The One Knee Fielding Drill is great for outfielders to gain confidence in fielding ground balls. This particular fielding drill teaches players to field the ground ball with one knee down, keeping the body in front of the ball.
**Note that this technique is used only when there are NO runners on base.
Coaching Points:
- Keep the glove side knee up and the throwing side knee down on the ground, keeping the shoulders square to the ball.
- The knee should be bent and create a 90 degree angle to create more surface area.
- Keep the head down and as the ball is coming toward you, be sure to watch the ball all the way into the glove.
- The most important factor when fielding a ball like this is to not get into the ground position too early. If you get down too early, the ball could take a skip and go right by. Players must time their motion to avoid bad hops.
- Another important factor about fielding the ball with one knee down is guiding or “sweeping” the ball into the glove with the throwing hand. The glove will be flat on the ground and as the ball touches your glove, use a sweeping motion with the other hand to sweep the ball into the glove, then bringing it into your body and throwing. As you sweep the ball into your glove, you should feel for the seams so you can get a good horseshoe grip on the ball.
- It’s important to keep the body in front of the ball to prevent any bad hops from getting past. Even if the ball bounces back off of you, then you can bare hand the ball and make an accurate throw to the plate.
- The fundamentals are the same for rolling or bouncing ground balls.
Begin by having your players practice this technique without the ball, and the practice slow rollers when players are comfortable with the technique.
This is a great team drill for multiple players at once. You can progress to harder and more challenging throws.