Running a baseball practice is an important job for any youth baseball coach. You want to teach your players the fundamentals of the game. You want them to become better players as the season progresses. That means there's a lot of work to do. However, you also want your players to enjoy themselves. There's quite a bit of pressure involved when playing organized baseball, and you don't want to add to the stress level of children who are trying to learn a game. You have to strike a balance between learning and fun when you organize your practice.
Step 1
Run the bases at the start of practice. This is a great way to help kids draw on their energy and get prepared for a full practice session. Have each player line up behind home plate and send them off on two laps on the base paths. Each player should leave home plate every five seconds. Emphasize the proper way to run the bases, as players should hit the inside corner of each base. On the second tour of the base path, have each player try to catch the runner in front. This will help players run their fastest when they are on the bases.
Step 2
Hit grounders and flyballs to the infielders and outfielders. This is one of the oldest practices in baseball at every level. It is done at practice for 7 and 8 year olds, and it is done at the major league level. Emphasize the proper techninque for catching ground balls--use two hands--and compliment strong throws. After each of the infielders has had at least four ground balls, have them switch positions with the outfielders. Everyone must get a chance at catching outfield fly balls, as well as fielding grounders.
Step 3
Play "three swings" during batting practice. Instead of focusing on just one batter during hitting practice, focus on your entire team. In three swings, you place your players at all the positions in the infield and outfield. Put one batter up to bat. He gets three swings at pitches that are strikes. A well-hit ball to the outfield gets five points, an infield grounder or pop up gets three points, and a swing and a miss gets no points. Tell each batter how many points he or she has accumulated during batting practice and the batter with the most points wins. Each player should get three rounds of three swings.
Step 4
Play "knockout" to help develop your pitchers. When you play knockout, have all your players line up behind the pitcher's mound. Have the first player in line throw a pitch from the pitching rubber to the catcher. If it's a strike, he goes to the back of the line. If he throws a ball, he moves off to the side because he is on the verge of getting "knocked out." If the second pitcher throws a strike, the first pitcher gets knocked out. Continue in this manner until only one pitcher is left. That pitcher wins the game and has "knocked out" the other pitchers. Reward that pitcher by giving her the the chance to pitch in the next game.
Step 5
Close practice by talking about sportsmanship. Explain that nobody gets a hit every time up and that no team wins all its games. Being able to handle the failures that come with the game is a big part of baseball. A great hitter may hit .333, but that player still fails to get a hit two out of three times at the plate. Players need to do their best, but also congratulate their opponents when they win the game or when they do well.
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