Baseball Fielding Drills

Good baseball fielding drills isolate one piece of the play, give a player enough ground balls to feel the change, and finish on a throw to a base the way a real inning would. The fundamentals never change by level: field the ball out in front with a soft glove, stay in a wide athletic base, and use footwork that points the body at the target before the arm fires. Master those three and the position-specific reps get easier; skip them and no amount of arm strength saves the play.

That order matches how the skill gets taught at the youth level. Little League's official infield progression builds from the hands outward, starting players on their knees to groove glove work before footwork ever enters the picture, then layering in a wide base, a footwork pattern, and finally game-speed fungo reads. As Little League's infield drill progression(opens in new tab) puts it, when the feet work properly the byproduct is solid, athletic fielding, so the footwork is the foundation the rest of the play stands on. A fielding drill earns its spot in practice when it trains one of those layers, repeats it enough to build a habit, and ends on a play a fielder actually makes in a game.

The Three Layers Every Fielding Drill Builds On

• Hands. A soft glove that fields the ball out in front, funnels it to the middle of the body, and keeps it visible the whole way in. The skill that turns a hard hop into a routine out.
• Feet. A wide, athletic base with the weight loaded forward, ready to move in any direction on the first hop read. The skill that gets a fielder to the ball in the first place.
• Footwork. The steps after the catch that create direction and momentum toward the target. The skill that decides whether a clean pick becomes an on-line throw or a sailing one.

1. 1

   Step 1: Hands

   Field the ball out in front with the glove fingers down and the pocket big, then funnel it to the belt. Soft hands turn a tough hop into a routine pick, so the first reps belong here.

2. 2

   Step 2: Feet

   Set a wide, athletic base with the weight forward, then move on the first hop read. A fielder who beats the ball to the spot fields a true hop instead of reaching for an in-between one.

3. 3

   Step 3: Footwork

   After the catch, the right-left footwork pattern points the body at the target and adds momentum to the throw. Clean feet decide more throws than arm strength does.

1. 1

   Step 1: Hands

   Field the ball out in front with the glove fingers down and the pocket big, then funnel it to the belt. Soft hands turn a tough hop into a routine pick, so the first reps belong here.

2. 2

   Step 2: Feet

   Set a wide, athletic base with the weight forward, then move on the first hop read. A fielder who beats the ball to the spot fields a true hop instead of reaching for an in-between one.

3. 3

   Step 3: Footwork

   After the catch, the right-left footwork pattern points the body at the target and adds momentum to the throw. Clean feet decide more throws than arm strength does.

Read the Position That Broke Down

Watch a fielder across a full game, not one play. If routine grounders kept eating the infielder up or handcuffing him, the glove is coming up late and short-hop and hands reps lead the next practice. If the throw to first kept pulling the first baseman off the bag, the footwork broke down and the right-left pattern moves to the front. If an outfielder kept drifting back on balls over his head, drop-step work comes first. Target the one breakdown that cost a run last weekend and drill it with intent, rather than rotating through every skill and fixing none of them.

The infield is where most fielding practice time goes, because the four infield positions (first base, second base, shortstop, and third base) handle the bulk of the routine ground balls that decide an inning. The drills below follow the Little League progression: groove the hands on both knees first, then add a wide base, then train the two reads that separate steady infielders from shaky ones, the short hop and the backhand. Start slow and close, then back up and speed up only once the pick stays clean.

Knees-Down Hand Drill

Fielder kneels on both knees facing a partner 15 feet away with the glove down in the dirt; the partner rolls or throws easy grounders straight at the glove. The fielder works only the hands, fielding each ball out in front and funneling it to the chest with no footwork involved. Reps: 20. Cue: "make the glove big, fingers in the dirt," so the pocket faces the ball early. Common error: turning the glove sideways or letting the fingers point up, which leaves a hole the ball skips under. Fix: the partner pauses between throws and checks that the glove starts flat on the ground before each rep, so the habit sets before any speed is added.

Wide-Base Ready Position

Fielder stands in a fielding ready position with the feet wider than the shoulders, knees bent, rear end down, and hands out front; a partner rolls grounders slightly to each side so the fielder shuffles, sets the base again, and fields out in front. Reps: 18. Cue: "bend the knees, not the waist," so the chest stays up and the eyes stay level. Common error: bending at the waist and reaching down with a stiff back, which drops the eyes and turns a true hop into a guess. Fix: the fielder lowers into the base before the ball is rolled and holds it, building the leg strength to stay down through the catch instead of standing up into it.

Short-Hop Reps

Two players kneel about 15 feet apart and throw firm short hops at each other, a ball that bounces just in front of the glove and comes up sharp. The fielder catches it out front with soft, giving hands, working both the glove side and, once comfortable, the backhand. Reps: 25. Cue: "catch it soft, give with the hop," letting the hands absorb the ball rather than fighting it. Common error: stabbing at the short hop with a stiff wrist, which deflects the ball instead of smothering it. Fix: the thrower starts the hops slower and closer, then backs up and speeds up only once the catch stays quiet, since the short hop is a feel that builds with reps, not a move that gets coached in a sentence.

Backhand Reps

A partner rolls or throws grounders to the fielder's glove-hand side so the fielder turns the glove over into the backhand position, the wrist twisted with the thumb pointing down, and fields the ball out in front of the back foot. Reps: 20. Cue: "thumb down, nose over the ball," keeping the head down through the pick. Common error: reaching across the body with the feet planted, which pulls the glove out of position and lifts the head early. Fix: the fielder takes a small crossover step toward the ball so the back foot lands and the glove can extend out front, turning an awkward reach into a balanced backhand. The backhand feels uncomfortable at first because the wrist works against itself, so build it in slow reps before it shows up in a game.

Six F's Walk-Through

The fielder narrates each phase of a routine ground ball out loud while moving through it at walking speed: a coach rolls a slow grounder and the fielder says "feet, field, funnel, footwork, fire, follow" while doing each one, then speeds up over several rounds. The drill turns the six-phase teaching checklist (Perry Hill's 6 F's of fielding, covered in the FAQ below) into reps a player can feel. Reps: 12 walk-throughs. Cue: "say it, then do it," so the words lead the body until the sequence is automatic. Common error: skipping the funnel and rushing straight from the catch to the throw, which leaves the ball out to one side and pulls the throw off line. Fix: the coach has the fielder freeze at the funnel on each rep to prove the ball reached the middle of the body before the feet start the throw. A walk-through pace works from 8U up, since the point is the sequence, not the speed.

Rapid-Fire Glove Work

Two coaches (or a coach and a bucket) stand a few feet apart and alternate rolling or short-hopping two balls to the fielder in quick succession, so the fielder fields one, flips it aside, and immediately resets for the next. The pace forces fast hands and a quick recovery to the ready position with no time to stand up between reps. Reps: 30 seconds continuous, three rounds. Cue: "field and reset, stay down," holding the athletic base from one ball to the next. Common error: popping up to full height after each pick, which leaves the fielder late and reaching on the next ball. Fix: the coaches slow the tempo until the fielder can stay down through a full round, then speed back up, since the value is in the low recovery, not the rush. An intermediate conditioning drill best saved for players who already field a single grounder cleanly.

A clean pick still ends in an error if the feet are wrong. Throwing after the catch is its own skill, and the part that sails throws into the stands is footwork, not arm strength. The drills below build the right-left rhythm that points the body at first base, then the charge-and-bare-hand play on a slow roller, then the feed that starts a double play. Train the feet at walking speed before adding the throw, then add the throw before adding game speed.

Right-Left-Field Footwork

Set two cones to mark a fielding spot and a throwing target line toward first base. The fielder works the Little League footwork sequence ("right, left, field" into the catch, then "right, left, throw" out of it) at walking speed with a partner rolling easy grounders, adding the throw only once the steps are smooth. Reps: 15. Cue: "direction before distance," getting the feet aimed at the target before the arm moves. Common error: catching flat-footed and then gathering the feet, which adds a beat and lets the runner reach. Fix: the partner calls "feet" on the bounce so the fielder learns to have the footwork already moving as the ball arrives, not after.

Slow-Roller Bare-Hand Charge

A coach rolls a slow, dying grounder out in front; the fielder charges hard, fields the ball bare-handed off the throwing-side foot, and throws to a base on the run without gathering up. Reps: 12. Cue: "attack the ball, throw on the run," keeping the momentum going toward first. Common error: slowing down to gather the feet under the body, which on a slow roller is the one mistake that guarantees the runner beats the throw. Fix: the coach rolls the ball softer and farther out so the fielder is forced to keep charging, since the play only works at full speed and falls apart at three-quarter effort. A do-or-die infield play best saved for 12U and up once the basic ground-ball mechanics are solid.

Double-Play Feed

Shortstop or second baseman fields a grounder and delivers a quick, accurate feed to the player covering second base, working the glove-flip, the underhand toss, and the short throw depending on the distance. A coach hits or rolls balls to different spots so the fielder reads the distance and picks the right feed. Reps: 15. Cue: "show the ball, lead the bag," delivering a firm chest-high feed the pivot can turn. Common error: a lazy or low feed that pulls the pivot off the bag and kills the second out. Fix: place a target at the receiving spot and reward feeds that hit it chest-high, so the fielder trains accuracy over speed. The fielding choices here connect to where each player lines up, covered in our baseball field positions guide.

Outfield play gets the least practice time and costs the most when it breaks down, since one misread turns a single into a triple. The outfield rewards different feet than the infield: the first step goes back, not in, and the throw needs a crow hop behind it to carry. The drills below build the drop step that gets a fielder to balls over the head, the crow hop that puts something on the throw, the do-or-die charge on a ball that has to be cut down, and the communication that prevents two outfielders colliding under a fly.

Drop-Step Tracking

The fielder starts in a ready position; a coach points or throws a ball over one shoulder. The fielder opens with a drop step (turning the hips and pushing off so the first step goes back and to the side, never a backpedal) and tracks the ball down. Reps: 16, eight each side. Cue: "open the gate, first step back," turning the hips rather than shuffling straight back. Common error: backpedaling on the first step, which is slower and risks falling on a deep ball. Fix: the coach calls the side a half-beat before the throw so the fielder grooves the hip turn; a player can always come forward on a misread but can never recover going backward, so the back step has to be automatic.

Crow-Hop Throwing

Two players play catch at outfield distance with one rule: every throw starts with a crow hop, a short shuffle where the back foot replaces the front as the ball is caught, then steps toward the target. The footwork lines up the body and adds the momentum a long throw needs. Reps: 20. Cue: "catch it moving, hop through the throw," so the feet are already going forward at the catch. Common error: catching flat-footed and then planting to throw, which drains the carry off a deep throw and lets a runner take the extra base. Fix: the partner lobs the ball a step in front so the fielder has to move forward to catch it, building the crow hop into the catch instead of bolting it on after.

Do-or-Die Ground Ball

A coach hits or rolls a ground ball into the outfield gap with an imaginary runner trying to score; the outfielder charges, fields the ball off the glove-side foot on the run, and crow-hops into a low throw to a cutoff or a base. Reps: 12. Cue: "charge, field on the run, throw low and through the cutoff," keeping the throw on a line. Common error: rounding the ball or slowing to field it cleanly, which gives up the run on a play that demanded a charge. Fix: set a cutoff target and a cone for where the throw should one-hop, so the fielder trains the aggressive read with a place to aim. An advanced read best saved for players who already field routine fly balls and grounders cleanly.

Fly-Ball Communication

Position two or three fielders in the outfield; a coach hits fungo fly balls into the gaps between them. The fielder with the better angle calls the ball loud and early ("ball, ball, ball") while the others peel off and back up. Reps: 12 hits. Cue: "call it early, call it loud, back it up," so the priority is settled before anyone commits. Common error: two fielders converging in silence, which is how outfielders collide and balls drop between them. Fix: the coach freezes the drill the instant a ball is hit and asks who has priority, drilling the call until it comes automatically on every ball in the gap.

Most teams do not get a full infield to practice on every day. A shared field, a gym, or a strip of grass behind the dugout is enough to get hundreds of fielding reps if the drills are built for tight spaces. The three below pack the most touches into the least room, which is why they work as a warm-up, a station, or the whole practice on a rainy day. High reps in a small space build the same soft hands and quick feet a full infield does.

Wall-Ball Reps

The fielder throws a ball off a flat wall from 10 to 15 feet and fields the rebound, working the hands and the ready position solo with no partner needed. Throwing harder or lower creates faster, shorter hops to react to. Reps: 40, or two minutes continuous. Cue: "stay down, field it out front," holding the athletic base between catches. Common error: standing up straight between rebounds, which kills the ready position and makes the next hop a reach. Fix: the player stays in the fielding base the entire set and resets only the glove, turning a wall and a ball into a hundred reps a week with no field and no partner.

Partner Short-Hop Ladder

Two players stand 12 feet apart and throw short hops back and forth, taking one step farther apart every five clean catches to build a ladder of increasing distance and pace. A drop resets the pair to the starting distance. Reps: ladder to a miss, three rounds. Cue: "soft hands win the rep," giving with each hop to keep the rally alive. Common error: rushing the throw to win and spraying it wide, which ends the ladder early. Fix: players count out loud together so the focus stays on clean catches over speed, turning short-hop work into a game that holds attention longer than a coached rep does.

Tennis-Ball Reaction

A partner stands six feet away and throws or bounces tennis balls quickly to either side; the fielder reacts and catches them bare-handed, training fast hands and first-step quickness without a glove or a real ball's sting. Reps: 30. Cue: "see it early, quick hands," reacting off the partner's release. Common error: guessing the direction and leaning before the throw, which gets exposed the moment the partner goes the other way. Fix: the partner mixes the side and height randomly so the fielder reacts to the ball instead of anticipating, the same read that fields a hard one-hopper clean. Soft tennis balls make this a safe pick for 6U and up.

When a coach can pull these drills up by skill, age, and the space they need, building a practice on a shared field takes minutes instead of guesswork. Striveon's drill library tags fielding drills by skill, level, and equipment so the next ground-ball block is one search away, even when the plan changes because another team grabbed the infield first.

A six-year-old afraid of a bouncing ball needs a different drill than a high school shortstop turning two. The same fielding skills run through every age, but the ball, the distance, and the intensity scale way down for beginners. The progression below walks from a first-timer through the varsity infielder, with the earlier drills above scaled to fit each group.

Fielding Drills for 6-Year-Olds and Beginners

A first-time fielder has to lose the fear of the ball before any glove technique sticks. Roll soft grounders (or use the tennis-ball reaction drill bare-handed) from ten feet so the player fields without a sting, and keep the gloves off at first so the hands learn to work together. Praise the attempt before fixing the mechanics, keep every rep short, and end while it is still fun. At this age the win is a kid who charges a slow roller instead of turning sideways from it, not a polished pick.

Fielding Drills for 10-Year-Olds and Youth Players

By 10U most players can field a real ball at a shortened distance and start the full progression. Run the knees-down hand drill, the wide-base ready position, and short-hop reps in short five-to-eight-minute blocks so nobody stands around. Add the right-left footwork at walking speed and introduce the drop step in the outfield with soft fungoes. This is the age to build the habit of fielding out in front, since a player who learns to wait on the ball here fights that instinct for years.

Fielding Drills for 12-Year-Olds and Advanced Youth

At 12U the reps get faster and the do-or-die plays enter the mix. Add the backhand, the slow-roller bare-hand charge, and the double-play feed for infielders, and the do-or-die ground ball and crow-hop throws for outfielders. Start timing throws to first and rewarding the footwork that gets the ball there a beat sooner. Players this age can handle game-speed fungo and live reads off the bat, so the practice starts to look like the infield-outfield work a high school team runs.

High School Fielding Drills

High school fielders run the full menu every practice: a hands-and-short-hop block, a footwork-and-throwing block, and position-specific work like double-play turns or outfield do-or-die reads. Add game-speed fungo and a daily infield-outfield routine so the reps mirror the throws each player makes in a game. For how the fielding block fits alongside hitting and pitching across a full session, see our baseball practice plan template, and for the other half of defense, our baseball pitching drills library breaks down the work on the mound.

The full sixteen-drill rotation sits in the table below, sorted by where the skill lives on the field with the equipment, group size, and difficulty for each one. Download it as an image for the team chat, copy it into a spreadsheet to plan the week, save it as a PDF from the print dialog, or print it for the practice clipboard.

Building a Weekly Fielding Rotation

Pick one drill from the hands group, one from footwork and throwing, and one outfield drill each practice, then rotate the specific drills every two weeks so players see variety without losing the daily habit. Weight the ground-ball and hands work heaviest, since that is where most fielding chances live, then footwork, then the outfield reads. Across a season that volume turns technique into instinct: a glove that funnels the ball to the belt, feet that point at first before the throw, and an outfielder whose first step is always back. For how motor-learning research applies to sequencing those reps over a season, see our drill progression design guide.

Logging which fielders graded out clean on backhands, who still drifts on deep fly balls, and whose throw to first beats the runner turns a season of drills into a development record. Striveon's athlete development tools track each fielder's progress from a beginner who fields out of self-defense to an infielder who turns the double play in his sleep, so the coaching staff can see who is ready for the next level and who needs another block of short hops.

What are some good baseball fielding drills?

The sixteen drills above cover fielding across the whole field: infield hands and ground balls (knees-down hand drill, wide-base ready position, short-hop reps, backhand reps), footwork and throwing (right-left-field footwork, slow-roller bare-hand charge, double-play feed), outfield play (drop-step tracking, crow-hop throwing, do-or-die ground ball, fly-ball communication), and small-space high-rep work (wall-ball, short-hop ladder, tennis-ball reaction). Run one from each group every practice and weight the ground-ball work heaviest.

What are the 6 F's of fielding?

The 6 F's of fielding are the six phases longtime MLB infield coach Perry Hill uses to break down a ground ball: Feet, Field, Funnel, Footwork, Fire, and Follow. Perry Hill's 6 F's of fielding system(opens in new tab) names the six phases as the foundation of his infield teaching. Coaches commonly teach each phase as a simple cue:

• Feet. Set a balanced, athletic base before the ball arrives.
• Field. Catch the ball out in front where the eyes can see it and the glove.
• Funnel. Bring the ball to the middle of the body with soft hands.
• Footwork. Align the feet toward the target after the catch.
• Fire. Release the throw with a clean arm slot, the hands often separating thumb-down.
• Follow. Take a step toward the throw to add carry and accuracy.

The Six F's Walk-Through drill above grooves all six on a routine grounder by having the fielder narrate each phase while moving through it.

What is the 80/20 rule in baseball?

The 80/20 rule, drawn from the Pareto principle, is the idea that about 80% of a game's outcomes come from 20% of the activity. For fielding practice the lesson is about where the chances actually fall: the infield handles far more routine ground balls than the outfield sees deep flies, so the bulk of fielding reps belong on hands and short hops for the infield. Spending most of the defensive practice time on the ground-ball reads that show up every inning returns more than splitting time evenly across every fielding situation, including the rare ones that decide only a handful of plays a season.

What are the 4 infield positions?

The four infield positions are first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. First base handles throws from the other infielders and fields the right side; second base and shortstop cover the middle, turn double plays, and take relay throws from the outfield; third base guards the line and fields hard-hit balls and bunts at "the hot corner." The pitcher and catcher are sometimes counted as infielders too, but the four positions in the dirt are the ones that field the most ground balls. The short-hop, backhand, and double-play drills above train the reads all four share.

How long should a fielding practice block be?

Keep fielding blocks short and skill-focused. A 6U through 10U group works best in 15 to 20 minutes of soft grounders and basic hands work before focus fades. A 12U group runs 25 to 35 minutes across infield and outfield, and a high school team runs a 30-to-45-minute infield-outfield routine at game speed. End the block when the picks get lazy or the throws start sailing, since tired reps groove sloppy habits in the field.