In-Between Hop (Slow-Pitch)
Also known as: in-between hop, awkward hop
The in-between hop is the awkward mid-bounce point of a grounder. Too high to scoop and too low to catch comfortably, it is the hardest hop to field cleanly.
A ground ball climbs and falls in a fairly predictable arc. Skilled fielders move their feet so the ball meets the glove at the top of that arc or right after it leaves the ground. Trouble comes at the midpoint of the rise, where the ball's height is changing too fast to track with a fixed glove position.
The fix is footwork, not hands. Rather than reaching for the ball wherever it happens to be, the fielder takes a small adjusting step. That might be a step forward to meet it early, or a brief hold to let it climb. Either way, the glove arrives at a predictable point in the arc. The step is tiny and it happens in the last two strides. That is exactly why it goes untrained: it looks like nothing on video and decides the play.
Keep your glove low as you close on the ball. Starting low and rising to meet it is a controllable move. Dropping a glove that started at waist height is never fast enough for the bounce that surprises you.
Drill deliberately bad reps — have a coach roll balls off an uneven surface so your feet learn micro-adjustments under real unpredictability rather than only clean, rehearsed bounces.
Example
Seeing the ball about to reach the awkward point of its climb, the shortstop takes one quick shuffle forward to meet it early rather than letting it rise into the dead zone.
Why it matters
Fielders who adjust their approach convert a far higher percentage of routine grounders. Motion Lab reads your last strides from pose but does not see the bounce, so check your adjusting steps against the hop on video.
How it shows up on video
Track the fielder's last two strides against the ball's arc. A fielder who solves the timing shows a small adjusting step — forward or a brief hold — tied to the bounce. One who does not shows a static approach and a last-second glove scramble.
Common mistakes
- Standing flat-footed and hoping the ball arrives at a convenient height rather than adjusting footwork to create one
- Reaching with the glove alone when the ball is at an awkward height, instead of taking a small step to change the timing
- Backing away, which almost always makes the timing worse rather than better
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
Motion Lab reads your last strides from pose but does not see the ball's bounce. As a result, it cannot tell whether an adjusting step matched the hop.
Frequently asked questions
Does the larger softball bounce differently than a baseball?
It does. A 12-inch ball is bigger and less lively off the ground, so it tends to come up slower and sit higher. That makes the awkward zone wider rather than narrower — more of the arc falls between a clean pick and a comfortable catch.
Why do slow-pitch fielders see so many of these?
The high pitch arc produces steep, chopping contact, and many recreational complexes use fully skinned infields whose surface varies between innings. Both push more ground balls into an irregular second bounce.
Related terms
- Short Hop PickupA short hop pickup is fielding a ball the instant after it hits the dirt. You take it low and out front with soft hands, not waiting for it to rise.
- Bad HopA bad hop is a ground ball that bounces unpredictably off a seam, rock, or divot in the infield. It changes direction or height at the last instant.
- Ready Position (Slow-Pitch Fielding)Ready position is the balanced, athletic stance a fielder takes just before the pitch. It allows an immediate first step in any direction.
- Glove-Side BackhandA glove-side backhand fields a grounder on the glove-hand side with a reach across the body. The glove turns outward; the feet do not shuffle to square up.
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