Coaching Little League baseball presents a unique challenge. You not only have to reinforce the game's basic rules and fundamentals, but you also need to do it in an entertaining, fun way so the young players don't lose interest. Effective Little League practices feature up-tempo drills and competitions that involve all players and teach baseball's core values.
Surprise Hitting
This is a fun hitting drill that gets players used to a variety of pitches and movement. Place baseballs, waffle balls and some small water balloons in a bucket out at the pitcher's mound. Pitch to your hitters without letting them see what ball you're throwing until it's pitched. The hitter has to recognize the ball and adjust, with the occasional water balloon adding even more fun.
Marshmallow Ball
For another fun hitting drill, try pitching marshmallows to your players. Attempting to hit a marshmallow, which is much smaller than a baseball and doesn't always fly in a straight line, will enhance the batter's hand-eye coordination. And since there's no injury risk in getting hit by the ball, fielders can line up closer to the batter and attempt to catch the marshmallows after they're hit.
Relay Throwing Race
Little Leaguers often struggle with executing proper relay throws. This team drill will stress footwork, quick ball transition and throwing accuracy. Divide players into even teams. Line the teams up with each player standing an equal distance apart. On the whistle, the first player in each line throws to his nearest teammate, who then relays the ball to the next teammate. The ball continues down the line until it reaches the last player, who then starts the relay over. The first team to get the ball back to the starting point wins.
Infield Throwing
This drill stresses throwing accuracy and requires a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a shortstop and a third baseman. Dump a bucket of balls at home plate, making sure you know the exact number of balls. Station the bucket outside the third-base line. To start the drill, hit the ball to the third baseman. He must field the ball and throw it across to the first baseman, who then relays it to the catcher. The catcher fires it down to third and then the ball is returned to the bucket. Next, hit the ball to the shortstop. He fields and throws to first. The first baseman throws to the catcher, who this time fires to second. The second baseman relays to third so the ball can be dropped in the bucket. Continue hitting to the different positions and mixing up the throwing patterns until all the balls have been played. The goal is to collect all the balls in the bucket without any errors.
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