You’ve probably heard it before, “get your glove dirty”. Coaches have been instilling this idea into young softball player minds for decades. We’ll admit it, there is nothing more heart-warming than watching a 10U softball game and as the pitcher starts her motion, the whole infield drops into their ready positions and slaps the back of their glove hard on the ground. Unfortunately, this isn’t the most effective way to field a ground ball and it is almost the exact opposite of what college infield coaches are teaching today. Hopefully, some of our Softball fielding tips will be helpful.
This post is going to explore the “ramp” and the “backstop” glove positioning of infielders.
The Ramp: This is the approach those 10U coaches instill when they expect their infielders to get their gloves dirty in the ready position. The problem with the ramp is in the name itself. When the back of the glove is placed flat on the ground, the glove and the forearm create a ramp. When the ball approaches a glove in the ramp position, it has a greater chance of traveling up the arm and hitting the player in the bicep, chest, or even face. We’ve all seen this happen one too many times, and the facemask producers are reaping the benefits.
The Backstop: This is more the fielding style that college coaches are teaching today. Instead of laying the back of the hand on the ground, a backstop is created by flexing the fingers and fingertips towards the ground. If you can’t get your hand in this position, you have some stretching to do. Like the ramp, the purpose of the backstop is in the name itself. By positioning your glove this way, you are increasing the chance of the ball being stopped. If the ball doesn’t make it into your glove cleanly, this position increases the likelihood that the ball will be stopped by the glove in front of you. This sounds a lot better than the alternative, of it being stopped by making contact with a different part of the body (as the ramp often times does).
Practice pointers: an easy drill that can be incorporated into practice that works on “backstop” hand positioning are rolling ground ball bare-hand drills. Grab a partner, kneel about five feet away from each other, and practice rolling ground balls to each other bare-handed. The bare-hand will allow athletes to practice that backstop hand positioning as well as work on hand-eye coordination. Challenge your athletes to practice fielding the bare-hand rolls with one hand and ditch the throwing hand coming in as a protector (for this drill purpose). Important note: make sure the bare-hand fielding the ball goes forward to the ball, we never want to wait for the ball to come to us. Bare-hand kneeling drills are also great for working on hand-eye coordination for forehand and backhand ground balls as well.
Feature Image by: Dakota Sumpter
