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