Practice Plan for Saturday

(From May 7)

First, a quick hat tip to the coaches!

Walt did a great job getting the boys ready for their at-bats, and 22 for 30 puts him in pretty good company among hitting instructors. The soft toss was very effective; It was good to take advantage of it because it's not often feasible.

And that was a very nice job by Tab hitting the bats.

Amy and Dave handled the base running perfectly -- with much respect, because we could have put our own quarter in the Merry-Go-Around on more than one or two occasions.

Also, Amy, Dave, Tab and Walt have been invaluable during the practices.

These kids are playing the game very well. And that's a testament to the coaches teaching them.

Our dugout etiquette is even strong.

The boys look good out there. Their skills and enthusiasm are showing.

But we do need to polish the leather.....

Pre-practice Warm-ups
5 minutes: Throwing and catching
5 minutes: Running
5 minutes: Stretching

Team Drills

60 minutes: Steal the Bacon, 15 minutes; Hole in the Diamond, 15 minutes; 5x5 Scrimmage, 30 minutes

Practice Wrap-up

15 minutes: Baserunning (Run through 1B; 1B to 3B; Home to 2B; 2B to Home; Home Run, finishing with a slide)

Drills:

Steal the Bacon

Goal: Develop ball handling skills, particularly picking the ball up with the bare hand

Procedure:

• Divide the team into two groups and number the players in each group
• Coach puts the ball between the two groups and yells out a number
• Both players with the number run toward the ball and try to grab it, or steal the bacon
• When one of the players picks up the ball, the other tries to tag him with the glove
• The player who gets the ball tries to run back to his line without getting tagged
• Award one team a point if its player gets back to the line without being tagged
• Award the other team a point if its player makes the tag before the runner reaches the line
• No points are awarded if the runner drops the ball

Key Points:

• Emphasize that the boys need to squeeze the balls in their gloves

Hole in the Diamond

Goal: To teach fielders keep hard hit balls in front of them

Procedure:

• Divide the team into four groups of three
• One team spreads out between 3B and 2B; another team between 2B and 1B; third team in the outfield backing up 3B-2B team; final team in the outfield backing up the 2B-3B team
• Coach hits baseball to the team on one side of the diamond, trying to get the ball to the outfield grass
• The infielders must stop the ball from getting to the grass
• If the ball reaches the grass, the team on the other side of the diamond gets a point
• After four grounders to each team, the outfield teams move to the infield, and the infield teams to the outfield

Key Points:

• Explain that fielding the ball doesn't necessarily mean making a clean catch
• Emphasize keeping the ball in front of the body
• Watch the ball into the glove