Baseball players who don't live in the Sun Belt have to do much of their training in the gym. While this would seem to put players in areas that are impacted by winter weather at a disadvantage, many drills help players prepare for the baseball season. This allows players to go at full speed when the weather does cooperate, and they can finally practice and play outdoors.
Indoor Throwing
Ideally, a player would throw from a distance of at least 60 feet when he warms up during a baseball practice. Adjustments have to be made when playing indoors. To emphasize correct throwing form, get on one knee and throw to a partner 10-to-15 feet away by putting your non-throwing hand in front of your throwing elbow to lock it into place. Then throw the ball to your partner just by snapping your wrist. Warm up this way for 10-to-15 minutes. After this warm-up, players can throw to each other from a distance of 30-to-40 feet. To emphasize accurate throwing, a player and his partner can play a game of 21. In this game, a player gets two points for delivering a ball to his partner at head height and one point for a ball delivered at chest height. The first player to get to 21 points wins.
Infield Grounders
You can take infield grounders even if you are playing inside a gym. Have the player get in the fielding position for a ground ball. The player should have a wide base with his feet spread apart, his butt down and his glove on the ground. Roll 10 balls to the player. Some will be right at him, some will be to the backhand side, and some will be to the glove hand side. The player has to catch each cleanly.
Hitting Stroke
Players can hit indoors as long as they have a batting net to hit balls into. This is a common tool that is used regularly. To work on their batting stroke, the coach can toss the ball to the hitter from the side, and the batter can swing away so the ball goes into the net. This is a soft toss. It's not a matter of how hard a player swings; it's a matter of how level and balanced that swing is. Playing soft toss allows a player to develop a swing that is in mid-season form even when players can't go outside.
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