Baseball is a game that requires repetition and practice to improve. Baseball has a plethora of tiny technical positions and points, and coaches must find ways to teach players these things. Several tools are available to help a baseball player's skill level, and anything that can remind or reinforce a skill is an important thing for a ball player.
Tee Work
Batting tee drills help a player and coach isolate and work on different aspects of hitting. The batting tee is one of the best hitting teaching tools available, as hitters' weaknesses can be exposed during the drill. Swinging with an uppercut will hit the tee and swinging down on the ball will produce a weakly hit ball, so the tee forces hitters to use proper mechanics to hit the baseball hard.
Fielding Tools
One of the best fielding tools to work on ground balls is to use a flat glove, paddle or pancake glove. Companies have marketed flat inserts that can go in your regular glove to serve this purpose as well. These trainers force the hand, wrist and fingers into the proper angles. They also force your throwing hand to clamp on the ball like it should, instead of relying on the glove to make the catch. This speeds up the fielding process and lets you make more plays and make them quicker.
Base Running Teaching Tools
The outfield grass, a tarp, or a slip and slide can be one of the most important teaching tools for a baseball coach at the amateur level. These places all enable coaches to teach players how to slide, a skill that is not only important for winning games but also for keeping players healthy and safe. These surfaces offer a forgiving place for players to practice sliding, so that injuries are prevented. Another way to teach base running is for coaches to work on it as part of practice conditioning. Coaches can work on players running the bases, rounding the bases and the proper way to run through first base instead of having standard sprint or interval running.
Live Situations
One of the best tools coaches can use to teach all aspects of baseball is via live situations. This can include scrimmages or just with creative standard practices. Defensively, players can learn to play fly balls, line drives and ground balls off the bat. Pitchers can get their side work in by throwing to live hitters, and hitters will get to see live pitching instead of short toss, a coach or a pitching machine.
