Maintain A Supply Of Five Gallon Buckets
Ideally each coach/adult has their own bucket for balls. A well-structured practice has multiple activities and involves quick transitions by the coaches from one spot on the field to another. When each adult had their own supply of balls, they just need to get their body to the right spot on the field they have their most important tool with them their personal supply of balls.
Buckets can be used at the end point of a drill where players need somewhere to place the ball they were handling. Having a bucket of balls at the point in a drill or activity where balls are likely to be missed and players will need a ready supply of replacement balls.
Important rule to establish on Day 1: Dunks Only No Jump Shots. Immediately squash the players desire to see if they can shoot balls into a bucket. This is major time waster and turns into chaos very quickly.
Set down your bat and pick up balls using both hands — no further explanation needed. Either you understand this statement or will figure it out after the first practice or two.
How To Improve Your 10 Year Old Kids Batting
To improve your kids batting skills, emphasize on the batting or hitting drills more. Without practice and patience, you cant help him bring out his max potential. Make a practice plan for him.
For kids around 10 to 12 years, never make a long training chart. Itll make them frustrated and tired. Instead, make a 1-2 hours plan and try to keep it at least 5-6 days a week.
Make him friendly with the basic hitting drills such as Beat Goalie, RAB , and Contact Point drills. Ive shared how to perform each of these above. In the later stage, you can add some more youth baseball hitting drills in the practice chart.
The Soft Toss Bunt Drill
OK, its important to preface that The Hitting Vault teaches a focus on hitting the ball hard unlocking a hitters power. So we dont actually teach bunting. But for young kids, this drill is great. This is about seeing the ball from a pitch and controlling the bat head. Soft pitch from a short distance . Have the batter stand ready to bunt and catch each pitch with the bat head. Help the batter with adjustments as needed. Its important that the kids understand how and why they are bunting. Remember for 6 or 7 year old all of these concepts are new. Its important that you demonstrate proper bunting form. The batter should not swing or push the bat forward.
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Youth Baseball Drill #6
The 7-cycle high octane drill is a great drill to work on your teams in-field passing game and also team skills. From a coaching perspective, its perfect since you can do this drill with your whole team instead of grouping up or doing it individually!
This drill is fairly creative, so feel free to create your own 7-cycle drills! Just be sure to make sure your players are in their main position and are working on in-game type reps. You can run this drill for about 50-100 reps each practice with your players which is a great way to get them into a rhythm and build up strong habits come game time!
A few cycles you can run with your team could be anything from, running the bases, fielding and grounding balls, to working ball handling drills and more.
For some more information and a few cycles you can work into your drill, check out this video by Championship Productions on Youtube!
Load To Launch Batting Tee Drill For 10 Years Old
There exists no such thing called ”perfect stance”. The stance, which makes a hitter feel most at ease, is right and perhaps the best for him. However, there is a certain set of swing mechanics that batters must learn if they have to ace the game.
There are three parts to batting mechanics. First is the ‘batting stance.’ It is the posture that a hitter stands in for hitting the ball. The second is ‘the stride,’ which means preparing himself for hitting the ball, and finally, the third is ‘follow-through, which helps in maintaining the flow that makes swing smoother.
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Best Baseball Hitting Drills For Kids
Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult tasks in all of sports. Thats why baseball players practice hitting at just about every practice
These 10 hitting drills are kid-friendly and coach approved. Whether young players are hitting from a tee, or have moved on to a tossed or pitched baseball, they will learn about proper form, a solid swing and, eventually, how to knock the ball out of the park.
In this game, batting practice reaches a fever pitch!
Read the original article on mojo.com
About MOJO
MOJO is on a mission to make youth sports more fun for everyone one kid, one coach, one family at a time. Launched in February 2021, MOJO is a robust digital platform that empowers parents who coach youth sports to bring world-class training to the largest pool of players in the world kids aged 13 and under. MOJO believes that youth sports has the power to transform lives, not just for the kids on the field but the coaches and parents on the sidelines. MOJO is committed to equity, inclusion and helping level the playing field for kids everywhere. For more information, visit www.mojo.sport. MOJO can also be found on , , and .
In this game, batting practice reaches a fever pitch!
Read the original article on mojo.com
About MOJO
Decision Making: Relay Throws
Some of the most useful baseball practice drills are relay throws.
Players fill each position on the field. A runner stands on a base then the coach hits a ball.
Fielders chase the ball and communicate where to throw the ball to bring it in. The catcher watches the runner and yells out where to send the ball to throw out the runner.
Your little leaguers learn how to use a cutoff man from the outfield. They also learn how to communicate and listen to each other during a game scenario.
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Infield: Workup Drill For Defense
Keeping balls in the infield and throwing around the bases is essential.
Place players at every position except pitcher. You’ll also need baserunners with helmets on.
The coach hits balls in the infield. Create a variety of runner scenarios that force your infielders to field the ball and throw to different bases for outs.
Green Light Red Light
This is a fun drill, and it will help each player learn to run while wearing a glove. Start with one player or coach on one side of the outfield and all the other players on the other side. The caller, facing away from the players, will yell “green light,” at which point the other players, all with their gloves on their hands, will sprint toward the caller. When the caller turns and yells “red light,” any player who moves must return to the starting line and resume play from there. The green light, red light pattern continues until one player gets close enough to tag the caller.
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Fielding: Mind The Gap
With two cones set about 30 feet apart, split the team into equal halves and line them up behind the cones. Youll then be lined up about 20 feet from each cone and will throw the ball in between both cones to mimic a pop fly. Let the players know which line will be receiving the ball and which line will be covering, providing backup in case the ball is missed. Repeat this motion for all players and let them switch from one line to the next after completing their turn. For more
How Should You Coach Your Kids Baseball
To master any sports skill, discipline is a must. Besides, you should follow the below step:
- Create a practice plan for your kids. It should be regular without a big interval between days. Make sure to keep it at least 5 days a week.
- Always keep them rumbling around the ground during practice. Kids tend to ignore boredom, they love fun. Involve their friends or neighborhood toddlers to participate if possible. Let them enjoy their freedom.
- Dont emphasize on conditioning. This is the common mistake every parent does while teaching their kids baseball. Keep your ego aside. During the early stage, its important to learn the technique rather than the power and strength.
- Elbow and shoulder injury is common in little league baseball. And it happens mainly due to over-exercise of the throwing. Since the body joints of kids are relatively weaker than adults, they should practice throwing drills in the limit.
- Another bad habit of parents is they make bad pitches while kids are doing hitting practices. Even some do this approach intentionally, thinking this will help kids learn unpredictable pitches. You shouldnt practice this stunt.
- Using different equipment for coaching your kids is a good approach. It makes them feel more dedicated about the training. You can use baseball cones, tennis balls, training golf balls, and training sticks to teach them with better preparation.
- To make the kid more serious about this learning curve, wear their uniform.
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Indoor Baseball Drills For Your Team
In a lot of places, winter means indoor baseball practices and you need good indoor baseball drills to give the players a good workout. There are great speed drills for baseball players, strength drills and individual skill work that can be done indoors.
Baseball is definitely a sport that should be played and practiced outside. But the weather wont always cooperate and you may still need to get your team a good workout. Or maybe its the offseason and you want to keep your team active and in baseball shape.
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Load To Launch Batting Tee Drill For 10 Years Olds
There is no right or wrong way for a batting stance. The best batting stance for each hitter is a stance where they feel most comfortable. What is of most importance is a batters swing mechanics.
The three parts of a batters swing are his batting stance, his stride , his swing and finally, his follow through.
Setting Up
The player stands outside the batters box, and takes about five practice swings in air. This allows the hitter to get his muscles moving before he takes any swings at a baseball, and cues his muscles to prepare to swing the bat.
It also prepares the batter to get into the proper mindset. Whatever else is happening in his mind, it will be removed and hell focus entirely on what he is going to do next. Hitting is all about muscle memory and mindset. Muscle memory is accomplished through drills and kids get the proper mindset when theyre given about 30 seconds to simply swing the bat through the air.
Approaching the Batting Tee
A hitters batting stance is an individual choice. What coaches want to accomplish at a batting tee is getting the player to improve his stride and his load.
At the first approach, there is not baseball on the batting tee. Instead, you explain to your player that loading is the process of gathering energy. The lower half of the body, hips, legs and feet, are what is most important in a good load. You want to teach players to load their legs on every pitch. Make him take 20 swings at the empty tee.
Load and Launch
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Fun Baseball Drills For 8 Year Olds
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In this edition of our ongoing Coaching Insight series, we explore one of our favorite topics: fun baseball drills for 8 year olds. For this very important age of play, coaches must instruct while at the same time ensure enjoyment for the kids while playing.
The primary goal for coaches of young baseball players should be for them to return and play again the following season, and the season after that.
To do so, coaches must help young players really enjoy or appreciate being in uniform, out on the field, on the mound, in the batters box, in the dugout ~ and any other situation the game presents.
A coachs role is to create and maintain positive learning environments and situations and manage practices and games in a way thats fun and inviting for young baseball players.
That said, here are our fun baseball drills for 8 year olds, activities that hopefully are as cool to do as they are worthwhile from a learning perspective.
Contents
Traffic Cone Goalie Drill
First, position two cones at a distance of 5 or 6 yards on a surface that imitated infield dirt. It is best if you can practice this drill on an actual baseball ground. If not, any resembling surface should do. This is an exciting drill that a 10-year-old would like.
While training young players, it is best to represent these drills as fun. These drills are designed in a way that they help in building muscle memory. They would be of help when the kid goes off to play college baseball or school baseball.
For this drill, the coach rolls ground balls in between traffic cones, or he might use a fungo bat to do the same.
- Start off by throwing a rapid-fire ground ball in the direction of the player.
- The intention here is to challenge the player. Hence, the pace should be high.
- The player will have to get hold of the ground ball anyhow. He can do it backhanded or by wearing a glove.
- Mix it up a bit. For instance, you can hit a few balls that let him catch them forehanded. Then just to shake him off the path, hit another one that he has to catch backhanded.
- You can gradually expand the distance between the two cones, until a point where the young player can no longer run back and forth where he can no longer retrieve the grounder in the glove.
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If you would like to read more, then we have hand picked some of our most popular pieces.
Drills:
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Basic Target Drill For Fielders
Accuracy is an inevitable skill for baseball fielders. If its not conquered at the early stage, believe it or not, the later stage will become tougher.
So, I always keep my practice plan for baseball players with a targeting drill. There are multiple target drills in baseball depending on the accuracy level you want to master.
For kids around ten years, a coach should focus on basic target drills first. This drill is helpful to upgrade kids targeting and throwing skills simultaneously.
How To Perform Basic Target Drill?
To perform this drill, you need an open space. Lets assume youve a partner in crime. Ask him to take a position anywhere. Then take your position within 20 ft. distance from your partner. Both you and the other buddy should wear gloves during the session.
You should visualize or create a boundary, either square or circular around you withshoe cleats.
Next, your partner should throw the ball pointing to you from his place. You catch the ball and then throw it back to your partner at the other side.
Try to be inside the boundary while catching or throwing the ball back. While throwing your ball, your goal is to toss it towards the guy this side without making him move from this position.
Make this drill a little more interesting in the advanced level. At that stage, your partner should stay in his place, but you shouldnt.
Advantages
- Improves accuracy of the fielders
- Develops throwing or tossing strength gradually
- Increases running and leg stamina
The First Baseman Pick Drill
Goal:
The point of this drill remains building strong first base players with sound footwork and the ability to pick bad throws.
Execution:
- With infielders placed in all positions and players lined up at first to take turns, the coach will send grounders around the infield.
- Infielders then need to field the ball and throw it to first.
Reminder:
As players gain age and experience, encourage them to throw balls requiring the first baseman to either adjust their foot position for the catch or pick a bad throw.
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Final Thoughts On These Baseball Drills For 8 Year Olds
There are many other baseball drills for 8 year olds you can try, but at this age you need to keep it simple while you also make it fun.
The best baseball drills for 8 year olds dont just improve skills. They also encourage the kids to love the game.
Ive personally tried these drills with one of my kids at this age and its gone exceptionally well. We dont spend hours a day on it.
It takes maybe 30 minutes and thats plenty for this age group.
Baseball Drills For 12 Year Olds +
Hitting
Sled Pulls
Objective: This is a much more advanced variation of the dry swing drill. The drill aims to improve technique and power output.
Bryce Harper Drill
Objective: This drill will encourage your players to activate their hips when swinging allowing them to have a wider range of hits in their toolbox.
Hitting Net Drills
Objective: This style of drill is essentially a lot like hitting H.OR.S.E, however theyre much more suited to individuals and encourage older youth players to train their hitting technique independently.
Using a hitting netand a batting tee, players can adjust their swing to aim at different parts of the net. Progress by using a target strike zone.
Hitting Chain
Objective: This hitting game is great to get your batters focussed on hitting successfully and consistently.
To set this drill up youll need a hitting screen and some markers. Balls are pitched from behind the screen and each time the batter makes a successful hit they will be able to progress to the next marker which is placed slightly further away. If they miss, theyll need to move back to the previous marker.
Target Hit
Objective: This drill is all about improving accuracy. When youngsters start out, they tend to swing with the sole aim of hitting the ball. As they develop and get older, they need to develop their accuracy in order to exploit weak spots in the oppositions field.
Fielding
Left or Right?
3 Infield Drills
Pitching
Velocity Drills
Conditioning Drills
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