing is I'm going to point my right ankle bone as a right handed throw.
If you're a left hand thrower, it'll be your left ankle bone.
But left handed throwers don't play third short or second.
So just keep that in mind.
I'm going to point my right ankle bone towards my target.
So if I'm going to throw back towards the camera, towards home plate,
I'm going to make my first step forward or really just sort of in place,
turning my ankle here and then my next foot
is going to make a straight line towards my target.
This is really important.
The number one mistake beginners make is by messing up their footwork
so they land with an open chest to their target rather than a closed chest.
Closed chest means that my throwing my
the target that I'm throwing to cannot see the logo on my shirt.
If I have opened up in the air, in the air and I'm landing
open like this, my throwing arm is going to be in a different position.
My chest is going to be already rotated, which means I've lost
some of the power in my hips.
So it's critical to get the footwork correct
because correct footwork helps us get closed.
And when we're closed, we get maximum amount of power
from the rotation of our hips and our upper body.
So if I'm throwing directly back to the camera
and I've just filled it in following my ground ball,
my right ankle is going to point to the to the camera
and then my hands are still together at this point.
Then my left foot is going to come around, is my hands separate?
And I'm going to make a line towards my target.
My front foot is going to point somewhere between directly at the camera
and maybe at a 2:00 angle to the camera.
It's not really going to point at 3:00. All right.
So somewhere from here to here, then.
So I'm here, ankle here, my glove arm is going to be not exactly
pointing at my target, but my upper arm will mostly point towards my target.
My shoulder blade is going to pull back and my glove arm
is going to start the rotation of my upper body as I make my throw.
This is going to happen automatically, so don't worry about it too much.
With beginners, the main thing with beginners is to not overcome the motion.
So if they can get their fielding, their fielding mechanics correct,
get their first couple steps correct, and they can get to this position.
Okay, then just let them throw the ball and their body will start to figure it
out. Humans were throwing objects for a long time
and the best ones figured this part out and then their body did the rest.
So don't overly coach with beginners.
Or if you're learning this for the first time, don't worry
too much about where your arm needs to be when this foot hits.
What your glove arm is doing.
Just work on the fielding technique, getting your footwork right,
and making sure that you're closed
and staring down your upper arm as you aim towards your target.
So if I'm here and then I just say go essentially to myself and throw
the ball, things are going to work out mostly fine.
So that's a really important thing.
Don't over coach beginners or don't think
too much if you're a beginner beginner yourself.
So in learning or teaching this, I like to use to really simple drills.
The first one is a t drill and I will just make a T
on the ground like this
and we'll go over the footwork slowly to get it down.
So I'm going to start my feet on my toes on the line,
this part of the T and then my other part of the TS here.
I'm going to field funnel,
ankle, step and separate.
My arms are going to separate.
So toes on the line field funnel step
step, field
funnel step, step.
Then as players get good at this, speed it up. So
and then the goal
is that it happens all at once, which is as soon as I feel the ground ball
and I start to funnel, my feet are moving at the same time.
So essentially when it hits my glove, it's going to be funneled and my feet
are going to move at the exact same pace and it'll look like this.
And then at that point,
what you want to do is encourage the players that you're coaching or
if you're learning this yourself, to take a shuffle or two.
If you have to make the throw really quickly, you might not shuffle.
But if you have some time, which is going to be the case,
a lot of the time you'll add a shuffle or two and it'll look like this.
And I'll throw this one here for you.
So that's the t drill and the progression through it from slow
to faster to all in one motion to adding a shuffle.
Now the next drill is the Y drill.
And this is a progression because it's going to actually make my line
towards first base, but it's not any harder than the T drill.
The T drills actually harder because I've got to move my hips
a longer distance in my line. Right?
So I'll keep my original part of the T and then I'll make the sort
of a 45 degree angle line to first base.
So now I have a y kind of a wonky looking y, and then I'm going to field funnel
step, step and this is going to look a lot more smooth because it's easier.
Again, I don't have to turn my hips nine degrees, I only have to turn them 45
or so.
Once players are comfortable at a faster speed with a T drill on the Y drill,
then the goal is for someone to roll them ground balls slowly because as they start
thinking about actually feeling
the ground
ball, things are going to be tougher because they're going to more things
to focus on.
So start with easy rollers first, so then they can just square up,
field it, funnel it and make their throw, and then you can start
to move those ground balls around and bounce them a little bit.
So I'll show you just how you sort of move through ground ball.
We won't talk about getting around and getting angle,
which is something more advanced infielders do just for basics.
They can just attack it
and make
their throw.
So again, easy rollers are best for beginners.
It's going to attack it right for the left foot.
And you can see I'm already starting to make a line
that that should start to happen on its own
because it just starts to cut down the distance that I have to go
rather than being square, then turning.
So as players get better at charging the ball,
which is when you attack it forward, you can encourage them to break their
right foot down first and then have their left would come in front.
So they're already making this angle as they field.
So then this is a much easier footwork transition.
They want more
of a charge
and make my throw.
So let's summarize.
If you or the softball players or coaching are brand new, then the key
component of getting your throwing down are number one good getting position.
Number two, funneling the ball.
Number three, good footwork.
Number four, getting closed, which is a result of good footwork.
And number five, not overcomplicating the process.
Don't think too much about where your arm is, what your gloves doing,
just work on getting position, funneling
good, feel good footwork and being close with the front arm.
If you do all that stuff you're throwing will make dramatic improvements
at the beginner level.
After that,
a couple of months of practice down the road,
then you can start to watch some of
my other videos, take my online course working on all the more intricate
parts of the throwing motion, but don't overcomplicate it first.
If you're a beginner working on softball, whether it's fast or slow pitch
or you're coaching beginners, okay, do you have any questions?
Liebman A description below.
Check out my online courses if you want a step by step process to all of this.
And I'll see you here in the next video.