RBI Academy Drill – Ground Ball Basics

RBI Academy Coach Nick Kern is talking and demonstrating Ground Ball Basics:

Step 1:
Start in a balanced stance on the balls of your feet with bent knees in a strong, athletic position. When we are ready to receive a ground ball we need to be in this athletic position so we can move side to side, up and down at any time to react to the bounce of the ball.

Step 2:
Set up 3 baseballs to act as a guide for new players showing the position of their feet and glove. The base of the triangle is for the feet and the point is where the glove should be when ready to receive a ground ball. The ball for the glove hand foot should be slightly in front of the ball for the throwing hand foot in order to put the player in a position to transition to a good throw. 

With the player’s feet positioned at the base of the triangle, they should bend their knees and lower their bum to the ground so they can show the palm of their glove to the incoming ground ball with their glove fingers pointing to the ground.

Step 3:
Have your player step in and out of this position a few times until they get the feel for it then remove the balls and eventually progress to rolling them easy ground balls. Ensure you are focusing on good foot, body and glove position on every repetition.

Hat Drill

Once they’re comfortable with this drill they can then move onto the hat drill as Coach Nick demonstrated. The purpose of the hat drill is to force the player to reach out in front with their glove so they can see it past the hat, rather than fielding the ball back between their legs.

Step 1:
Player puts the brim of their hat in their mouth to obstruct their view of the ball. Have the player assume the position as above and reach out with their glove until they can see it past the hat.

Step 2: 
Once the player has taken position, roll them some easy ground balls with a focus of reaching out in front and following the ball into their glove with their throwing hand to secure the ball and prepare for a throw.