It's cold, it's wet, or the sprinkler system flooded the field.  What do you do?  

Send the players home or find a way to get some work done?  

I hope you find a way to get work done.

Depending on where you live, indoor practices can make or break your season.  

You’re dealing with limited space, crowded practice times, and players at different skill levels; the margin for error is small. A bad practice plan leads to standing around. A good one creates real growth.

This post outlines one of the most efficient ways to run an indoor baseball practice that keeps baseball players moving, engaged, and improving.  Whether you’re working with young athletes, younger players, or players of all ages preparing for the next level, having an organized indoor practice plan is vital for player development.

To get started, you need to decide two things:  (1)  who stays to practice and (2) where you practice.  Here is my response based on my decades of experience.

Who stays to practice?

• ​Varsity only

  • No more than one hour and fifteen minutes - they will lose focus

  • No more than 18 in the gym

    • If you have a large team, hold multiple practice sessions (45 minutes)

      • One infield session

      • One outfield session

      • One pitchers and catchers session

• Send sub-varsity home

  • Immature

  • Not serious about the game

  • Inability to get rides as quickly as the varsity on short notice

Where will you practice?​

• Put the team in a classroom and chalk-talk about all situations

  • Cuts and Relays

  • Backing Up all Throws

  • 1st and 3rd Defense

  • 1st and 3rd Offense

  • Bunt Defense

  • Bunt Offense

  • Third Strike Rule

  • Infield Fly Rule

• Put the team in the gym

  • Early in the morning before school

  • Late after basketball practice

• Put the team in the cafeteria

  • Move the tables and get some work in

  • Be sure to put the tables back

Key Components of a Great Indoor Practice

The best indoor baseball training sessions share a few things in common:

• High tempo

• Purposeful baseball drills

• Stations that isolate movements and build muscle memory

• Emphasis on proper fundamental work

• Game-like intent, even indoors

A great way to do this is by organizing practice into short, focused training exercises that rotate players quickly and eliminate standing around.

Dynamic Warm-Up and Throwing Progression

Every training session starts with preparation.

Begin with a brief, dynamic warm-up that focuses on upper body, hip, and shoulder mobility. From there, move immediately into throwing.

Throwing Focus:

• Proper footwork

• Strong glove side

• Balanced ready position

• Finish through the target

Use a controlled long toss progression adapted for indoor workouts. Even without full distance, players can improve arm strength by focusing on intent, clean mechanics, and accurate throws.

This is especially important for middle infielders, the second baseman, and anyone involved in turning the double play at first base.

Hand-Eye Coordination Using Tennis Balls

One of the best drills for improving hand-eye coordination indoors involves using tennis balls.

These indoor drills improve:

• Quick reaction time

• Quick hands

• Tracking ball travel

Examples include:

• All players throw a tennis ball against the wall and on the rebound catch it with two hands and then later improve to one hand

• Now use two players with one ball and have them work hard to get the ball by their partner

• Rapid-fire tosses forcing the first step reaction

Tennis ball work is a great way to train players while still challenging advanced athletes.

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Offensive Stations: Tee Work, Toss, and Cage Hitting

Hitting development doesn’t stop indoors.

Batting Tee & Tee Drills

Use the batting tee as the starting point for every hitter. Tee drills allow players to:

• Isolate movements

• Clean up swing path

• Feel the back foot connection

• Build repeatable muscle memory

I'd recommend taking your sock nets indoors and placing them on top of the school's large door mats to protect the floor.

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Front Toss and Soft Toss

Progress into front toss and soft toss to bridge mechanics into timing. Focus on:

• Driving a line drive

• Staying through the ball

• Finishing strong 

These are specific drills that prepare hitters for real batting practice later in the year.

Batting Cages

If you have batting cages or an indoor batting cage, rotate small groups through live reps using real balls. Even short swings at game speed matter.

​If you don't have an indoor batting cage or can't get your sock nets indoors, then open up the batting range (LOL) - like this.

Tennis Ball Batting Practice

Here is a great way to practice fastballs and off-speed pitches with tennis balls:

• To replicate a fastball, just throw the tennis ball with normal BP speed

• To replicate an off-speed, throw the tennis ball to the floor so that it bounces into the strike zone.  That's right, throw the ball at the floor so it bounces into the strike zone.  This simple bounce will force the hitter to wait. 

When working off-speed, this is what you are looking for:  

• When the pitcher loads - the hitter loads

• When the pitcher strides - the hitter strides

• When the ball hits the floor to bounce - the hitter's front foot hits the floor

• When the ball is bouncing up - the hitter is waiting

• When the ball enters the zone - the hitter will swing and follow through

Defensive Skill Stations

Defense often separates good teams from great ones on game days.

Infield Work

• Hard ground balls

• Short hop plays

• Funnel to throw with clean transitions

Middle infielders should rehearse feeds, pivots, and communication on the double play.

Outfield Drill

An effective outfield drill indoors focuses on:

• First step reads

• Drop steps

• Catching the fly ball at the highest point

Even without full flight, players can train angles, routes, and communication skills.

Here is an example of what you can do.  

Take this example, split the court into quadrants and give the players an opportunity to replicate game-like situations, game-like reps, at game-like speed in a close and confined space.  Throwing the ball across the field or throwing the ball at full speed is not necessary.  When in the gym, the goal is to work on the mind and body control (feet-hips-glove).

Catching and Reaction Drills

Catching drills should reinforce:

• Blocking footwork

• Receiving with soft hands

• Explosive movement from the right knee up

Pair this with reaction-based drills where the first player reacts, fields, throws, and rotates to the back of the line quickly to maintain pace.

Competitive Games to Finish Practice

Finish with fun games that simulate game situations.

Examples:

• Accuracy throwing competitions

• Rapid infield outs

• Reaction-based last-ball challenges (the last ball decides the winner)

These games reinforce focus the rest of the way through practice and build energy heading into the end of practice.

​Indoor Baseball Practice Plan

Here is an example of a one-hour indoor practice plan built for 18 players, limited space, and high engagement. Every player is moving, throwing, hitting, or thinking baseball the entire hour.

Download the FREE Indoor Practice Template

60-Minute Indoor Baseball Practice (18 Players)

Practice Goal:

• Maximize reps

• Improve fundamentals

• Keep tempo high

• Eliminate standing around

Setup Notes (Before Practice Starts):

• 3 hitting stations (nets or cages)

• 3 throwing lanes (short to long)

• Buckets ready

• Cones taped lines for footwork

• Assign players to groups before practice

Split players into 3 groups of 6.

Dynamic Warm-Up + Throwing Prep (5 min)

All players together

• Jog → shuffle → backpedal

• Hip mobility, thoracic rotation

• Arm prep (bands or light plyos if available)

Coaching Emphasis:

• Tempo > perfection

• This is not conditioning, this is preparation

Throwing Development (10 min)

3 Groups / 3 Stations (rotate every 3–4 min)

Station 1: Wrist → Short Catch

• Wrist flips

• One-knee throws

• Focus on grip & spin

Station 2: Footwork + Throw

• Shuffle → throw

• Rocker → throw

• Emphasize direction & balance

Station 3: Long Toss (Indoor Version)

• One-hop throws

• Crow hop mechanics

• Pull-down intent without max distance

Coaching Emphasis:

• Every throw has intent

• Bad throws = reset feet, don’t rush

Offensive Stations (15 min)

3 Stations – 5 minutes each

Station 1: Tee Work (Mechanical)

• Inside/outside location

• Opposite-field focus

• 8–10 quality swings

Station 2: Front Toss / Short Toss (See Tennis Ball BP Above)

• Game-speed intent

• Track pitch before swinging

• Miss = reset, don’t rush

Station 3: Dry Swings + Vision

• Load timing

• Separation

• Small-ball drills or tracking balls

Coaching Emphasis:

• Swing decisions matter

• Quality swings > swing count

Defensive Skill Work (15 min)

3 Stations – 5 minutes each

Station 1: Infield Footwork

• Quick feet drills

• Funnel to throw

• Short hops (tennis balls if space is tight)

Station 2: Outfield First Step + Catch

• Drop-step reads

• Catch and throw to target

• Emphasize angles, not speed

Station 3: Catchers / Pitchers

• Catchers: receiving, blocking footwork

• Pitchers: PFP footwork or mirror drills

Coaching Emphasis:

• Defense is footwork first

• Hands follow feet

Competitive Team Drill (10 min)

Options (Rotate Daily):

• Rapid-fire infield outs

• Hit & react (tennis balls)

• Throwing accuracy competition

• Baserunning reads (verbal + movement)

Rules:

• Missed rep = quick correction, next guy goes

• Keep score

• Losers clean equipment

Coaching Emphasis:

• Game speed

• Accountability

• Energy

Review + Reset (5 min)

• Team up

• One coaching point on:

  • Offense

  • Defense

  • Effort

• Set expectation for next practice

End on clarity, not chaos.

​​Download the FREE Indoor Practice Template

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Why This Indoor Practice Plan Works

This approach:

• No lines

• No standing

• Built-in rotations

• Every skill is developed

• Game-Speed intent taking place indoors

• Maximizes reps in a limited space

• Works for young athletes and varsity players

• Builds skills the correct way

• Transfers directly to outdoor play

Indoor baseball practice isn’t about survival; it’s about working and teaching the proper fundamentals so that you can have proper player development. When structured correctly, indoor workouts can become the foundation of your training regimen and set your team up for success once the season arrives.

That’s the best way to make indoor practices matter.