I wanted to make practice fun but still be able to judge arm strength and velocity so I would know who could possibly pitch, make the long throw from 3rd to 1st and so on.

We call this baseball drill–Hitting the Target.
Take 25-30 balls and throw them on the ground at short.  Set up a net at first base to catch the balls and line the players up in 2 lines.  The object is to be the team to get the most balls into the net.

Have the kids run up and grab the baseball with a bare hand and make a good throw to first.  I also used this as a skills practice by not using the gloves which causes the kids to charge the ball and pick it up with the throwing hand and make a good step and throw that was hard and accurate.

It’s a great competition for the kids while teaching them baseball fundamentals and also allowed me to figure out what kids could play certain positions.

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Soft toss:
I have found that instead of just throwing one ball at a time, that if we throw one baseball on top of the other at the same time and then tell the player which ball to hit (top or bottom) ball, that hand/eye coordination is increased.
I also will take one ball and hold it above the players head (coaching 13 yr. olds). They will get in their “loaded” position and then I drop the ball at any given time. This seems to create “fast” hands and forces them to keep their hands inside the ball or “short” to the ball.

Power:
We take the tops of 5 tees out of the lower portion of the tee. We then placed “toilet plungers” (haha yeah, cheap toilet plungers) into the bottom part of the tee upside down. On the toilet plungers we place basketballs. (use old ones) Then practicing correct mechanics as we normally would off the tee, we just hit the basketballs into the nets.

This created good baseball hitting  form when making contact with the ball because of the weight they had to hit off the tee. It also created a strong swing while maintaining good mechanics.

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Start by putting two players on the pitchers mound (#1 & #2).  Evenly distribute the remaining players at each of the 4 bases.  Have them form a line behind the first player at the base who is getting ready to receive a ball from the mound.

Start the ball with player #1 on the mound.  Have player #1 on the mound throw the baseball to the first person in line at any base.  Player #1 from the mound immediately runs to the end of the line at that base to which they just threw the ball.  The person who received the ball then immediately throws the ball back to the second player standing at the mound (now #1).  The player who just threw the ball back to the mound now races to the mound and gets ready to receive a ball next.

The now first player at the mound quickly throws the ball to a different base and runs to get in line at the base they just threw it to…..the cycle continues quickly with throwing, catching & running.

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We have the players line-up at the tips of a pentagram (5-point star). The lines are equally placed approximately at the positions of Short Stop, 2nd Base, 1st Base, 3rd Base, and Catcher (home plate). We time the players each week to mark their improvement and error reduction to complete the drill. They have to catch the baseball and throw it to the next station and hustle to the end of that line or they might be in the middle of the next throw (incentive to hustle). The order of the stations are as follows: SS, 1B, 3B, 2B, Home, and back to SS.

The players must go through each station (star point) until the player that started the drill at SS catches the last ball at SS. With our team of about 20 players, we can get through this drill as fast as 90 seconds or as slow as 4 minutes. If a player misses the throw or drops a catch, he must hustle to get the baseball, without help from his teammates, get back to his position before he can throw the ball to the next station. If there is an errant throw, his teammates can “pick-him up” by digging the ball out of the dirt or jumping to catch it.

We do these baseball drills 2-5 times depending on how well we are achieving our goals from the drill. We keep track of the lowest errors and times of the season to compare each week our improvement.

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For a team of 12– break the players up into 4 teams of three, rotating throughout the game.

Three will be hitting and the rest will be in the field. No Pitcher. The baseball coach will pitch. Catcher does not need gear. Throw to the backstop. BP pitch speed

Each hitter starts with a 2 strike count. Fouls are strikes.

When the hitter puts the baseball in play he runs the bases without stopping in an attempt to reach home.

While he is running the players in the field must throw the ball into home from the position it was hit. The catcher throws to first, first to second, second to third, third to home in an attempt to beat the runner.

Balls to the outfield must also be thrown to home via cut-off man.

This drill stresses good accurate throws to each base as well as cut-off principles, as well as hitting and baserunning.

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Divide your players into two or three teams. It is better if you do not have nine in the field. Put one team in the field, one at bat, and one waiting. Use a pitching machine or a baseball coach to pitch.

Teams decide where to play defense, and they decide batting order. Each batter begins with an 0-2 count and gets one strike to put the baseball in play in fair territory. A foul ball, missed strike, or called strike are all outs. If a batter hits the ball and is thrown out at first, or the ball is caught in the air, he is out. If he reaches first safely he continues to run the bases until he is tagged out or a fielder tags the base with the ball before he reaches. This does not count as an out.

Each base reached safely counts a point. If he reaches home without being put out, he keeps going around until the defensive team gets him out. I have had players begging the defense to get them out. If you only have 5 or 6 in the field, they have to hustle to get the ball back in.

You can bunt or do whatever you want at bat. If a coach is pitching and throws 4 balls before throwing a strike, that is a run, and the same batter continues to bat.

After 6 outs, teams change out and you start again. If my batters are slow, I start a five second count and if they are not in the batter’s box, I ring them up. If the defense is slow about getting out, and the batters are ready, I will pitch to them. This teaches your players to hustle on and off the field, swing at strikes, and talk to each other defensively.

I have had games of 1-0 and games of 30-29. One thing we did last year was to use our pitchers throwing live. This is challenging. When you do this, you need a catcher. In the other scenarios, a catcher is not needed, an infielder has to cover home. When I pitch, I play defense only in self defense!

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I have them run the first turn around 3rd and note how far out the rounded 3rd coming into the base, then how far they traveled outside the foul line on the way home.  Then, I give them this tip:

When you head into the turn, think less about making a “loop” and more about leaning in with the left shoulder toward the ground as you approach 3rd base (a little like a water skiing turn to make a rooster tail), the gravity of running full speed at that angle combined with hitting the bag on the inside corner with your right foot propel you nearly right down the line toward home.

EVERY player improved his time going from 2nd to home in the FIRST try!!

This one helps to reinforce this baseball drill:
Load the bases with runners and hit the baseball to each fielder. Each time I hit the ball I yell out how many outs there are. Than I see what the runners and fielders do on their own as if we were in real game situations . We discuss after the play if they made the right decision. This drill makes them think on their own and react much quicker during a game.

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All players are lined up in dugout in order ready to hit.  The baseball coach is pitching.
Drill is run in rounds.

First Round
Every player at bat until they get a fair hit. (Allows every player to see pitches and get at least one hit and the coaches to see how every player is hitting.

2nd Round
Each player has 3 strikes to get a fair hit. (balls don’t count, but if a player lets a strike go by, it counts) Foul tips keep you alive
Each player who makes a hit goes to the end of the line, any player who does not get a hit grabs their glove and gets on the field.  Any player in the field who catches a fly ball is back in the line up.

3rd Round
Same as round 2, but only 2 strikes to get a fair ball hit.  Foul tips keep you alive

4th Round
Only 1 strike, but ok to foul off a pitch.  If you foul one off your still alive and stay in the box until you either miss a strike, or get a fair hit.

5th round –
1 Strike, no foul tips.  If it is a strike and you swing and miss your out, swing and foul your out, strike and watch it, your out.

Run this baseball drill until there is only one standing.  That player wins and gets some predetermined prize.

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You have regular on field BP. You get one empty bucket, behind an L screen in shallow center field. (Just like major league BP).  You pick one player to start on the bucket. (This is where all the baseballs are thrown when shagged.)

I want all the shaggers to play each batted ball like it’s a game situation.

If they make an error, or don’t hustle to the ball, they replace the guy on the bucket. (They don’t want to be on the bucket, they want to be making the baseball plays.)  If they make a web-gem, then they get to pick who’s on the bucket. Pretty soon you’ll have guys laying out for any ball hit.

When I’m pitching BP, I’m the judge of errors and web-gems. Sometimes I’ll let one of the players be the judge.  Our team has been playing the bucket game for about 2 years now and it’s been working great.

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Communicate your expectations to the kids and parents on day 1.  For example–I lay down the law regarding talking while the coach is talking the first time I addressed my team.  If you are direct and draw the line way back the times they cross it are much less frequent.  Let’s face it, they will cross it.

I also ask that parents bring any and all issues to me immediately.  No one is to sit in the stands and criticize.  If there is an issue let’s hear about it. Stay organized. Schedule events as far in advance as possible.

Communicate with the parents by asking them for feedback on practice and ways to handle their child.  Talk about strengths and weaknesses and what we are going to do to correct.

Ask the parents to leave the coaching to the baseball coaches. It’s a long ride home getting unwanted instruction or criticism in the car.  Ask them to communicate specific ideas to the coaches for work in practice.

At the same time a parent may have expertise in an area such as pitching.  In this case the coach may have to leave the pitching instruction to that parent.  Many players have pitching coaches or hitting coaches.  If that is the case, discuss this with the parents and leave it alone.  The parents have invested, in some cases, a lot of money and you shouldn’t mess with it whether you agree or disagree with the instruction.  Expect results, which will determine playing time.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Remember why you are here.  Many of the youth players that we coach will never become professional players.  Teach the technique and grow the skills for the next level.  Team success will come but it doesn’t have to come at all costs.

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