Softball is a sport that requires a lot of skill and quick reflexes when it comes to fielding, especially for infielders. Playing as an infielder, you’ll want to employ some simple drills that can improve your defensive awareness and reaction time.
Here are some solid infield softball drills you can practice in a group:
- Footwork and direction:
One of the best skills you can improve while being in the infield is your ability to quickly change direction and speed. Work on repetitive drills can help you form good muscle memory and decrease your reaction time.
For this drill, you’ll need to place a series of cones about two feet apart on a straight line. Then, place a softball at one end of the cone line. Move quickly in a zig-zag manner between the cones until you reach the end, then pick up the softball and throw it to your coach! Another coach or player can replace the softball and the next player can perform the drill.
- Quick throws:
This is another technique that works effectively for improving your speed to throws. Keep a small cone and bend over as if you were collecting a rolling ball. Now, ask a teammate to roll a ball while you stand bent on one side of the cone.
Collect the rolling ball, toss it aside, and quickly move to the other side of the cone. Ask your teammate to roll the ball again. This time, collect the ball and throw it to the base. Practice this a few times to improve your speed of the throw. Think of this as a kind of “pepper” for your pickup & throw motions.
- Low catches:
Low catches are another tough defensive infielding skill and require practice and focus. For this, you should keep two cones 3-5 yards apart.
Then, ask a teammate to throw the ball low, from behind you while you race to catch the ball near the cone ahead. Try to catch it as low as possible to improve your mobility.
With these drills, your infield skills can improve dramatically! Keep at it, and you’ll become more comfortable fielding infield hits.