Once the infield unit has been identified and players have been assigned specific infield positions, players can practice more advanced skills. Important skills like tagging, covering bases and bunt coverage are often not covered in practices but are important for team defense. Players will need to be coached in both position specific skills as well as team defensive skills.

Tagging Runners & Tagging Sliding Runners

At first glance, tagging may appear to be a basic skill but at the Little League level a young player is actually under a lot of pressure in these tagging situations. There might be a lot of action that a player must process before attempting to tag out a runner such as watching a play develop ( like a run down) ,then becoming an important part of that play by receiving the ball, and finally making the crucial tag for the out. What an infielder must remember is that they must tag the runner with the ball. For example, during a run down, if the infielder has the ball in their throwing hand but makes the tag with just the glove minus the ball then the runner is not out. When an infielder must tag out a sliding runner it is important as discussed earlier to receive the ball first then attempt the tag. Also, when the tag is attempted, it is important to get the tag down low and target the body part of the runner that is coming in first such as the foot or the hand. If the ball arrives in enough time before the runner, drop the tag to the base and let the sliding runner slide in to the tag. Practicing these types of plays will not only be good practice for the infielders but also for the runners who can practice their sliding technique among other skills.

Rundowns

One of the most beautiful sights that a baseball coach can witness is the execution of a proper rundown during a game. For this to happen, it will be very important to practice how to execute a proper rundown. Simple rundown drills involving the infield and a baserunner will help the infield master the art of the rundown. The first part of skill to master is the proper throws for a rundown. Start your drill by splitting your players in half and have them practice running to a player at the opposite base and throwing the ball outside the throwing arm side of the base path at the correct time. Next, add a runner. Start the drill by instructing the runner to start off the base ( it can be any base) and then throw the ball to an infielder to start the rundown phase of the drill. Practice every scenario possible so the infield will become used to the different scenarios that they could see in a game. Make sure all the infielders understand their assignment and responsibilities for a given scenario. It is also important to stress the importance of limiting long throws and the importance of shorter, accurate throws that will help trap a base runner. Once the infield looks to be comfortable with one base runner, add a second base runner to complicate matters and challenge the players. 

Turning Double Plays

To turn a double play, it takes great fielding, quick hands, excellent throws, and good foot work. The quickest, most efficient way to begin teaching the concept of turning a double play is to simply have the infielders practice throwing the ball "around the horn" in both directions. Hit the ball to different positions to start the drill and instruct which direction the ball is going (for example if the ball is starting with the catcher then yell out if it's going to third or first base). As the ball goes "around the horn" the infielders can practice both force plays and tag plays. Later, base runners can be added to the drill. The entire time, the focus should be on the fundamentals needed to turn a double play such as quick release, proper footwork, and efficient throws. When the infielders seem comfortable with this drill then move on to specific types of double plays such as the 6-4-3 double play. During the practice of specific double plays, the proper execution of that specific play can now be broken down for the infielders to understand and grasp.

Fielding Bunts

Properly defending the bunt will depend on teaching the infielders what their assignments and responsibilities are for any given bunt play. It is also helpful to know whether your league allows slash bunts where a player squares to bunt , pulls the bat back and takes a full swing. If they don't, you can instruct players to charge any time a player squares to bunt. Again, every scenario should be practiced such as taking the out at first base verses attempting to "cut down" the lead runner. At more advanced levels, you will want to implement some variation of the wheel play where non charging players cover bases.