Purpose

To practice fielding line-drive balls using the crossover step and drop step. Also develops outfield communication skills.

Drill Setup

  • There are three people involved in this drill: The Coach (CH), the Helper (H), and the Interceptor (I).
  • The coach and helper stand 50 ft apart, facing each other.
  • The Interceptor stands 30 ft from the coach, facing the coach, 20 ft off the midline. (see diagram)

Interceptor Baseball Outfield Drill

How it Works

  1. Coach throws a line drive or low fly ball to the helper.
  2. The Interceptor uses a loud, strong voice to call out for the ball and then uses a crossover step or drop step to move toward the ball.
  3. The Interceptor catches the ball before it hits the ground, then crow hop throws the ball to the coach for the drill to restart.
  4. Prior to the next coaches throw, the Helper should adjust their position left/right and/or front/back to change the direction of the throw each time.
  5. If the Interceptor misses the ball, the Helper catches the ball and throws back to coach.

Coaching Tips

  • To make this more challenging, add TWO Interceptors, place them each 20 feet on each side of the midline.
  • The players will need to communicate to avoid collisions.
  • The player who doesn’t get the ball should position themselves to back-up.