To make sure they understood this concept completely we decided for the fourth practice we would implement what we call the “GUTS” drill.

Before practice we explained exactly what we expected out of each player and the team as a whole.  When a team player was not giving 100% hustle and focusing on the task at hand we would stop the drills and call the entire team to the 3rd base foul line.

We have the team line up finger tips apart and one of the coaches would call out “down”. All players would do push ups, then the baseball coach would call out “over” and the kids would do sit ups and finally the coach would call out “up” and the kids would run in place.

After this drill was complete we would talk to the kids about team work how everyone has to give their best for the team to succeed.  We emphasized that it’s not about winning every game and being perfect but it’s about giving your best effort every time.

I was amazed at how quickly the players came together as one team.  They immediately started encouraging each other and communicating during practices to hustle and stay focused.  Even at the following practice I overheard a couple of the kids telling each other we have to give 100% hustle and stay focused today because I don’t want to do the “GUTS” drill again.

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When the players are done playing catch (warming up their arms) keep them where they are on the field. You will probably have about 6 on each side depending on your team size in right or left field depending on if your home or away.

Start the baseball on one end and “zip’ the ball back and forth working your way down the line to the other end then back again.

Once they get good at it, do it that way twice. Then have the guys at the starting end once they have thrown, run to the other end as the whole group rotates, so now the whole team is throwing and rotating to the opposite end.

Try it; it’s fun and your players will be warmed up and ready to play!

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I decided to track down an archery target with a colored bullseye.

My players would lob and “shot put” the baseball over and the ball would land in the dirt just in front of our first baseman making it even harder for him to catch. Guess they were afraid they were going to hurt the first baseman.

I found the archery target for about $150 including the stand on the internet.  So during baseball practice we wheeled out the target and set it up over first base.  During infield we made a contest out of it to see who could hit the target the most. The kids loved it.

As they became more concise with their throws we then made the game more challenging by rewarding points for only the throws that hit the small red bullseye in the middle.

Needless to say after just one practice with the archery target they no longer lobbed the ball into 1B.

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It is a baseball drill that is effective for me and hopefully for you as well. I also believe that my 12-13 year old players should be having fun, and more importantly loving baseball; it is something they should possess.

One of the things that I like to do after we are done with stretching and a few warm-up drills I have the boys break up into groups of approximately 6-8.  They start out by doing some standard bunting pepper with a bat and baseball.  We work on form and technique as well as placement and focus.  We rotate so everyone has had a turn.

Then we start to ratchet up the fun by either changing out the bat for a broom stick, the ball for a whiffle golf ball, running or calisthenics for mistakes or (usually) a combination of any of those.

The boys really start to laugh and have fun with this all at the same time as improving their technique, being competitive without it being a pressure cooker and building team chemistry.  We go on to do 2 or 3 more of this type of baseball drill and end it with a low pressure bp/infield rotation.

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This baseball play works great if the catcher has a weak arm & can’t hit 2nd base quick.

• Pitcher goes into his normal stretch wind up.
• When he pauses to check runner on first, he then commits towards 3rd base with head.
• If runner is going at that time, the pitcher turns around towards 2nd base & runs straight towards runner trying to steal either forcing him back towards 1st into a run down situation or 2nd for a run down situation.

9 times out of 10 the pitcher will actually be able to chase the runner down himself for the tag out or, if runner goes off of baseline, he is out anyways.

It works very well and is guaranteed that after you put the first 4 runners out with it, they won’t try to steal a base for the rest of the game.

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Motivational tip for throwing/pitching:
Give kids creative targets for throwing; treat it like a carnival game. We have used targets like stuffed animals sitting in lawn chairs, hula hoops, five gallon buckets etc. I find that it helps keep the kids motivated if they are picking off Winnie the Pooh. Also, they will really rear back and throw the ball instead of aiming it like a dart. We are able to keep kids chucking for 20 minutes and they want to keep going. Obviously, these are younger throwers.

Co-Coaching
After a few weeks of baseball training and drills with the team, I sit them down and ask “them” what they think are our weakest points and how to improve them.  I also like to let them help co-coach  when we go over the weak area of training or baseball drills.

This helps them to stay focused during the boring repetitions and help to keep an extra eye out for flaws that could otherwise go unnoticed.   It also gives the players a feeling of self reward when they can spot our “bad areas” that need improvement.

One of our best baseball drills has been putting my players in their positions on the field.  I use their parents as runners! Then I hit the ball to different positions forcing them to throw the runners out. They love it!

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Station one is hitting off the Tee into the fence.  A baseball coach will place balls on the Tee and the batter will continually hit off the Tee while the coach is giving technique advice.

The second station the player will go to is the pitching machine where a coach will send baseballs at the batter where they will continually hit to another player who is shagging them back to the coach.

The third station is a Shortstop ground ball to second base and then a throw to first.  The players line up at shortstop and I send one to first base and one to second base.  I then hit a ground ball to the short stop and after they field it they throw it to the second baseman and the second baseman then throws it to the first baseman.

All players then round robin the positions until they switch with the batting drills.  The hour, hour and a half practice seems to hit all the basics.

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As we all know 90% of baseball is a mental game rather than a physical one. This has helped our team to remain mentally sharp. We try to achieve an outing for the team once a month but at the minimum we plan an outing at least every other month.

The outing includes the entire team and the baseball coaches going and doing something for fun for the day. We take turns picking what we do for fun but some of the things we have done include, bowling, going to the movies, going to a theme park, paint balling, a trip to the lake and sometimes it is just to get together to swim for the afternoon and grill hamburgers and hot dogs.

Getting the team together in an atmosphere outside the baseball field has really made a difference in the teams mental attitude not only towards the game of baseball but also towards each other.

They come to practice with a mentality of eagerness and wanting to be there to learn and are very receptive to new ideas. In addition, it has really made them come together and gel as a unit.

They are very supportive of one another and there is never a sign of negativity between players. It is very refreshing.

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At baseball practice  while we are in stretching circle, (which by the way each boy leads us in a stretch as a way to start practice) I mention each player by name, and he comes forward.  I specifically name what it was that they did from the previous week’s game , from striking out a batter, to getting hit by a ball, and getting right back out there.

I proceeded to give that player a roll of lifesavers. I noted something specific and well-executed each player on my team did at the baseball game the previous week.  This was such a hit that I do it at every practice after our games (a different treat each week).

We always work on what needs work, but how great to acknowledge what went right.  It was a great morale booster.  We won that game, but won’t always, yet there will always be something positive to point out to the players.

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Start off with one player on first base and the rest of the players will line up on the grass behind 2nd base position. The 1st player in line comes forward to the 2nd base position.

I start this baseball drill with 2 balls–my catcher has one and I have the other. The first baseball is hit to the player at 2nd base. He fields the ball and makes the play at 1st. As soon as the play is made, the player at 1st makes the throw home, then runs to the back of the line. The player at 2nd runs to cover 1st base while the next player in line moves forward to field the next ball being hit.

As soon as a ball is hit the catcher flips the other ball to me. This is a fast paced drill and cardio can be increased by moving to short stop position. The time span between balls being hit is about 5 seconds.

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