Baseball drill
Bobble recovery drill
Each player bounces a ball off their chest from a fielding position, finds it on the ground, picks it up with the bare hand and gets into a throw. It teaches infielders to stay calm and still make the play after a bad hop or a bobble.
At a glance
- Sport
- Baseball and Softball
- Skill
- Infield
- Ages
- 10U to High school
- Players
- Any number, each with a ball (a partner or a net to throw to is optional)
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Gloves, One ball per player, A partner or a throwing net (optional)
- Indoors
- Yes
Every infielder bobbles a ball. The ones who still get the out are the ones who have practiced what to do next: keep the ball in front, find it, pick it up cleanly and make a good throw instead of a rushed one. This drill gives players that rep without needing a coach to hit them a bad hop.
Each player works with their own ball, so the whole team can do it at once along a foul line or in a gym. It fits well at the end of a fielding warm-up, and it teaches young players that a ball knocked down in front of them is still a play.
Setup
- Spread the players out in a line with plenty of room between them, each with a glove and a ball.
- Each player gets into a good fielding position: feet wide, knees bent, back flat, glove out in front.
- If you want real throws, pair players up about 30 to 40 feet apart, or line them up facing a net.
How to run it
- From the fielding position, the player tosses the ball firmly against their own chest.
- The ball drops to the ground in front of them. The player finds it right away with the eyes.
- The player picks the ball up with the bare hand, fingers down and the hand coming across the top of the ball.
- Without standing straight up first, the player steps into a throwing position, lining the feet up with the target.
- Finish with a throwing motion, or a real throw to a partner or a net. Do sets of five to eight, then switch partners.
Coaching points
- Stay down. The player should pick the ball up from the same low position they fielded it in.
- A ball that is stopped or barely rolling is picked up with the bare hand. It is quicker than scooping it into the glove.
- Find the ball first, then go get it. A quick look before grabbing saves a second bobble.
- Set the feet before the throw. Most errors after a bobble are the hurried throw, not the pickup.
Common mistakes
- Standing up to look for the ball, then having to bend back down to get it.
- Grabbing at the ball in a panic and kicking or knocking it farther away.
- Throwing from a flat-footed stance with the feet still pointed at the ball instead of the target.
- Tossing the ball so softly off the chest that it lands in the glove. It needs to hit the ground.
By age
10U
Go slowly and work on the barehand pickup and getting a good grip. A throwing motion without a ball released is fine.
12U and 14U
Add the throw to a partner and count how many recoveries end in a throw to the chest.
High school
Time it as if the runner is going to first. A coach can also roll grounders and have the fielder knock the ball down on purpose before recovering it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why bounce the ball off the chest?
It puts the ball on the ground in front of the fielder the way a bad hop or a bobble does, so they practice finding it and making the play, without needing someone to hit them a bad hop.
Should infielders always pick up a bobbled ball with the bare hand?
When the ball is stopped or barely moving close to them, the bare hand is quickest. If it is still rolling away, the glove, or the glove and bare hand together, is safer.
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