This go to softball ground ball pepper drill has been around as long as most coaches can remember. It is great for working on fielding ground balls, reaction time and hand eye coordination all at the same time. It can be done with large or small groups and can be modified to regulate the intensity or the difficulty of the drill.
Softball Ground Ball Pepper Drill
This can be done with a coach or with a player. There is a group of players and a player or coach with the bat and ball. The drill starts with the hitter fungo hitting or bunting the ball to one of the players who are assembled in front of her with their gloves on to field the ball. Once the player receives the ball, she then tosses it back to the hitter who hits the pitch to another player. It can be done randomly or in order. When all of the fielders have received a ball or after a specific amount of time, the group rotates so that the player at one end of the fielding line is now the hitter and the hitter moves into the other end of the line.
By increasing the distance between the hitter and the players, the fielders get more time to react to the ball. If you are practicing fielding bunts, it is important to make the drill as game like as possible as we would never want a player in a game to charge in on a bunt early which might be the procedure in the drill. This can be dangerous in a game when the batter could switch to a slap bunt quickly.
This is a great pre game warm up drill to get the hands and feet moving and ready for action. Make sure that everyone gets a chance to be the fielders and the hitter unless coaches are conducting the drill.
