In this post you will learn the very basics on how to make better baseball drills for kids.
I’m sharing a couple of my most productive defensive drills that all my players have found fun but also prepares them for a future in a more competitive league (if they so desire).
The purpose of this post and all my other are to share
CONSISTENT
ACTIONABLE
REPEATABLE
EXACT COACHING POINTS
The goals of this post are to answer the following questions:
What is needed for baseball practice?
What are some baseball drills for beginners?
Identify baseball skills by age.
Provide some ideas on indoor baseball drills.
How to run a good baseball practice?
Introduction
All the eyes are on you. You volunteered to coach this team of young baseball players and you have no idea where to start. You played in high school, you love the game, but coaching these little ones will be a task if you are not prepared.
The best thing to do is remember these little ones want to have fun and their attention span is short. With this said I recommend changing drills every 10-15 minutes.
I also recommend you meet with the parents and make them aware of your expectations, requirements, and sportsmanship philosophy. I would also find a team parent(s) who can assist with making phone calls, helping with rides, and other jobs that will come up during the season.
What is needed for baseball practice?
As a kid, you always showed up to baseball practice with a glove, a cap, and sometimes a drink. That’s all you needed – you were there to have fun with your buddies.
As a coach, your priority now changes. You have be prepared to coach (entertain) 10-15 little ones and prepare for a game in about a week.
Before we go much further in talking about “How to Make Better Baseball Drills for Kids” we have to first agree on the objectives of the game. Take a look at what I believe are the 5 objectives to playing and coaching the game of baseball.
What are some baseball drills for beginners?
Based on the 5 Objectives to Baseball there are 5 basic baseball drills for kids that must be done on a regular basis.
Here are the 5 types of drills you need in every baseball practice plan.
Throwing Drills
Catching Drills
Hitting Drills
Baserunning Drills
Team Situations
Keep reading and I will provide a couple of drills you can use at your next practice.
If want to dive deeper into practice organization and more competitive ideas be sure to read more here. Most images you will see below come from littleleague.org
Baseball Drills for Kids ~ Throwing Drills
Throwing with Feet Together:
Players will be partnered up at a safe distance apart where each player is able to throw the ball in the air to the partner. The players will start with their feet shoulder width apart and the toes facing eachother. One player will have a baseball in the glove and the partner will be with his glove facing his partner with the second hand on the heel of the glove ready to catch the ball.
On the coach’s command of “turn” the player with the ball will keep his feet stationary but will turn his glove side shoulder towards his partner with his hands in the glove at chest height.
On the coach’s command of “thumbs down” the player with the ball will take his thumbs down and separate. Separate the glove’/ball by pointing both thumbs down and caring arms out so the glove is in front of the body and ball is back with the back of hte hahdn facing the back of the head. At this point the glove hand, shoulders, and ball hand should be in a straight line.
The coach will now check to see that all throwers have the ball, elbow, shoulders, and glove all in a proper position.
On the coach’s command of “throw” the player with the ball will throw the baseball to his partner. The player will throw the ball with elbow coming first and “throw” the throwing shoulder to the target. The follow throught will be with the back shoulder now pointing at the target.
If you want to step it up a notch, you can add wrist flicks to your throwing drills. Probably best for players 10 and older.
Wrist Flicks
In order to strengthen the writsts for the follow through we will also do wrist flicks in which you put the throwing elbow into the glove at chest height and throw the ball using only the wrist looking for backspin.
Back Spin Drill
Also at about 10 years old you will want to add a back spin drill.
Before this drill can be done, each partner needs to have a baseball with a colored line across all four seams.
You can also use a permanent marker and draw your line.
image from river sharks baseball
Here is an image of how to place the ball in your hand.
This is a 4 seam grip because the ball has 2 seams showing in front and then 2 more seams in the back.
All 4 seams will cut through the wind making this a much straighter throw and have less movement.
Once you have mastered this drill you can move on to other drills.
Baseball Drills for Kids ~ Catching Drills
Catching with Feet Together:
The set up for this drill is exactly like mentioned above.
Players will be partnered up at a safe distance apart where each player is able to throw the ball in the air to the partner. The players will start with their feet shoulder width apart and the toes facing eachother. One player will have a baseball in the glove and the partner will be with his glove facing his partner with the second hand on the heel of the glove ready to catch the ball.
On the coach’s command of “turn” the player will raise his glove hand and bare hand up to chest height with the fingers points up along the with heel of the hand touching.
On the coach’s command of “thumbs down” the player will be ready to catch the ball.
On the coach’s command of “throw” the player move the body to center the baseball in line with the body and catch the ball with two hands.
Baseball Drills for Kids ~ Fielding the Ball
Ready-Stance
The player assume a relaxed standing position. On the coaches command of “stance” the players will quickly get into their playing stance for a ground ball. The feet will be comfortably a little more than shoulder width apart with the glove foot several inches in front of the throwing foot.
The rear is low and hands should be at least one foot in front of the body. The glove will be wide open and at a 45 degree angle with the throwing hand wrist touching the wrist of hte glove hand to form a pocket or “allligator mouth.” The alligator will eat the ground ball. Kids love this idea.
To increase the players concentration on the ball and their quickness the couch can hold a ball and toss the ball up 6 inches. When the ball lands in the coach’s hand all the players should be in their playing postions.
This image has a baseball. But for this drill, there is no baseball. The player is simply getting into this position.
One of the best hitting drills is hitting off of a batting tee.
This is not only for t-ball league. . . players perfect their swing off a tee from little league all the way to the big leagues.
To successful do the tee drill it is best to have a sturdy tee, a sock net to catch the ball once it is hit, a bucket of baseball to hit, and finally – your favorite bat.
For baseball players 8u and under it is best for them to learn how to correctly grip a bat, how to position themselves in the box, and how to sequence their body for a good swing.
Once the player progresses, you can add moving the tee around. Move the tee for an inside pitch, outside pitch, low pitch, as well as a high pitch. Be sure to move the sock net as needed to make sure the ball will be trapped.
To see a player hit on the field and work on defense, you can have a player hit off the tee as if it was a pitch. The guarantees the ball is in play and everyone is moving on every hit. No wasted time.
Baseball Drills for Kids ~ Baserunning
Guess what?
If you do not teach the players how to run bases correctly they will make huge, laughable mistakes.
First thing, make sure all players know how to run to first base.
Work on having a player hit the ball off of a tee and on contact run to first base as fast as possible.
Teach the player he must run on the fould line or in foul territory towards first base. The player must make sure he/she does touch the base and come to a complete stop before they reach the outfield grass.
Lastly, make sure the player walks back to first base by turning towards the fence (away from the infield) and stay in foul territory.
Also teach the player that the coach is the eyes while they baserun. So if the coach says “go” the player will go to the next base. Be sure to teach them the order of the bases. If not, a player just might run from first base to third (totally skipping second).
Baseball Drills for Kids ~ Team Situations
For team situations at a young age it is best to learn:
How to throw the ball to the pitcher
How to throw the ball to first base
How to throw the ball home
Here is a note to consider – if a player is not able to throw the ball in the air the entire distance, have the player throw a ground ball to the defender he is throwing to.
How to catch a fly ball
How to field a ground ball
Baseball drills for kids will slowing work on all these situations. But the most important thing to remember is as a coach, you must teach the player where to throw once they make a catch or field a ground ball.
Lastly, the team has to score some runs. Work on the tee drill mentioned above as well as some baserunning.
A baseball coach can not just show up to the field and not know what he wants to do. I mean, you can - but it won’t be very productive and there will be lots of wasted time.
A coach needs to spend at least 15 minutes planning the next practice. It always took me longer because I had all the players named in positions, rotations, and in order (You can see sample baseball practice plan templates by downloading this link).
When we hit the field, we hit the field with a purpose and no wasted time. It was a work of art.
OK - enough about me. Let's back to helping you.
Build your practice plan the night before and build it with your routines. You can read my routines here.
Why are having routines so important?
Again, routines breed confidence.
The players and coaches know what is expected, in what order, and what needs to be done.
This keeps practice running smoothly with confidence.
What are some good baseball drills?
The best baseball drills are the ones in which the player has fun while learning the game.
I recommend to start playing catch with baseball that is soft or spongey to the touch. The last thing we want to do is create fear. Allow the player to catch the ball with two hands at first using no glove. Once the player is ready, add the glove and progress to a regular sized baseball that is age appropriate.
You can also visit KretzFiles.com for detailed practice plans ready to use today.
Of the drills mentioned, which one is your favorite?
Use the comment section below and let me know.
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