Baseball Drills & Coaching Tips

Here is an idea I borrowed from one of my youth coaches when I was in elementary school. It is one of my favorite youth baseball coaching tips and a great way to get ready for the new upcoming season.

Each winter I do a 10 to 15 page “drill book” for my boys. Each page has a baseball field drawn on it with 10 players in their normal pre pitch positions (4th grade boys…so we get to have 10 fielders).  On the back of the page I list all 10 fielders.

I then give the boys a situation–i.e. runners on first and second, one out, ball hit through the gap between first and second.

The boys have to diagram where each baseball player goes on the baseball play and also writes it down on the back next to each position.

This book is then used for our first baseball practice of the season which is a classroom practice with a white board.  We do this before our league lets us “officially” begin field practices. We use this baseball drill book at every practice for situation drills.

Technorati Tags: youth baseball coaching tips, baseball, baseball play, baseball practice, baseball drill

Try these baseball practice plans to teach your baserunners how to improve their base stealing skills. We teach all base runners to steal and to steal our way in this baseball drill.

Speed Kills–a Base Stealing Drill
1) Foot is outside the base along the side nearest the outfield at 1st base and 2nd base and on the foul line at 3rd base–not placed on the bag or pushing against it or resting in front of the bag toward the next advancing base.
2) The outside bag take off gives a couple of milli-seconds head start toward a safe steal.

It is nearly impossible to be called for leaving early because your entire foot is resting against the bag as you take off and come forward.  Your foot at some point is still in contact with the bag and with proper technique you are 3 feet closer to being safe and still have contact with the bag.

With break away bases or softy bags and the best cleat designs ever the push off to steal is as old as wood bats–way out dated and even leads to frequent injury and season ending ankle damage or worse.

Give this new idea a try and you and your baseball team will  be amazed  and proud at the results.

Technorati Tags: baseball practice plans, base stealing, baseball drill, baseball

As a baseball coach, one of your goals is to teach your players how to focus as well as improve their endurance.  These baseball coaching tips offer a variation on the tried and true Bucket Drill.

The baseball drill goes like this:  2 baseball coaches- 1 at home and 1 at 2nd base.  Half of the kids make a line at 3rd and the other half at first.  Each coach has a bucket next to them. The first player at 3rd base moves out to shortstop position and gets a ball hit to him from the coach at home.  After he fields the baseball, he runs behind the coach hitting the balls at 2nd and drops his ball into the bucket, and continuing to run to the end of the line at first.

Simultaneously, the coach at 2nd is hittng the balls to the first person in line at first base who is standing between 1st home.  After he fields the ball, he drops it in the bucket behind home and gets into the line at third.  Each coach grabs the balls from the buckets.

Another twist is to have someone catching for each coach with each player fielding a ball, throwing it back to the spot it was hit from.

Technorati Tags: baseball coach, baseball coaching tips, baseball drill, baseball

Here’s an idea for baseball fielding drills that we use to warm up and give our catchers a little extra practice at the same time.

We have two catchers so we start with one of them behind the plate and everyone else in the third base coach’s box and one other player on first base.  Our second catcher is the last person in line at third base.  The first fielder takes the third base position and fields a ground ball throwing the [baseball to first base and then sprints to second base while the player at first throws home.  The catcher catches the ball and throws down to second base to the player who was just playing third base.  The ball is then thrown back to first and then home.

The person at first base runs behind the field and gets at the end of the line at third base.  The player at second now runs to first and becomes the first baseman for the next fielder.  The next player in line now takes the third base position and the baseball drill is repeated.

We go all the way through the order until our second catcher (last in line) occupies first base.  After the last throw home the second catcher takes the place of the first catcher and goes through the order.

This can be done very quickly and everyone gets an opportunity to experience situations at all three bases.  It’s also a great drill for figuring out positional strengths in young teams.

Technorati Tags: baseball fielding drills, baseball, baseball drill

If you’re looking for baseball practice drills try this one. I like to end my baseball practices with this drill. It’s great for conditioning!

Players form 2 equal lines, facing first base.
Line ‘A’ beginning in the right batters box, and Line ‘B’ about 15′ up and to the right of the first base line.

On my ‘Go’ command, the first runner in each line runs, ‘A’ to first, and ‘B’ through first and on to second.  Once the first two runners are on base, my commands become, “Primary”, “Secondary”, and then either “Go” or “Back”.  On “Go”, the runner on second scores, the runner on first ends up at third, B ends up on second and A on first.

As a runner scores, they go to the rear of the opposite line from where they started that lap.  I run this baseball drill for about 15 minutes or more, until I’m satisfied that they’re giving maximum effort. Players caught dogging it are given extra laps around the complex.

Things to focus on in doing this baseball drill:

1. Proper rounding of bases, especially first to second;
2. Proper primary and secondary leads, and no crossing over steps;
3. Reaction time returning to base or breaking for the next;
4. Speed and endurance.

Technorati Tags: baseball practice drills, baseball practice, baseball drill, baseball