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"BP" FUNGO
Great Drill For Defensive,
Baserunning, and Batting Practice!
This drill involves every player on your team working on either offensive or defensive skill development. You put your regular defensive lineup on the field. Your other players are going to fungo balls and run when they hit it. The pitcher will throw a 1/2 speed ball to your catcher. When the ball hits the mitt. The batter will then toss a ball up and hit it anywhere in fair territory. The goal of the defense is to hold the batters to no runs. The goal of the offense is to get base hits by hitting the ball hard enough to get on with a hit or error. Each batter becomes a runner after he hits and the offense is allowed 3 outs before you clear" the bases. The drill is over when the offense scores 5 runs or the defense records 18 outs.
Bunt Pepper
Great Offensive and Defensive Drill
Players are divided into groups of four. Four players field while one player bunts. This drill is a great drill for both defensive and offensive work if done properly. The bunter will bunt the ball to each of the four players starting with the fielder on the left and going to the bunter's right. The fielder will catch the bunt, move the feet to the correct throwing position, and then throw the ball to the batter so that it can be bunted to the next fielder. The bunter will bunt 2 rounds or 2 balls to each fielder. The bunter will then hand the bat to the right end fielder who will bunt next. The former bunter will take the left spot in the fielder's line. Bunter's should be coached to use the correct bunting fundamentals; Square, Pivot & Squeeze. The bunter should be cautioned to soft bunt the ball. The fielders should throw the ball at a steady, medium speed that is not too hard. Batting helmets should be worn for safety.
WALL BALL
This is a great off season skill building activity. It develops both offensive and defensive skills. The game is played with 3 players on a team, On defense, one pitches and two play defense. The object of the game is to be the first team to score 21. You score by hitting a line drive or ball in the air that hits the wall in a designated or target area. The target area is normally a 6' x 12' rectangle that is attached to the wall or fence. The target may be larger if space so allows.
The rules for the game are as follows:
Each team gets three outs per inning. Outs are hit balls caught before they hit the wall or floor, foul tips, foul balls, and swing without contact are outs. Each player gets one swing of the bat. Something must happen, if the ball is a strike, The batter decides if a ball is a strike.
Ground balls are not outs. They serve to keep the inning alive. You do not get a run for ground balls. Flyballs that go above the target are outs. Balls may be batted down by defenders to prevent a score. However, batted balls that touch the target before they touch the floor are scored as a run.
The winning team must win by two. A tournament bracket is drawn and teams play for the championship. Coaches and parents are encouraged to play on teams Each team may use only one bat. The bat never touches the ground or floor until the inning is over.
More Tips:
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*Emphasize quality not quantity when it comes to practice swings. |
21 Outs Drill
drill
that involves the whole team.
First of all I put out my defensive team, probably the one that will start the game the next day. I grab a fungo and have a base runner ready to go on my contact. I hit the ball, the base runner reacts to the hit, and the defense must make the play correctly and flawlessly.
The object is to get 21 outs in a
row WITHOUT mishandling the ball!!! We start at zero and when
the ball goes from my bat, to the defense, gets thrown for an out,
and then relayed back to my catcher, there can be no mistakes, one
out is recorded. All throws must be hard, accurate and handled with
preciseness. If the ball is bobbled, misplayed, or thrown awry, we
start again at zero. When the ball hits the catchers glove, everyone
on the team yells the number of outs, or we start over. If someone
doesn't hustle or run out a fly ball, we start over. If you don't run
the bases correctly, or the pitcher doesn't back up a specific throw,
we start over.
We look for and expect perfection.
A variation of this, would be to have the defense switched every 3 or 6 outs. This can be a good conditioner if you can do it right. It is critical for this drill to be successful that your rules are strict and that the players have the awareness NOT to stray from them at all!!! If you do this drill one time and slack off on the expectations, the next time you do it, you will be wasting your time. Do this drill with extreme focus and your game faces on, or don't do it at all. We even throw some music on in the press box to simulate the background noise during a game.
All Player Drill
Bud Souza
Aptos High School Coach
This drill involves the whole team. This is a game using rotation of players coming into bat. Batter will get 2 at bats then rotate with one of the other players on the field. Weather you get a hit or not you stay on the base you made it to. Then steal on each pitch to the plate. Do not steal home. Come in when you reach 3rd base. This gives your pitcher a chance to work on pick offs, your catcher work on throwing the runner out, batting & fielding practice also.
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Added April 1, 2003 |
All Drill
Works on the outfield stopping the ball and making the throw into the infield. Works on base-running and sliding
Line up three, four or five players at the following positions. Right field, first base, and third base.
The player's at first base take turns as base-runners and tries to make it safely to third base. On the coach's signal, the player from first takes off, heading for third base. Every time the runner gets to third base they need to go in sliding. The coach hits the ball behind the runner to the right fielder, the right fielder makes the stop and try's to throw the runner out at third. The third baseman needs to stop the ball and make a low tag. Rotate the players after each turn. Player plays the same position - runner, right field or third base, through two rotations, before moving to another position.
Tag Team
Here's an idea that combines all the stretching, core warm-up, skill prep you'd ever want. And I've seen it work for older players, too. Enjoy.
A game of tag...
Try regular tag, chair tag, spaghetti tag, hug tag, ball tag (maybe with a wiffle ball) Help!, slap tag, tail tag, Frisbee tag, line tag, shadow tag (only when the sun shines!), circle tag, rope tag, hospital tag, chase the dragon, chase the tail, bull in the ring, octopus garden.
These are just a few. Ask your athletes to ask their parent about games they played when they were kids and share those with your team.
Try this tag-ball game. 50% of the team have a ball, 50% don't. One person is chosen to be "it." Only those without a ball can be tagged. So with cooperation and communication, the players can protect each other by passing the balls. There's skill development, fun and lots of laughs!
Another idea: Try practicing fielding and hitting by using one of those little rubber footballs. It brings a new dimension to fielding grounders and pop flies.
Thanks to:
Chris Johnson, Douglas College
(604) 531-0720
14920 - 21st Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada V4A 8G4 For more creative coaching, Chris Johnson has put together guide: 'Every Coach's Planner & Idea Book'. You can order it for $25 by contacting him directly at Douglas College.
chris_johnson@douglas.bc.ca
DEFENSIVE SITUATIONS:
HITTING AND DEFENSIVE ROUNDS DRILL
Coach Colbert
Want a drill that works your hitters, baserunners, and defensive players in a game-like situation with maximum efficiency?
"Rounds" accomplishes all of these things. Align a defense on the field. A coach pitches, or better yet, a pitching machine. 3-4 players are the hitting/baserunning group. Three to Five rounds per group is ideal. A sample would be:
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Round 1 - runner on first hit and run. Round 2 - Runner on first sac bunt. Round 3 - Runner on second with 2 outs. Round 4 - Runners on first and second hit away. Round 5 - Runner on third squeeze. |
Hitters start with an 0-1 count always. This entire drill is done at GAME SPEED! Every pitch is a game-like situation. The hitting/baserunning group has tasks to accomplish on each pitch, and the defense must react accordingly to each hit ball and situation.
Drill Notes: The hitting/baserunning group follows the same order. If the round called for runner on first sac bunt, players 1 and 2 would be at first, 3 and 4 at the plate. After 3 bunts and 1 runs, 2 would be the next runner and 4 would be the next hitter. After the hitting/baserunning group finishes their rounds, they rotate into defense and a new group replaces them. You might have to play kids out of position once-in-awhile to make it work, but that's fine. Remember - make this as game-like as possible.
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Added April 6, 2003 |
Conditioning / Position Warm-ups
Glove Drill
Split up the players into groups of 4 or 5. Have them line up and put their gloves in the outfield at about 25-foot intervals apart, away from them. They start the drill with a ball in their hand, running to the first glove and setting the ball on it. Players then return to the line, then go back and get the ball, then return to the line. Next, they go to the second glove and set the ball down and return to the line and so on. Continue until all the players have gone through the drill at least once.
Infielder Warm-up Drills
GLOVE HAND/BACKHAND - Infielders partner up, rolling the ball to each other to their immediate left or right and practice proper glove side and backhand fielding techniques.
POP FLIES - Infielders partner up. One player throws a fly ball over the other player's head making him open step up, drop back while keeping eye contact with the ball and square body up under ball to make the catch. You can also have player's practice catching the ball over the shoulder from this position.
COVER DRILL - All infielders line up at the second base and shortstop positions. A player in front of the base rolls the ball to either 2B or SS. who in turn throws to the opposite player covering the bag, then turns double-play pivot.
RUNDOWNS - Players line up in groups of three, spread evenly apart. The player in the middle, is the baserunner. One player holds the ball begins running towards the baserunner simulating a rundown situation. We make one throw and a tag. Players rotate positions.
Outfielder Warm-up Drills
GROUNDBALLS - Players form a line down the field behind one another. The first player faces another player downfield, who throws a hard grounder to the outfielder. Depending on which technique is called, the outfielder will side straddle catch and come up throwing, or use the drop knee technique and come up throwing.
ANGLE DRILL - Players pair up across from one another some distance away. Players take turns throwing balls to one another at extreme angles. Outfielders must run hard, cut off ball angle, then field the ball and come up with a good crow hop and throw the ball back, etc.
OFF WALL Drill - Players partner up, with one player close to the outfield wall. One player throws the ball up towards the wall, while the fielding player must react to catch the ball in the air, locating the wall, realize the ball must be played off the wall and react accordingly, or scale the wall and keep the ball from going over the wall.
Pitcher Read & React
Pitchers line up on the mound or designated area. One pitcher goes to homeplate, one to first base and others remain on the mound. The pitchers on the mound deliver the ball to homeplate, then read and react to the ball. If the player at the plate rolls the ball out, the pitcher throwing the ball reacts, charges the ball, and completes the throw to first base (bunt reaction). If the player- at the plate rolls the ball towards first base, the pitcher then races to the baseline to cover first base and receives the throw from the player playing 1B. If the player at the plate (once receiving the throw) turns his back to the pitcher and runs behind the plate, the pitcher then reacts and covers the plate as if it was a passed ball, receiving the throw from the player at the plate. Player at the plate also has the option to throw a sharp one hop to the pitcher. Who can also turn and throw to another pitcher at 2B to complete the double play. All players' rotate stations so that all pitchers have completed each segment of the drill a couple of times. This drill is a very good one because pitchers do not have any idea of what their reaction is to be until they read and react to the ball, as in a game situation.
Catcher Scoop & Locate
Three catchers group for this drill. One catcher sets in a crouched catching position, one player stands behind him with a baseball, and the third player stands downfield about 50 feet. The player standing behind the crouched catcher rolls the ball out in front of the catcher at different angles, making the catcher explode from his stance, circle the ball using proper techniques, scoop the ball, and make the throw to the other player downfield. Players also rotate in this drill.
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