My son plays middle infield, and for a long time he was all hands and no feet — great glove, but he couldn't get in position fast enough to use it. The coach kept saying "feet first," and my son kept hearing "catch the ball." The difference between an average middle infielder and a good one is almost entirely footwork, and the footwork can be drilled at home in a garage with a net and a wall. Here's the routine that changed his game.
Why middle infield is different
Here's the honest truth: a first baseman can sometimes make up for bad feet with a good stretch, and an outfielder can range with speed. But a shortstop or second baseman has to be in position before the ball arrives — the footwork comes first, the glove is just the end of it. When the footwork is wrong, the ball looks faster than it is, and everything becomes a rushed mess.
Drill one: the double-play shuffle
This is the highest-value drill we do. Set up a target — the 9-hole pitching net at $55.55 works great because the pockets give you a strike zone to throw into — and go through the double-play footwork: receive (catch), step (right foot to the bag side), pivot, and throw into a target pocket. No hitter, no runner, no base needed. Just the footwork and the throw, repeated until it's automatic.
We do ten reps each direction (toward first base side, then toward third base side), and the key is the rhythm: catch-step-throw, not catch...throw. The step is what most young infielders skip, and it's why their throws sail or bounce.
Drill two: the backhand on the wall
Backhands are mostly about approach angle, which is footwork again. Here's the at-home version: throw a tennis ball or soft ball against a flat wall at an angle, so it bounces off to the side, forcing a backhand pickup. The ball comes back with weird spin, so your kid has to move their feet to get in front of it — which is exactly the skill the backhand needs on a real field.
Fifteen reps, and every rep ends with a throw into the 7x7 net at $59.99 set up about twenty feet away. The net catches the throws, so we never chase balls, and the strike zone target gives each throw a purpose.
Drill three: the transfer
This is the most underrated skill in the infield: getting the ball out of the glove and into the throwing hand fast. The drill is simple — toss a ball up, catch it with the glove, and transfer to the throwing hand in one motion, then throw into the net. Ten reps, and the goal is to get the transfer so smooth that you can't see the two hands touch. When the transfer is fast, every throw gets quicker, and quick throws beat strong throws in the infield.
I have him do this into the 9-hole net at $55.55, aiming for the top pockets, because a quick transfer with a rushed throw is useless — the accuracy keeps the speed honest.
Our 20-minute infield circuit
- Minutes 1-5: double-play shuffle, 10 reps each direction, throws into the net
- Minutes 6-10: wall backhand pickups, 15 reps, throw into the 7x7 net
- Minutes 11-15: transfer drill, 10 reps, top pockets on the 9-hole
- Minutes 16-20: fielding off the wall — soft balls hit against the wall, field and throw, 20 reps
Three nights a week, and within a month the coach's feedback changed from "needs to move his feet" to "gets in position early." The feet came first, just like the coach said — we just finally started practicing them.