Outfield strategies

Question
I will be a graduate assistant at a university starting in the fall. Any certain practice or game strategies I should know for outfielders. The past 4 years I have pitched on the college level at this particular institution. Just looking for some strategies and drills, and ideas for outfielders. Thank you

Answer
Brett,

Congratulations!  That is simply awesome. This will be great fun and a great opportunity for you.  My suggestion is that you go online, do some searches and gain as much information as possible.  Also, go to your local baseball equipment store or online and purchase a few baseball coaching books and read them. There are many great coaches who have published books and videos. Bragg Stockton was a great coach at Houston and San Jacinto Junior College.  He has a whole series of skills and drills books and videos.  Check out several different authors and choose who you would like to coach like.  Tony LaRussa has some information on the mental side of the game.

Try to gain several different opinions from different coaches/authors and then apply them to your thoughts and coaching styles.  Just this season I learned a few things that were different that what I have taught over the years.  While my old techniques worked, I feel that these new ones are even better and replace the old ones. No one knows it all and we always keep learning.

Outfield is a tougher position than most people think.  It is vitally important to a team and as a pitcher, you know the difference between having a good outfielder who can run down balls and turn doubles into singles or even into outs, and those who cannot.

My biggest concerns with our outfielders include the tracking of balls and getting juice behind throws.  There are many drills for outfielders to learn to track balls better.  My advice is to ask your head coach which he prefers and then drill your players until they are sick of it. OR get information and come out with a routine that will turn your managers head and make him think, "Hey, I have a great asset with Bognar working my outfield".

Try to make it fun for your players by making a contest out of it.  Even college kids cannot resist competition of being number 1 in the drills.  Do something special at the end of the week for the fielder who won the most.

Make sure that they understand the importance of their job to the team and the pitcher.  Make sure the pitchers know and give the outfielders props for good defense.

As well, be sure to work on the proper throwing techniques from the outfield.  We had a local high school boy gain a scholarship to a small university last season simply based on the fact that he tracked balls well, would go all out like Jim Edmonds if he had to, and could perform a crow hop like noone else.  This kid could crow hop and throw a bullet to any base.  He didn't have the best arm in the world, but his technique and accuracy got him many assists from the outfield and helped win the Texas state 4A title in 2004.  He would not have been looked at if not for his defense.  

Now I know these guys are already in college, but the pro scouts are looking for the same thing that the college ones are. You can always learn to hit, but many times defense is tough to teach to an old guy.  

Find some skills and drills manuals that you can go back to on a daily basis. Vary your drills to keep interest up, but perform them daily.  From fielding grounders to fly balls that are short, deep and in the gap to hitting the cutoff man (another dying aspect of the game).  It all adds up to stopping runners from scoring and allowing  your team to win games.

I realize that I didn't give you anything specific as far as drills, but this is where your fun begins.  Go find them and put them in your coaching bag.  Then do your best to teach your players the mental side of the game.  The mental side of the outfield. Then they will be a success and, in turn, you will too.  

I hope to one day see Brett Bognar, Manager on the door of a university or professional club house door.

Play Ball!

Coach Boss