By: Ron Bing, Puritas League, Cleveland, Ohio
This certainly isn't original, but how many coaches base their decisions on middle infielders on who "look good" while fielding balls? The bottom line is simply this, a player may have a rocket arm, but if his mechanics are lacking, the time it takes his throws to reach first may take longer than a less flashier player who happens to have proper mechanics. The bottom line lies in the stop watch, but how many of us take the time to check that out? Simply put, a stopwatch can be a powerfull tool, but too many coaches get caught up in the flashy player, at the expense of good, solid non-flashy kids.
Date: July 05, 1999 at 22:17
A good timing drill which fits in nicely with timing shortstops and their throws to first after fielding ground balls, is to time throws from second (ie. turning double plays). Have a boy line up at shortstop or second, and then hit a ball (or simply have a player already have a ball in his glove)to the opposite fielder. Have that fielder toss the ball to second, and from the time the ball touches the player's glove who is taking the throw, till his throw to first touches the first baseman's mitt track it with a stopwatch. Players with good arms who take throws one handed, or who don't get their bodies in front of the throw will hurt their overall time. A non-flashy player with better mechanics will often times beat the flashier player. Because a player looks good, doesn't necessarily make him good.
Prior to timing the players you need to decide if you are only timing good throws to second (obviously a throw in the dirt is not the same as a perfect toss chest high). If a coach makes the tosses, you can intentionally make bad tosses to see how a player does.