Glencoe Baseball Association Coaches’ Manual

Lesson 4 - Catching a Ground Ball

BACKGROUND:

The three most fundamental aspects of catching a ground ball are POSITION, POSITION, and POSITION.  The first POSITION relates to the body being READY to field a ball.  The second POSITION relates to the body when actually fielding a ball.  The third POSITION relates to the glove and where it must be to catch a ground ball.

READY POSITION:  The body should be in a balanced athletic position, feet slightly wider that the shoulders with the weight on the balls of the feet, with the knees and waist slightly bent with the head up, arms down and palms out. We call this position “GUNFIGHTER”.

FIELDING POSITION: The player must move the body so that the belly button is squarely in front of the arriving ground ball.  The cue for this position is BELLY BUTTON.

GLOVE POSITION: The glove must be on the ground, and the hands make a shape like the MOUTH of an alligator (remember that we catch the ball with TWO hands – for a ground ball the THUMBS are with THUMBS and the PINKIES are with PINKIES).  We call this position “ALLIGATOR / IN THE SWAMP”. The player must keep the “MOUTH” of the glove open and steady so that it may “SWALLOW” the ball.  The glove (a decent glove properly broken in) will actually do almost all of the work of catching the ball if the player will let it!!  The throwing hand helps make the catch and prepares to throw the ball by closing the top of the mitt and gripping the ball for the throw.  We call this “CHOMP DOWN”.

TEACHING METHODS:

First: (FOR BEGINNERS) Play a game of ROLLER BALL.  (Just play, with no feedback yet.)  In this game the coach will roll ground balls to a player to see how many may be fielded in a row without error.  Observe, evaluate and determine what areas require particular focus. 

Next: To provide feedback, describe what we are looking for in catching a ground ball: Ready Position, Fielding Position and Glove Position.

Next: The coach should demonstrate how to catch a ground ball using the cues GUNFIGHTER, BELLY BUTTON, ALLIGATOR / IN THE SWAMP, CHOMP DOWN.  Have the player positioned so that they may easily see you.  You should demonstrate from several angles and for a right or left handed player, depending on what you have.  Pretend that the player is catching a ground ball.  Call out each cue and have the player practice each motion of catching a ground ball.  The coach may have the player call out the cues while the coach  performs the motions of catching a ground ball.  Repeat until you are comfortable that the player has command of the cues.  For most kids, this may be accomplished in about 10 minutes. 

Next: Play another game of ROLLER BALL.  Observe, evaluate and provide feedback.  Some players may need to have the cues reinforced while others may be ready for a more difficult game of ROLLER BALL.