Fielding ATT&CK Matrix: Knowledge base to ensure you are teaching every play to every infielder
Introduction
Failing to plan is planning to fail and any coach knows if you don’t have a practice plan it will run exactly like that. Today I will explain my Proof of Concept-knowledge base of plays to run for each infielding position.
Where did this idea originate from?
The MITRE ATT&CK Matrix is a globally shared knowledge base that cyber security defenders use to look for tactics, techniques and procedures that hackers use. To put it in simpler terms — all hackers usual use the same moves so this is a database with profiles for certain hackers, profiling their moves and how to use them. The reason I am bringing this up is to show you how this is used in real life and how you can use it in practice planning. If you would like to read more click this link. An important quote from that link can summarize the concept in one sentence.
“ATT&CK was created out of a need to systematically categorize adversary behavior as part of conducting structured adversary emulation exercises within MITRE’s Fort Meade Experiment research environment”
That’s why I created this to systematically categorize every play to allow coaches and instructors to recreate a game like environment in practice or “emulation exercise”.
Vocabulary
Pre-Pitch — Its self explanatory for the most part, every player uses what works best or are comfortable with
Reaction — How the infielder reacted or route took to to the ball
Fielding — The way the infielder fielded the ground ball
Turning two — This will only be highlighted if that is the type of play you are working on. For younger middle infielders you can remove some and simplify the list and complete the basic’s around 2nd base. To the left describes a little in depth about the footwork used for 2nd basemen, this isn’t a post to teach that — only to show different plays around the bag.
Tag — This refers to the location of the ball thrown and where it is received by the fielder. To the left is a picture showing how this play is broken down. This and the turning two column are the only two out of the fielders control and depends on the throw in a controlled practice setting.
Feet work —Like previous plays, younger programs can subtract to basic gathering/throwing/foot patterns.
Throws — The time refers to arm angle while throwing the ball shown in my poorly edited photo to the left. I know its a really really bad circle.
How to use
You aren’t highlighting every single box and will only select one per column and only the columns that will apply to the type of play you are going over. So if you wanted to teach or work on a specific play you can break it down systematically. For example, this is showing the combination of body movements broken down and meant to be a ball hit up the middle to the shortstop using a spin move. Following this is a slow roller play and a backhand play hit to the 3rd baseman.
Conclusion
This is merely a tool for you to use to build custom play types to simulate in game movements. You still have to create/use drills to address these type of movements together so you can use this chart isolate them or use a combination of movements.
Also this is still a Proof of Concept and is a work in progress with different plays to be added. In the Air Force there were classified versions of the ATT&CK matrix to safe keep information so we had an internal version. So, this is an open-sourced tool to be used at the youth-HS-collegiate level but a at the highest level, your copy will have proprietary information inserted and should be kept confidential.
