How to Organize Baseball Practice

Baseball practice is often seen as a chore to older players because they have learned over time that practices are routine and boring. As a coach, it is your job to make sure your players don't fall into a rut. Start your practices off with fun drills to build team rapport. If you are successful at motivating your players to practice, you will yield the best results on the baseball field. Read on to learn how to organize baseball practice.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Gloves
• Baseballs
• A Large Empty Trash Can

Use Your Practice Time Wisely

1. Identify weaknesses early and use practice time to work on drills to strengthen these areas.
2. Make warm up time mandatory to avoid potential injury. Coaches should plan to spend at least the first ten minutes of practice time stretching and the next ten running sprints and playing soft toss.
3. Start every practice on time even if you only have half of your team at the field. A clear message about the start of practice may motivate the kids to arrive on time.
4. Create and organize a mental or written plan for each practice. The more effort you put in to preparation, the more effort you are likely to receive in return.
5. Organize stations for your players. Try breaking up the team into smaller groups of four to work on relays, hitting or catching skills.
6. Rotate the groups to a new station every 15 minutes to prevent boredom and keep the players focused on the task at hand.

Make Practice Fun

7. Reward your players. You don't have to offer high stakes to the winners--a candy bar or pack of gum will get the players hustling.
8. Praise your players often. If the kids know that you are paying attention to what they are doing, they will reward you with better effort.
9. Organize a friendly challenge among the players. Track points during the drills and acknowledge the players with the highest totals at the end of practice.
10. Be creative. It is important to have a variety of drills for your players. Take time at the beginning of the season to create at least two new drills for your team.
11. Keep the drills simple. You don't need fancy props to have a good practice. A large trash can placed on its side at first base can train your players to keep their throws low.

Tips & Warnings

• Teach kids the baseball skills they need while encouraging them to have fun.
• Mandate stretching before every game to prevent injuries.

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