Drop-Step

By: Nick Berzins

This is a fielding drill that teaches the proper footwork for outfielders tracking-down fly balls. Secondary benefits are improved conditioning and reacting to balls hit with spin.

Equipment: Poly balls and racquetball or tennis racket or accubat.

Setup: The Outfielder, with a glove, is in front of the coach, with his toes facing the coach. The coach has a polyball in one hand and the racquet in the other hand.

Drill: The coach holds the polyball in the air, above his head. The coach will move the ball in a direction and the player will be required to perform the correct footwork to move his position according to where the ball moves. The ball's position (relative to the coach's position) should prompt the player to move his position as follows:

• Forward—the player backpedals.
• Backward—the player charges in.
• Right—the player drops the left foot back and runs back on a diagonal.
• Left—the player drops the right foot and runs back on a diagonal.

The coach will move the player by moving the ball through a series of directions before hitting the polyball with the racquet.

This is a typical sequence:

• Coach holds ball forward and player backpedals.
• Coach moves ball right. Player drops left foot and runs back on diagonal.
• Coach moves ball left. Player drops right foot (does not turn back to ball) and runs backward on diagonal.
• Coach moves ball to right. Player drops left foot (does not turn back to ball) and runs backward on diagonal.
• Coach hits polyball with racquet, leading fielder and requiring him to continue running to complete catch. Coach can use racquet to apply spin to ball—for example, slice that right-fielder would see.

Coaching Tips:

• Mix up the locations where you hit the balls so that players are forced to develop backhand as well as forehand catches.
• Instead of a racquet and polyballs, use real softballs/baseballs and throw them when the final move is made.
• To develop conditioning, increase the number of moves and the distance before hitting/throwing the ball.
• Make sure the players do not turn their backs on the ball.
• Lead the fielder with the hit/throw, to require him to tuck his glove into his armpit and pump his arms while running to the ball aggressively, to simulate the long-distance run required to make the catch in a game.
• To speed the drill up, you can have two outfielders perform this at the same time by spreading them out (their movements should be the same, so they should always remain separated).