Baseball Drills (Covid-19 Version)

kanga12

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Nov 15, 2005
2,054
Bay Area
First of all, I can't believe it's already been 6+ years since I first started coaching/managing a Little League team. I still remember when I first started out how much help you all were in getting me ready with all your tips, drills, advice, etc. back when I started at the t-ball level. Over the past 6+ years, coaching Little League has been one of the surprising joys not only for me but for my wife as well -- and like all of you, we're pretty bummed that we're not on the field with the players...

With our season on hold (and possibly cancelled), I wanted to crowdsource what are the best drills you would recommend for players to do at home (with limited space) for ages 8-9. I'm hoping to email out some drills which parents can do with their kids -- but ideally, even some drills the players can do by themselves (which I know some of the players on my team are not only capable of but want to...) The division I'm coaching currently is the first level where players pitch to each other.

Thanks in advance!
 

TeddyBallgame9

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Jul 14, 2005
599
Ringgold, GA
First of all, I can't believe it's already been 6+ years since I first started coaching/managing a Little League team. I still remember when I first started out how much help you all were in getting me ready with all your tips, drills, advice, etc. back when I started at the t-ball level. Over the past 6+ years, coaching Little League has been one of the surprising joys not only for me but for my wife as well -- and like all of you, we're pretty bummed that we're not on the field with the players...

With our season on hold (and possibly cancelled), I wanted to crowdsource what are the best drills you would recommend for players to do at home (with limited space) for ages 8-9. I'm hoping to email out some drills which parents can do with their kids -- but ideally, even some drills the players can do by themselves (which I know some of the players on my team are not only capable of but want to...) The division I'm coaching currently is the first level where players pitch to each other.

Thanks in advance!
Pepper, still the best drill for any young player wanting to increase hand-eye-coordination and you can do it in a very limited space. On the hitting side, we used to make little tape balls that you would underhand toss to the "batter" (who is on one knee) from the side. Another hand-eye thing that requires little space. I can't imagine an 8 or 9 year old me not being able to play baseball. Good luck!
 

absintheofmalaise

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Mar 16, 2005
23,328
The gran facenda
If you have the space outside, wall ball with tennis balls is great for kids to practice catching balls at different angles and speeds.

A good hitting drill you can do indoors is to use those plastic golf balls if you don't feel like making balls out of tape.
 

Cumberland Blues

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Sep 9, 2001
5,193
We used to hit rolled up socks in the house when I was growing up.
My kid's a freshman in HS and he still hits rolled up socks off a tee (or soft toss) into a wall inside when we can't go outside. This is good for anyone who doesn't have a net or something else to hit into outside.
 

notmannysfault

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Dec 15, 2002
500
we're doing a very simple drill that I am surprised noone has mentioned.

the broomstick drill.

granted we have an aluminum "stickball" bat and a 12 dollar set of 75 tiny whiffle balls, but for my son, who has an excellent eye and technique, this is challenging and keepd him engaged.

we do soft toss and mound style pitching and he recognizes how hard this is with a tiny ball/skinny bat to the point that he is entirely focused on keeping his head and eyes in the proper position.

if he ever doubted stepping in the bucket and pulling his head out, he is becoming a machine at no longer making those mistakes.

I'm actually quite proud of his work doing drills of this type, given that he had a full baseball gym to work out in for the first time this winter (10u AAU player, town league consistent All-star) and has had to take a step backwards since.

Despite the lack of obvious reward, he has become a beast when it comes to hitting technique and maintaining a rigorous schedule, due much more to his own work ethic than to my constantly prodding him.
 
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