Two-Spot Receiving is a drill for athletes learning how to receive the baseball.  The belt is the deciding line, determining whether an athlete will catch with fingers up or fingers down.

EXECUTION – Executed at the three warm up lines, each athlete will receive four balls and then rotate. Begin with predictable tosses, then more challenging as appropriate. Variables within the coach’s control: speed of toss, pace between tosses, distance away.

• Receiver Position – Begin with feet outside shoulders, knees slightly bent, and hands in front of chest. For first time through the line (potentially more), move the hands to the ‘fingers up’ or ‘fingers down’ position before tossing.
• Ball Above Belt – Fingers up to receive the toss above the belt // Coaches Verbal = Thumbs Up!
• Ball Below Belt – Fingers down to receive the toss below the belt // Coaches Verbal = Pinkies Down!

DC KEYS

1. Athlete to Positions First – Move athlete to the “thumbs up” or “pinkies down” position before throwing it there.
2. Throw Strikes! – Like batting practice, or introductory fly balls, accuracy is key to athlete success. Give yourself a chance to toss a strike with the correct pace & ball flight.
3. Toss Ball to Glove Side of Body – For those athletes in danger of being hit, toss the ball away from the face and body (1-2 feet to glove side).
4. Ready Position @ Thumbs or Pinkies? Ready position of the hands moves up with position and expected play. For GB use pinkies… FB use neutral… Quick Catch use thumbs.

CLOSING – Athleticism is the goal of this drill, but for youngest athletes it must be learned. Teach athleticism by starting with the hands in the position that the ball will be tossed to. Eventually, tosses will force the athlete to react. To further explain, we want athletes to think during drills. We’ll repeat that training often (and successfully). That way, the athletes won’t have to think during games.

EQUIPMENT LIST