Proper Catching and Throwing Competition

By: Donnie Long

The objective of this drill is to help the young players become more adept at catching and throwing, as well as learning the proper glove position. Be sure to see that they are catching correctly. This drill is recommended for players with at least one year of experience but can be modified for beginners.

An adult, for consistency and safety of the players, should administer this drill.

Start with three players. Have them line up abreast, with hands out for spacing. From about the distance between shortstop and first is the ideal distance for this drill.

First, roll a grounder—either thrown or batted—to the first player. After he/she catches the ball and returns it to you, you then roll a grounder to the second player and then the third.

Second, throw a ball (around chest high, but I always throw to their throwing-hand side).

Third, throw a fly ball to the first player, about 15 to 20 feet in the air. (Again, I start out trying to deliver the ball to their throwing side.)

Scoring:

Give one point for every catch and one for every good return throw. My rule is, if I have to move more than one step to catch a return throw, then no point is given. Every score is one point, except a caught fly ball is worth two points. The exception for fly balls is because, if a player keeps a fly ball in front of them and can pick it up and make a return throw without taking more than a couple of steps, I award them a point. If they catch it, then they receive two points. This only applies to fly balls; a ball thrown to them on a line must be caught to receive a point.

So, the maximum a player can get on a complete round is seven points. One for catching a ground ball, one for an accurate throw back, one for catching a thrown ball to them, one for the accurate throw back, two for catching a fly ball, and one for an accurate return throw—for a total of seven.

Instructing them on the proper way to field ground balls, balls thrown at them, and pop-ups and fly balls is crucial in this training. Remember, any ball that is tossed from about their midsection to over their head will require them to have their thumbs in, and anything from about their midsection to the ground will require them to have their pinkies in.

You can have several contests going at once if you have the coaching help. This might be a good time to recruit that parent that is just itching to get out there and help. What I do, if I have at least three groups working, is take the winner from each group and have a playoff to have a competition winner for that day. He/she may get to be first in line for snacks or to congratulate the other team after your next game.

In all of my experience of working with kids and the training material I have read or clinics that I have attended, one thing about catching a ball has always come home to me. A player should always try and catch the ball on his/her throwing side. This puts them in the best position for a quick and accurate return throw to their target.

Depending on the experience of your players, you as the coach can control the difficulty of the drills. Remember, the object is to teach; if you make it so difficult the kids never master the drills, you defeat the purpose of having fun. I have even used tennis balls for players that were afraid of the ball, to get them used to catching the proper way.

I hope this drill helps you and your players progress as much as it has for me and the players I have been privileged to teach.

Happy coaching, and help the kids to learn and have FUN!!!!