| Most new
youth coaches make the same mistake during batting practice by
having a lot of people standing around while two or three players
are active. We pitch to one batter while the rest of the team
watches in boredom and hope that the ball will be hit to them.
Plan your
practices ahead of time so that there will be as little wasted
time as possible. If one player is taking batting practice, have
the infielders on alert for a possible grounder hit to them in
between missed pitches or while the catcher is chasing the ball.
Call out their name and hit to them and expect them to field it,
throw it back to the coach accurately and get ready for the next
pitch to the batter. If you do not have an extra coach who can hit
grounders accurately then ask a parent or player to throw
grounders to them. Anything to keep them on their toes. Also, have
the next batter standing by to chase foul balls.
The same
goes for outfielders. Call out their name and hit or throw them a
fly ball or grounder in between pitches and expect them to field
it, return it and be ready for the next pitch. If there is nobody
to hit to them, give them an extra ball and have them throw to
each other between pitches.
By doing
this and any number of other creative things, you will relieve the
boredom, have happier players, teach players to stay involved in
the game and improve their skills by getting them much more
hands-on fielding at each practice.
This tip was
contributed by Coach Ken O'Shields
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