Practice Plan for Saturday

(From April 10)

After Easter let's expand practice from 75 minutes to 90 minutes, with 15 minutes of situational baseball drills after the stations and before the 10-minute baserunning drill at the end of practice.

We may make the Thursday scrimmage a regular feature since we must share the field anyway. But I'll keep you posted. I think the game-like feel to the scrimmage was very productive, and coupled with 15 minutes of situational baseball on Saturdays and Sundays, the boys will be well prepared for Opening Day.

Here's the plan for Saturday (8:45 a.m. at Snowden Field):

Pre-practice Warm-ups

10 minutes: Throwing and catching
5 minutes: Running
5 minutes: Stretching

Station Drills

45 minutes: Stations, 15 minutes each

• Hitting: Soft toss, quick stick, T work, cage work (Dave, Walt and Bill)
  

• Outfield: Crossover Step Drill, Cutoff Drill, Scream Drill (review) (Amy and Tab)
  

• Infield: King of the Hill, Bucket Drill, Dive-Ball Drill (Review) (James)
  

Practice Wrap-up

10 minutes: Baserunning -- running through 1B; 1B to 3B -- picking up the 3B coach as they approach 2B; Home to 2B -- picking up the 1B coach, making the "banana turn;" 2B to Home -- picking up the 3B coach; Home Run, finishing with a slide (we'll work on proper sliding technique)

NOTE: We'll spend time emphasizing the need to run through 1B, circling toward the dugout -- not the field of play. This is strictly a coaching shortcoming -- most of these boys are in their second year of coach pitch and running through 1B should be second nature. We'll address this shortcoming with repetition.

Drills:

Crossover Step Drill (5 minutes)

Goal: Develop a fundamentally sound crossover step

Procedure:

• Outfielders line up, each with a ball about 10 feet from the coach
  
• The first outfielder steps forward, tosses the ball to the coach and gets "baseball ready"
  
• Coach tells the player which way to go - RIGHT! or LEFT!
• The player crosses over in that direction, while the coach throws the ball so the player can catch it with two hands over his head

Key Points:

• Make sure the boys always use the crossover step -- pivoting on one foot while crossing the other one over in the direction of the ball
• Explain to the that this is the best way to move on the field -- for fielders and runners
• Stop the drill and start over when the player performs the crossover incorrectly
• Force the players to get to the spot quickly and catch the ball with two hands over the head
  

Cutoff Drill (5 minutes)

Goal: Develop quick relay from outfielder to infielder

Procedure:

• Divide the boys into groups of two
• Both groups get into a line with about 20 yards between them.
• Coaches throw the ball about 5 yards behind the players in the back of the line.
• The players retrieve the ball and throw it to the "infielders" (the cutoff man).
• The cutoff men turn and throw it back to the coaches.
• Cutoff man goes to the outfield spot, and the outfielder moves to the cutoff man spot.
  

Key points:

• Make sure the boys are turning to the glove side when they throw the ball
• Emphasize getting rid of the ball quickly! NEVER just hold the ball. Get it back into the infield by quickly turning and throwing to the cutoff man
• Emphasize to the cutoff men to give their outfielders HIGH targets and to yell "Cut off, cut off" so their outfielder can both hear and see the target.
• To make it competitive, award points to the twosome that gets the ball back to their coach first.
  

Scream Drill (REVIEW) (5 minutes)

Goal: Practice calling off another fielder on a fly ball

Procedure:

• Two lines of two boys, 20 feet apart from each other
• Tell the first player in each line to step up
• Throw a fly ball in between the two
• The player closest to the ball must scream "I got it" three times
• Throw it back to the coach

Key points:

• Focus on player movement and noise -- the boys must learn to call for the ball, and back off when called off
• Focus on teaching the boys to deal with distractions

King of the Hill (5 minutes)

Goal: Develop fielding skills and reaction

Procedure:

• Boys line up side by side, about arm's length apart (Players do not use gloves in this game. The reason that gloves are not used is to force players to field the ball with two hands, rather than just using the glove and fielding the ball with one hand.)
• Coach hits a ball towards the fielders and one fielder tries to field the ball. A successful fielder stays in place; a fielder making an error moves to the LEFT end of the line.
  
• After the ball is fielded or retrieved, a player tosses it softly underhand to the coach to hit (essentially a game of pepper).
• The game goes on for a minute or two and when time is up the player on the RIGHT end of the line is the King of the Hill, or winner.

Key points:

• This drill emphasizes fielding skills with a competitive aspect and is a good test of players' fielding skills and reaction.

Bucket Drill (5 minutes)

Goal: Develop accurate and quick throws to 1B

Procedure:

• Line up two players at SS and the other two at 1B.
• Place a bucket upside down on first base
• Coach rolls or hits a ball to the first person in line at the shortstop position, who then has three seconds to pick up the ball and throw it at the bucket.
• Coach should loudly count off the seconds (while flustering some players, it will also help them to cope with pressure better)
• If the bucket is missed, the player behind first base fields the ball and returns it to the coach.
• Regardless of the outcome, the player who made the throw rotates to the back of the line.
• After several passes through the line, switch sides.
  

Key Points:

• Emphasize getting of the rid in a hurry
  
• Focus on throwing accuracy, quick release, and encourage quick decisions
• For added competition, keep score between the two teams
• Also, we can vary this drill by having both teams throw at the same time -- a competition these boys would love

Dive-Ball Drill (REVIEW) (5 minutes)

Goal: Develop confidence to live the feet and dive for a ball

Procedure:

• Boys line up and coach tells the first player to step up
• Coach yells "Left," the player moves that way and the coach rolls a grounder, leading the player so he must dive for it
• Repeat on the right side
• Each player gets four dives, then the next player steps up

Key points:

• Make sure the boy are "baseball ready" with bent knees and open gloves
• Teach the boys to run toward the ball and make the catch, understanding that a dive is the last resort