Barehand Slaps are infield drills for baseball that develop hand eye coordination and infield fundamentals. As a baseball infielder we need to know how to attack, pick our hop, get on the plane, and get on path of the incoming ball. This means seeing where the ball is, getting to where the ball is going to be, and then moving through the ball in the direction it came from.
Barehand slaps as a drill progression work great for developing baseball infielders because it gives players direct immediate feedback on whether or not we attacked the incoming ball on plane and on path. The ball should be slapped with an open, flat palm directly back in the direction it came from. If the ball goes up, to the right, to the left, or you miss it then you weren't slapping the ball on plane and on path.
We progress from incoming rolled balls, to bounced balls, to partner races, and then to hit balls. For body positions we progress from kneeling, to fielding, to dynamic, and random body positions. Every time we change how the ball is rolled or our body position the difficulty of the drill is increased or decreased. This allows us to challenge every player on our team and set them up for success.
Once players understand the drill it should be practiced fast and intense. Not only is this more fun but it helps us practice faster than we play so we are prepared to compete in a game. If you don't miss balls occasionally you're not going fast enough.
Bare hand slaps also work great for any sport that requires hand eye coordination such as hockey goalies, soccer goalies, lacrosse goalies, hand ball players, cricket players, tennis players etc.
All these skills are easy enough a child can learn them through practice but difficult enough most adults can't perform them.
I make these drills look easy. Give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments below. Get creative and tell me some athletic variations you think would be cool to try. All these skills are easy enough a child can learn them through practice but difficult enough most adults can't perform them.
Joe Germaine of Multi-Sport Mindset Creates athletes through speed, strength, coordination, mobility, and sport specific skills, drills, and games. We provide you with all the fundamental movements that combine to form the complex skills of sport. Our drills will help you execute in games.
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