Ready Position (Slow-Pitch Fielding)
Also known as: fielding ready position, athletic stance
Ready position is the balanced, athletic stance a fielder takes just before the pitch — knees bent, weight on the balls of the feet, glove down and out in front — that allows an immediate first-step reaction in any direction.
A fielder standing upright with straight legs and hands on knees needs an extra beat to lower into a fielding posture before reacting to a batted ball — a beat that, in slow pitch's often-quick contact off a descending arc, can be the difference between a play and a base hit. Correct ready position sets the base wide, bends the knees so the thighs are roughly parallel to a forward lean, keeps the glove low and open facing the plate, and puts the weight forward on the balls of the feet rather than back on the heels.
Timing matters as much as posture: fielders should settle into ready position as the pitcher begins the release, not casually stroll into it after the ball is already in flight. A fielder who is still walking into position at contact has given away the single biggest advantage ready position provides — the ability to react instantly.
A simple check: if you can comfortably touch the ground in front of your feet without bending your knees further, your stance is too tall — bend the knees until your glove is naturally low and out in front.
Example
As the pitcher begins her delivery, the third baseman settles into a wide, bent-knee stance with her glove down and open, ready to break in any direction the instant the ball is struck.
Why it matters
A proper ready position removes the wasted first step of straightening up before reacting, directly improving range on every batted ball. SwingVantage can check a fielder's stance timing relative to the pitch delivery from uploaded practice video.
How it shows up on video
Check the fielder's posture at the moment of the pitcher's release: knees should be bent, weight forward, and the glove already down rather than resting on a raised knee or the fielder still standing upright. A fielder who reaches full ready position only after the ball has been hit has lost the advantage entirely.
Common mistakes
- Standing upright with hands on knees rather than in a true athletic, weight-forward stance
- Settling into ready position too late — after the ball is already in flight rather than as the pitcher releases
- Keeping weight back on the heels, which slows the first step in either direction
- Relaxing out of ready position between pitches and needing extra time to reset before the next one
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
SwingVantage can check a fielder's stance and weight distribution at the moment of pitch release from uploaded video, confirming whether ready position is established with proper timing before every pitch.
Related terms
- Bad HopA bad hop is a ground ball bounce that deflects unpredictably off a seam, rock, or divot in the infield, changing direction or height at the last instant before it reaches the fielder.
- In-Between Hop (Slow-Pitch)The in-between hop is the awkward moment mid-bounce when a ground ball is neither a clean short hop nor a clean high hop — the hardest timing to field cleanly, requiring a fielder to adjust their glove height at the last instant.
- Glove-Side BackhandA glove-side backhand is fielding a ground ball hit to the fielder's glove-hand side by reaching across the body with the glove turned outward, rather than shuffling the feet to field it squarely.
- Slow Roller ChargeA slow roller charge is an infielder's aggressive sprint toward a weakly hit ground ball, often fielding it bare-handed on the run, to have any chance of throwing out a batter-runner before they reach the base.
Related guides & benchmarks
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