Outfield Made Simple

Hey guys,

So here's a question I get all the time, and the people who don't ask it really don't know how to teach it anyway.  "How do I make my outfielders better at their job?"  Now, obviously this applies to the people living somewhere they can't be outside in the winter.  Much like throwing to get better at throwing, there is no better way to get better at outfield than to take outfield practice.  But, there are many ways that we can make our kids better outfielders.  I find that the most successful way to train an outfielder when you don't have access to a baseball is to make the kid a wide receiver.  That's right, throw him a football.  After learning that Giancarlo Stanton was a wide receiver, I never have changed my method and it works.  My team tracks down everything.

Here's the deal:  You have to challenge them athletically.  Make them do things that they aren't comfortable doing.  Put them in positions they aren't comfortable in.  When you do this, the game will come to them much easier.  I like to use a progression:

1. Play regular catch but throw it at the kid hard and move his hands around.  Really challenge him.  Make the catches as hard as you can make them without making him move his feet.  He should be standing in an athletic position not moving.

2. Now move them out in front of you in a punt returning position.  Throw/kick the ball up to him and move him side to side.  DO NOT LET HIM CATCH IT LIKE A PUNT!!! MAKE HIM CATCH IT OVER HIS HEAD!  During this one keep everything in front of him so he's moving in to catch it.

3. Now have them stand ten yards in front of you with their back turned.  As you throw the ball at them, say "ball" and have them spin around and catch the ball.  Have them spin to both sides.  We are now getting to the part of the progression now where it's time to make them uncomfortable.

4.  This one is awesome.  Put them on their butts facing you, and throw the ball high and reasonably far, according to how athletic they are.  Right when you throw the football, they must get up and track it down.

5. For the final part of the progression just have them run routes, but challenge them.  Don't try to hit them with a perfect pass every time.  Make them run, dive, and jump.  Make it a point that if they can get under the ball and not catch it on the run to do so.  Even though we are using a football, it's still baseball practice.

Don't make it militant.  Have fun with it.  Make it a competition, things of that sort.  Another thing that will make this the most fun with them is to do it in awful weather conditions.  Take them out in the snow, the mud, and the rain and let them go nuts.  They won't even think of it as practicing baseball.  It's one of the old "back yard" ways of getting better at baseball.

Work on their speed too.  They won't like this as much, but it's something that has to be done.  A sub 7 sixty runner will never hurt as an outfielder.  Also, a cannon arm won't hurt either.  Get them on the bands, and actually throwing the football if it's too cold for baseball.  It won't put the same stress on your arm.

Guys, nobody likes to go out into the elements and practice baseball, but that's where THE PLAYER (not the parent) needs to decide how far he wants to go in this great game.  The guy who wants to play in the big leagues and means it when he says it will be out there running, and catching the football when it's ten degrees.  That's just a matter of mental toughness.

Tip of the Day: Expect to catch every ball as a player.  Don't get into the excuse game of, "I couldn't get there" or "I slipped".  Catch everything.  Don't let anything drop!  It's unacceptable and games are won and lost in the outfield many times.

Until next time!