Baseball Training for Kids

Learn about baseball training for kids.

With the advent of tee-ball, many kids begin playing organized baseball as early as five years old. It is important to instill good training techniques and fundamentals into kids so as they grow, the quality of their baseball game grows with them. By understanding and mastering the basics of baseball, they can be competitive on the field through their youth baseball years.

Basic Rules

It is important that kids understand the basic rules associated with baseball. Such general rules include things like there are nine innings in a game, there are two halves to an inning, each inning consists of three outs. Going over the basics of baseball including how many strikes and balls make up strike-outs and walks respectively will give them a window into the game. Even if their youth baseball league does operate in the exact manner as the pros, once they understand the basics, the rest can be explained.

Hitting

The offense in baseball is based primarily on hitting. Usually the more hits a team has, the more runs they score, and ultimately having more runs than the other team is the name of the game. Baseball drills that can be beneficial to kids are things such as hitting off a tee, employing soft-toss drills and ultimately hitting a baseball being thrown from the pitcher's mound.

Throwing

One of the keys to defense is to be able to accurately throw the ball to teammates. Simple throwing drills that teach kids how to throw from a mere few feet away at first, and then having them create a farther and farther distance will get them used to throwing the baseball across the diamond. Tricks of the trade are instructing kids to point their glove at the person they are throwing to while the baseball is outstretched behind them at the beginning of the throwing motion. Also, their front throwing foot should be pointing in the exact direction of where they are throwing as well. This body alignment will go a long way in the accuracy of their throws. Once they have the accuracy down, they can then move to adding additional speed on the baseball.

Fielding

The other important aspect in baseball training for kids in regard to defense is teaching them how to field. Good habits should be promoted for catching ground balls, such as aligning yourself directly behind the ball, keeping your glove down on the grass and using two hands to catch the baseball. When it comes to catching fly balls and line drives teaching good habits in terms of calling for the ball, using the baseball glove to shade the sun, and how to track the baseball will go a long way in teaching the fundamentals. Hitting ground balls, pop-flys and line drives to the team for a large amount of practice is one of the best ways to get them used to live game play.

Situational Baseball

As the kids mature in the youth leagues, they will need to start to understand situational baseball. Examples are things like when a runner should steal, or where the defense should throw the baseball to get the out if there is more than one option. Having players act as offensive runners, while the coach hits baseballs to the kids in the field will accomplish two things. It will help the offensive players understand how to run the bases, while at the same time teach the defense what to do as each situation arises.

References

• QC Baseball: Baseball Drills
• Baseball Tutorials
• Baseball Tips: Making Practice Fun and Effective