Good fielders are made by reps, not by lectures. A bucket of 20 balls gets the kid in the position 20 times in a row. Same body shape. Same hands. Same finish. The repetition builds the habit.
What you need: 20 baseballs in a 5-gallon bucket, a glove, a flat field.
Setup: Kid stands 20 feet from you in fielding ready position. Bucket of balls next to you.
How to run it:
- Cue: Drop, Show, Funnel, Send.
- Roll or fungo (hit with a bat) a grounder every 4 seconds. They field and toss back to a target near you.
- No coaching during the round. Just feed the balls.
- After 20 reps, stop. Tell them what you saw. One thing only.
- Refill the bucket. One more round of 20.
What to watch: The shape on rep 18, 19, 20. Most kids look perfect on the first 5 and fall apart at the end. The end of the round is where the real habits show.
If they’re struggling: Cut to 10 grounders per round. Slow the tempo to one every 6 seconds.
If they’ve got it: Push to 30 reps per round. Or hit the grounders harder. Or alternate between glove side and throwing-hand side randomly.