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“As they round off the ground ball, fielders should speed up or slow down in order to field the hop of their choosing. Ideally, players first look to field a “big-hop” (long hop) when the bounce has passed its peak and the ball is on the way back down. Their second choice is to catch the ball off the “short-hop,” where the ball has just struck the ground and is beginning to move back up towards the peak.” Trent Mongero, Winning Baseball
Short Hop Drill | Short Hop to Power Position Drill | Ozzie Drill
Short Hop Drill (Without or With Glove)
Source: Trent Mongero, Winning Baseball
Purpose: Improves a fielder’s mechanics and confidence when fielding short hops.
Coaching Points:
- Player is in correct fielding position.
- The ball is fielded with fingers down.
- The fingers are relaxed. “Tight muscles are slow muscles.”
- Don’t get wristy. In other words, don’t flip fingers up when fielding ball. Keep fingers down as much as possible to catch ball where the fingers meet the palm. That area is equivalent to the pocket of the glove.
- Don’t field the ball too early (i.e., too far out in front) as the player will get locked (i.e., arm is straight rather than slightly bent) and have hard hands that will not be able to absorb the ball.
Video: Short Hop Drills (Winning Baseball) (5 min) 
Second Position:
Backhand. Player turned 90 degrees to pick up ball on backhand.
Coaching Points/Keys:
- Player’s back is flat and parallel to the ground.
- Player’s nose is pointing down.
- Don’t field the ball too early (i.e., too far out in front) as the player will get locked (i.e., arm is straight rather than slightly bent) and have hard hands that will not be able to absorb the ball.
Final Position:
Fielding to glove side facing feeder.
Short Hop to Power Position Drill
Video: Short Hop to Power (Winning Baseball) (2 min)
Purpose: Improves a fielder’s ability to efficiently transition his body from fielding a short hop into a good power position.
Coaching Points:
- Player is in correct fielding position.
- The ball is fielded with fingers down.
- The fingers are relaxed. “Tight muscles are slow muscles.”
- Don’t get wristy. In other words, don’t flip glove up when fielding ball. Keep fingers of glove down as much as possible to catch ball in the pocket of the glove.
- Don’t field the ball too early (i.e., too far out in front) as the player will get locked (i.e., arm is straight rather than slightly bent) and have hard hands that will not be able to absorb the ball.
- Knees are bent at all times. Don’t want to stand up straight as that will waste valuable time.
- Fast movements into power position. Watch for little hop to get feet and body turned quickly.
Position: Standard Fielding Position Facing Ball Feeder
Position. Backhand. Player turned 90 degrees to pick up ball on backhand.
Coaching Points:
- Player stays low.
- Player’s back is flat and parallel to the ground.
- Player’s nose is pointing down.
- Don’t field the ball too early (i.e., too far out in front) as the player will get locked (i.e., arm is straight rather than slightly bent) and have hard hands that will not be able to absorb the ball.
- Knees are bent at all times. Don’t want to stand up straight as that will waste valuable time.
- Fast movements into power position. Watch for little hop to get feet and body turned quickly.
Position: Fielding to glove side facing feeder.
Ozzie Drill
Video: Ozzie Drill (Winning Baseball) (3 min)
Purpose: Improves a fielder’s ability to trust his instincts when fielding a difficult short hop.
Coaching Points:
- From his knees a player must stay tall.
- Player should draw an arc in the dirt in front of him (fielding zone) and try to stop the ball as it enters the arc. Ball may bounce outside the arc.
- Player needs to trust his instincts and not second guess himself or hesitate.
- Soft hands and flexed glove arm to absorb ball.
- Player needs to make quick transition throw back to partner.
