From Jim…
A great pre-game or pre-practice baseball warm-up drill:
4 corners drill

Divide players up into 4 groups, 12 players works great, 3 in each corner.
Groups should be about 30-40 ft apart.
Groups should be placed on the field in relation to each base, basically set-up a smaller diamond.
Home plate group starts.  Player in the front of the line rolls the ball to the guy in front of the 3rd base group.
3rd base guy fields the ball with proper mechanics, does a proper pivot, throws to the guy at 2nd base position.
2nd base catches properly, pivots and throws to 1st base guy, who catches, pivots and throws to home plate guy, who starts again by rolling.
As each baseball player completes his function, he runs to the back of the line where he threw the ball to.

Stress crisp, chest-high throws, good pivots, quick hands and quick runs between positions.

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From Ray…
I have a baseball running drill I call Catch the Rabbit.
Have a group standing at 2nd base and another group at the home plate. The object of this baseball game is to teach my 6 and 7 yrs kids on how to run around the bases correctly and to catch the player in front of them.  So the one that starts on 2nd base runs to third and home and then to first and back 2nd base, and then the next players goes.  The player at home runs to first and then to 2nd and then to 3rd and back to home. The games keeps going till someone get caught.

From David…
Here’s one that’s not so much a baseball drill as an overall baseball practice strategy for some of the drills we use.

Have the players partner up.  As you go through specific baseball drills, fielding ground balls for example, it’s the responsibility of the fielder’s partner to make sure the fielder uses the proper technique.   It’s then not entirely on the coach’s shoulders.  If a fielder isn’t doing something properly the coach usually goes after the partner 1st, not the fielder, to make sure they work as a team and both fully understand what is being taught.   It works good for teaching and to keep everyone engaged.

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From Peter…

Here is my baseball drill…
To teach the finer points of hitting, get the players to play pepper but directing the balls to the right side of the field for outside pitches, and left side of the field for inside pitches (opposite for left-handed hitters). This drill reinforces hand-eye coordination and the sense of taking what the pitcher gives you - i.e. recognizing where the pitch is coming from and dealing with it appropriately.

From Clay…
Simple rules to a warm-up toss.
No throws above the head and no throws below the knees. That is the goal for a set period of time. With baseball beginners you may allow a few bad throws or drops (say 5 drops) and the whole team makes a sprint to the outfield fence and back.

You can progress this as your team improves. This simple drill just adds focus on the little things as baseball practice begins.

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From Robert…
A baseball drill that I like to do is for conditioning and helps with mechanics and arm strength we play long toss with footballs. If you throw it right it helps strengthen the arm as well as working on your mechanics.  We do this in the gym during our pre season. We have two groups QB’s and WR’s .The WR we use like outfielders going back on fly balls.

It brings some fun to the practice as well as getting a work out.

From Bradley…
Well we use several drills and I am sure some of which a lot of other coaches use.

I was having a problem with them dipping with their swing or upper cutting. So what we do before we hit off Tees is I have my batter slide the bat behind their back holding the bat to where it only allows a small bit of the sweet spot sticking out.

I have them practice with twisting and making contact with the ball on the Tee. It not only has helped with the swing but it has also taught them the proper way to use their hip and drive through the ball and finish a swing.

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From Nef…
I don’t have a name for this baseball drill, but it’s a bunting drill.

Equipment: 4 cones, strike zone pitching machine, safety balls, and bat.

Instructions:  place 2 cones on third baseline and 2 more on first baseline two feet apart.

They are given 20 pitches to bunt.
For every ball bunted in targeted area  a point is given.
Make it a competition.
Be sure they are using proper technique
Advanced drill: signal to them first base line or third baseline.

From James…
A hitting drill we do with our 10-12 yr. olds, after soft toss & 2 ball soft toss.
We have a coach stand on a bucket and drop balls, then the coach stands on the ground and drops the ball.  We have found this very effective in increasing bat & hand speed through the hitting zone.

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