Once the fear of getting hit in the face with the baseball, due to an unusual or crazy hop, the idea of fielding a ground ball seems quite easy. What's that saying? Oh yeah, "If it's that easy everybody would be doing it." This little tongue in cheek sarcasm does in fact, appropriately apply to this matter. There's catching the groundball, eyes closed, head turned while your tongue is pursed between your lips, and there's catching a groundball, scooping, throwing and follow through for an apparent easy out. Big difference. Let's exam the proper fundamentals for fielding a groundball. The very first thing a player must understand is a groundball is just that, it's scooting along the ground. The reason I make this very obvious statement is, to catch the ball you have to bend your body over. How many times have you seen a younger ball player attempt to field a grounder while standing erect? Unless he has the arms of a monkey there's no way he's going to be able to reach the ball, much alone catch it. Preparing to field is a matter of routine and preparedness of the body and mind. Ever notice MLB batters, in between every pitch, go through a ritual of certain antics before stepping back into the batter's box and wonder what the heck they were doing? What they were doing is refocusing after every pitcher bringing their mind and body back in sync. This is exactly what an infielder should do in between pitches, with the possible exception of runners being on base. A "ritual," a term I'll use for no particular reason, you can substitute it with another word if you desire, but here is an example of what I'm talking about, we'll always assume bases are empty. When the pitcher is not on the rubber play essentially stops. You don't want to be in a tensed fielding position during lull times, so check the strings of your glove for breakage, smooth the dirt in front of you with your foot or tell the outfielders how many outs there are. Just keep moving as the idea is to not stiffen up or become jittery due to nerves. Once the pitcher toes the rubber that is your signal to immediately get ready to field any ball hit your way. Your back and legs are slightly bent, your weight is on the balls of your feet, never back on your heels and your glove is extended away from your body. As the pitcher goes into his windup you should perform one of two things, either additionally lower your body and place your glove on or near the ground out in front of you where you can see it, or move your feet either coming forward or shuffle in place. Here's what you accomplish. Your body is bend low to the ground, your glove is on or near the ground preventing the ball from going under it, the glove is out in front of you where you can actually see the ball enter the mitt and your feet are moving giving you an instant ability to shift your weight and chase after the ball. Of course there are more skills involved than just these few basic ones which you must master in order to become a great infielder, but without mastering the basics, the increased skills will never be learned properly. Hello, my name is Jim Bain. I have been a licensed plumber fitter for over 34 years, a strong advocate for Social Justice, as a technical writer for the UAW and a former Minor league baseball player and Coach. Since retirement I have dedicated my life to teaching baseball and have developed a website packed with Baseball information and tips. http://////www.Learn-Youth-Baseball-Coaching.com Article Source: http://////EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain