Baseball & Softball drill · Ground balls

Alligator Ground Balls

Why this drill works

Ground balls are where the youngest players either fall in love with fielding or learn to flinch, and the difference is almost entirely whether their first hundred reps were catchable. The alligator gives them a body position that works, a story that makes it memorable, and rolls slow enough to guarantee success. The two-jaws image solves the two chronic beginner faults, the hovering glove and the missing bare hand, in one picture. And the charge stage plants the most valuable infield habit early: the ball is something you go get, not something that happens to you.

How to coach it

Theater is the method: chomp sounds, alligator voices, dramatic celebration of loud snaps. Underneath the silliness, hold two standards without exception: the glove flat on the dirt, checked by touch, and the bare hand covering every catch. Keep rollers honest too, since a bored eight-year-old roller will start firing bouncers that undo everything; kneeling rollers roll truer. And end on the team gauntlet total every week, because a shared number turning 31 into 38 into 44 is how a group of small children decides fielding is their thing.

Ages: 5–9
Skill levels: first-time, beginner
Players: 2–16 (ideal 10)
Time: 10 min
Setting: either
Space: 20 feet per pair

A kneeling roller sending a slow ground ball to a fielder in the low alligator position with the glove flat.

Equipment

1 soft or safety ball per pair
1 glove per fielder
2 cones per pair

Setup

Pairs face each other about 15 feet apart on the smoothest ground available, since true rolls teach and bad hops scare at this age. One player is the roller (kneeling makes rolls truer), one is the alligator. Teach the position as a story, not a checklist: feet wider than shoulders, bottom low like sitting in a tiny chair, glove flat on the ground in front like the alligator's bottom jaw, bare hand hovering above it as the top jaw. When the ball rolls into the glove, the jaws SNAP shut and the alligator eats. Demonstrate with maximum theater; the chomp sound effect is coaching equipment here. Check every child's starting position once by hand before rolls begin, physically flattening gloves that hover.

How to run it

Stage 1, dead rolls to the glove: rollers send slow, straight rolls directly at the flat glove. Alligator chomps, holds the ball up proudly, rolls it back. Ten each, switch roles.
Stage 2, the feet wake up: rolls now arrive one small step left or right. The alligator shuffles sideways (never crossing feet), rebuilds the low position, then chomps. Ten each, switch.
Stage 3, charge the ball: rolls stop halfway. The alligator creeps forward in the low position to meet the ball rather than waiting for it, chomping on the move. This is the foundation of every infield charge to come.
Stage 4, chomp and show: after each catch, the fielder pops up, turns their feet sideways, and shows the ball in a throwing position without throwing. The catch is now connected to what comes after it.
Stage 5, alligator feeding time: rollers send five rolls in a row at a comfortable rhythm, mixing direction slightly, and the pair counts clean chomps out loud. Best score of two rounds each.
Finish with coach's roll gauntlet: players line up and each takes one roll from the coach, with the whole team counting chomps toward a group total. Set a team record to beat next week.

What success looks like

Gloves start flat on the dirt instead of hovering, bare hands cover every catch, bottoms stay low through the shuffle steps, and by stage 3 players move toward rolling balls instead of waiting. The group total in the gauntlet gives the whole team a number that grows weekly.

Coaching cues

"Bottom jaw flat on the dirt"
"Chomp with the top hand"
"Sit in your tiny chair"
"Go meet the ball"

Common mistakes

The hovering glove, an inch off the ground, under which every ball escapes. Physically flatten it during setup checks; at this age the touch correction outworks ten verbal ones.
Bending at the waist with straight legs, which puts eyes far from the ball and makes kids fear it. The tiny-chair image keeps the bend in the knees.
The bare hand hiding behind the back. The top jaw is half the alligator; a chomp with one jaw drops the ball, and saying it that way fixes it.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: Roll from 8 feet, use the softest ball available or a rolled-sock ball indoors, and let the youngest players trap the ball with two hands on top before graduating to the glove-under version.

Harder: Add gentle one-bounce rolls once flat-glove habits hold, widen the shuffle range to two or three steps, or add the throw after the chomp-and-show for pairs ready to connect fielding to throwing.

Adapt it to your team

Small roster: Two players is native; a parent-child pair runs it identically at home, which is worth mentioning to families since this drill is the homework that builds infielders.

Large roster: Eight pairs in parallel lines all rolling the same direction, with the coach roaming the fielder line flattening gloves. The gauntlet finale handles any roster size.

Limited space: A hallway or gym runs it perfectly with soft balls, and the smoother floor gives truer rolls than most fields, which is an advantage for this age.

Limited equipment: One soft ball per pair; no glove needed for the two-hands-on-top beginner version, which is actually the recommended start for five-year-olds.

Safety

Use soft, safety, or tennis balls for all of it; real baseballs and five-year-old faces should not meet during ground ball training, and the confidence protected here matters more than authenticity. Keep rolls on the ground, never thrown, and check the surface for rocks and sprinkler heads that turn rolls into hops. See the safety page for general guidance.