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PopUp Quiz with Quips 'n' Quotes from this site.
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| | Drills on this page are in these
categories: Relay
drills - Throwing
drills - Situation Drills - Running
Drills - Double Play Drills
Relay drills
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Two throws
Have two catchers spaced to either side of the plate. Have 2 middle infielders in cutoff spots beyond second. Have outfielders make 2 lines, one in left-center, the other in right-center. Two coaches simultaneously hit either fly balls or
grounders to the 2 OFs who are up, and the lines take turns, one throwing through or over the
cutoff while the other throws to the cutoff, always ending at the
catcher. |
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Relay Options
Make as many lines as possible with an OF, 2 IFs and a Catcher in
each. The illustrations to the left show 1 line, with 4 steps to the
cycle of down & back throws. The first time everyone gets the ball
both down and back. The second time the ends skip the short
cutoff. The third time the short cutoff skips the long cutoff. The
fourth time is like the second. This way each player practices throwing
long and short throws his position will likely have to make. The
middle infielder who is not taking the throw should duck or step
away from it, and then quickly get back to receive the next throw.
The rhythm of this drill, if fast enough, can go a long way toward
developing teamwork that will pay off in games. OFs
& Catchers alternate between short & long cutoffs. Short
cutoff's down & back routine is like this: short-short, duck-short,
long-duck, duck-short. Long cutoff's routine is short-short,
short-duck, duck-long, short-duck. Get it? |
Throwing drills
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Rapid Fire
Start with 4 players lined up between second and
third. The "Hot Seat" player is lined up on the grass
between home and first with a backup player behind him. Player 4 and
the "Hot Seat" start with a ball. As the "Hot
Seat" player fires a throw to Player 1, Player 4 fires him his
ball. The "Hot Seat" then fires to 2, and receives from 1;
fires to 3 and receives from 2; fires to 4 and receives from 3. If
the backup ever gets the ball, he always fires to 4, and the "Hot
Seat" fires the next throw to 1 again. Rotate players so that
everyone gets a chance to be a Hot Shot. |
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Follow your throw
Start with infielders in position. Coach hits a
grounder to SS, who fields cleanly and throws to 1st, who throws to 2nd,
who throws to 3rd, who throws home. Every player follows his throw
and takes the position of the player he threw to. The next extra
player in line takes SS position, and Catcher (no equipment) takes place
in back of extras' line. The coach should be hitting the next
grounder right after 2nd throws to 3rd and before 2nd would interfere on
his way to 3rd. If SS misses hit, he goes to back of extras'
line. |
Situation drills
Middle infield Double play
drill
Certainly double plays come from a
variety of locations around the diamond, but the vast majority scored require a
643 or 463 entry. So, although double-play practice is part of the coach's
drill described below, and in addition to the random-player DP drills, 1st, 2nd and SS should spend extra time practicing this
one. Other than for tryouts, there is no reason to do this drill with
random players. It should be done with the actual position players so they
can improve their timing as a team. There's also no need to draw you a
picture for this one. The Coach tosses balls to specific spots where the
middle infielders practice to quicken their moves for a double play.
Players should work on all of the timing situations. Remember to lead with
your throws. Coaches should vary the tosses to include both sides of each
middle infielder, and try not to indicate where the toss is going. This
way they can learn to move quickly as a team.
Coach's situation drill
Here is the classic
coach-hits-from-his-own-toss-and-yells-out-the-situation drill. Sometimes
the coach mentions the situation before the toss, and one version I like
is to play a whole defensive game. It could be the last part of a practice
session, where
all the things practiced will fall into place. It's best if you have
9 fielders on the field and 3 or 4 base runners. It's up to the coach to
determine where the ball goes and what needs to be practiced. Always try
to include all possibilities of play. Work on things like Pitcher covering
first, and odd double plays like 241 and 361.
Double Play drills
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DP to SS ~ 643
These first 2 double-play drills are the same with the
exception of which middle infielder is fed the ball to start. On
this one the coach rolls the ball at various speeds to SS. As soon
as the ball is "hit" 2nd, who would be "cheating"
toward the bag with a runner on first, races toward the base where SS
leads him with a toss. All in one motion 2nd catches the ball for an
out, making sure his foot is on the bag when the ball is in his hand, and
then fires a strike to 1st, getting out of the way of the runner.
These drills can be run with base runners, but that should be saved for
when running this drill where only the actual middle infielders are
involved. |
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DP to 2nd ~ 463
By the name we can see that this drill starts with the
ball being fed to 2nd. He picks it cleanly with soft hands and leads
SS to the bag with a good throw. All in one motion SS catches the
ball for an out, making sure his foot is on the bag, and then fires a
strike to 1st while getting out of the way of the runner. The coach
could sometimes throw to force 2nd to turn for a full throw to SS, as well
as working on the improbable dp where 2nd has to backhand toward
first. These more unusual situations, however, should be used only
when running the drill with the actual middle infielders. In
rotating positions like the illustration we are working on basic baseball
timing skills. |
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DP to 1st ~ 361
On this one it would be wise to use only actual pitchers
to field that position. Using all other players to take rotations as
middle infielders or 1st is good practice for other parts of the game,
including teamsmanship. The pitcher in the drill stays in that
position until the coach picks a replacement. The coach throws the
"hit" ball to 1st who charges it and turns and fires it for the
force the first time to 2nd, then to SS in rotation, who then throw to the
pitcher covering first. Pitcher, remember to run down the
line. Also practice the play right to the bag where 1st tags the
base, and 2nd or SS needs to make the tag. Always remember that in
an actual play to the right side the SS would be the preferred cover of
second. |
Running drills
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Square Drill
In addition to the usual sprints and laps around the field
to warm up for practice, the Square Drill is a good drill for
coordination. Ideally there should be 4 players to each square, and
when the first player goes all way around the square, he starts
over. Runners often think they will overtake the runner in front,
but it usually doesn't happen. With only 4 players per square 3
squares may be needed, unless this is run as one station of simultaneous
drills. |
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BowTie Drill
The BowTie drill can be run with up to 6 runners, and is
often more hilarious than the Square drill. Also similar is the
method of releasing the next runner as soon as the preceding one reaches
the end of the first sprint line. Remember to keep your angles as
precise as possible. That's part of the drill, guys. Now stand
up and start over. This drill can hold up to 6 runners. Try
it. |
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