Ground balls have a partner problem that nobody talks about. Hitting them properly requires someone with a fungo bat, and that someone is usually a parent with a job. So infield practice happens twice a week at team practice, and never at home, which means the position that needs the most reps gets the fewest.
We solved it with a net and about twenty minutes a day. It's not identical to a fungo, but it's close enough that the reps count.
The Partner Problem
Infield is the most repetition-hungry position on the field — the difference between a good and average infielder is thousands of ground balls, not a swing change. But solo practice is awkward: you can't hit yourself grounders at game speed, and throwing a ball against a wall gives you a hop that doesn't match anything you'll see.
What A Net Actually Solves
A net gives you two things. First, a target and a backstop, so you can self-hit into it without chasing balls. Second, a rebound surface — and here's the honest part: the rebound off a net is soft and dies quickly, which is the opposite of a real infield hop. So use the net as a backstop and generate your own hop on the ground, rather than relying on a rebound.
Three Solo Drills
Self-hit ground balls
With a short bat or even a fungo-sized bat, hit balls into the ground three or four feet in front of the net, aiming so the ball takes a hop before the net. You're not practicing your swing — you're creating a realistic hop and then fielding it. Ten balls to your forehand side, ten to your backhand, then ten straight on.
The lane drill
Two cones mark the left and right limit of your range. Self-hit into the lane and make yourself move — no reaching across your body with a lazy glove. If you can field every ball standing still, the lane is too narrow.
Quick release into the net
Field the ball, then throw it into the net as your target, and time the whole thing with a phone. The measure isn't speed for its own sake — it's whether your feet are already moving when the ball arrives. A slow, accurate release beats a fast throw with dead feet, every time.
The Fundamentals That Get Better With Volume
- Feet before hands. The first move is always a small step, never a stab with the glove.
- Glove in front, not underneath. Fielding on the glove side of your body keeps you squared to the hop.
- Stay down through the ball. Standing up early is why hard-hit balls turn into bad hops you can't handle.
- Watch it into the glove. Sounds obvious, and it's the first thing that goes under pressure.
How We Set It Up
The $59.99 7x7ft net with the carry bag is our backstop for this — it's light enough that my son carries it to the park himself, and it's standing in about ninety seconds, which matters because drills that take five minutes to set up don't happen on a weeknight. On days when we're working both sides of the game, the $55.55 nine-hole pitching net goes up on the other side of the yard as a throwing target with a score, and the $69.99 premium net with the adjustable tee covers the hitting side. One setup, three jobs.
What It Fixed
The biggest change wasn't hands — it was first-step quickness. Self-hitting means the ball comes off the bat at your pace, but you still have to react to where it goes, and doing that eighty times a week is a volume no team practice will ever give you.
Twenty minutes, a net, and a bucket of balls. Infield practice no longer waits for a partner.