Bear Cub Baseball Recommendations

Rules for Players to follow Bear Cub Baseball Recommendations 1. Have Fun! 2. Be a good listener! 3. Hustle! Run everywhere! 4. Be a good Teammate and demonstrate Good Sportsmanship! 5. Be on time! If practice starts at 6 and you arrive at 6 YOU ARE LATE! Coaching Practice MUSTS Arrive early Have a written plan (here is a link to a great site for practice templates for you to fill in) o http://www.baseballbytheyard.com/little-league-practice-templates/ When the league assigns you a field and time, tell the players and parents your actual time is 15 minutes earlier so they are there and you can always warm-up and throw in the grass before the field is available. Then when the other team vacates you are ready to go with no delays. Perform dynamic warm-ups and stretches prior to starting and throw first ALWAYS! At the end of practice you should also stretch and cool down. DO NOT use push-ups or other physical exercises as a punishment for poor behavior. This only sends the message that exercise is a punishment! WRONG MESSAGE! Keep your teaching points to 2-3 things in a drill. Any more than that and they will learn nothing. Keep stations and drills to the number of minutes that matches the age. 7 year olds should not really be in a drill that is longer than 7 minutes, their attention span is not really that long. If at all possible, try to keep movement in your drills. If one player is performing a long drill and the other 3-4 players in that group are standing around you have lost them. Always try to incorporate all aspects of the game in each practice. Throwing, Fielding, Base Running and Hitting! Definitions: Front Toss Underhand pitching from around 15 in front of player. USE this a lot, it is better at getting reps than watching you struggle to throw full distance. You also want to limit player pitching to save arms. Soft Toss This is underhand toss from the side in an attempt to get a ball out on the front of the plate. Be careful your position as it could shoot off and hit you. Also, this is a difficult one for the player to do a full stride on since the ball is not traveling very far and there is no real timing mechanism for his stride. Here is a nice simple soft toss drill you could incorporate in your hitting rotation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhmwne2azse Page 1 of 15

Hitting Setup WARNING: DO NOT have the hitting portion of practice be solely made up of everybody in the field with a batter taking countless swings in an attempt to teach them anything. This is a waste of everyone s time as they all watch the batter hack through a bucket. One setup you can have for hitting practice outside is to have 4-5 stations set up for a hitting progression. One approach might look like this: 1. Have one station in right field with a coach throwing front toss to a batter doing nothing but working on bunts. 2. Have another station outside the field doing tee work against the fence. It is highly recommended that you get soft hit balls or wiffle balls for this as hitting hard balls against the fence damages the fence, the ball and potentially the player or coach when it comes back off the fence. Soft Hit balls: http://www.hittingworld.com/soft_hit_baseballs_p/sfh-bb.htm Plastic balls: http://www.amazon.com/baseballs-regulation-crown-sporting- Goods/dp/B009L902CW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455740673&sr=8-2&keywords=wiffle+ball+baseballs 3. Have another station in left field or on the other side outside the field of play working full swing with small golf ball size plastic balls. Great for hand eye coordination and doesn t hurt to bad when the kid zips one back at you. Plastic Golf balls: http://www.amazon.com/sklz-mini-practice-balls- plastic/dp/b0019gk7lq/ref=sr_1_1?ie=utf8&qid=1455740823&sr=8-1&keywords=wiffle+ball+golf 4. Have remaining players in the infield (in positions) and a batter at the plate. Initially work on front toss here and limit the # of swings. Fielders are encouraged to make the play at whatever base you want. Do not let the player take swings till he hits one. Be strict about the number of pitches to keep practice moving. You can figure out your best rotation and this goes especially well when you have enough adult volunteers to be at each station. If you are trying to get specific points across in your hitting philosophy it would be best to make sure all adult helpers know what they are and are singing from the same sheet of music. NO mixed signals for the kid. WORD OF CAUTION: Ask your parents if they are having their player receive private instruction and then ask what the coach is focusing on. You should only make suggestions after seeing what the player needs help with and then discuss with parents. DO NOT assume you know more than their private instructor and undo all that the kid is working on, let him/her figure it out and just offer gentle suggestions. Page 2 of 15

Drill: "Good Eye" (Advanced) Purpose: This drill forces the batter to closely watch the ball all the way in from pitcher to bat. This can be one of your hitting stations. Equipment Needed: Place several red dots on one ball, several blue dots on a second ball, and several green dots on a third. Setup: Have a pitcher randomly grab a ball and then call out a color as he/she is pitching, keeping the true identity secret from the batter. Execution: The batter should hit the ball if it matches the color called out by the pitcher. The pitcher should call out the true identity about half the time and a false identity half the time. If the actual dot color does not match the color called out, the batter should not swing. Variation: Have the batter call out the colors after he takes or hits without the pitcher having said anything prior. Page 3 of 15

Drill: Box plus One (Intermediate) Purpose: Working on quick glove to throw transition and slap tags in variation Equipment Needed: Ball Setup: 5 Players form a square approximately 10-15 apart with the extra player behind the player with the ball first. Execution: 1st player performs an underhand throw to the player to his immediate left and after he throws it he runs to that same position. The player that receives the throw then turns and does the same underhand throw to the player to his left and runs to that position and so on. The ball is traveling in a clockwise manner around the square and the players are following. The 5th player replaced the 1st player at the starting point of the box and will receive the ball last only to immediately continue the box in the same continuous direction. Variation: The direction can change with the player performing a spin to his left and making the throw. The distance can be increased requiring overhand throws with slap tags performed at the corners. Ultimately this can be full base distances around the diamond going from H to 3B to 2B to 1B and back to H thus becoming Around the Horn. Page 4 of 15

Drill: Round the Horn (Intermediate) Purpose: This drill simulates throwing down runners, double plays, fielding grounders. Kids really enjoy it. Equipment Needed: Infield area with bases and balls. Setup: All infield positions are used except for the pitcher. You can use this drill with 5 or rotate more players in. Execution: 5 players - all infield except for pitcher. (Coaches can rotate more in if you want, but only 5 active each time around). everyone plays their position ball starts with the catcher and throws to 3rd to simulate a steal throw down 3rd throws a grounder to 2nd who fields the ball and flips it to the SS covering 2nd the SS throws to 1st the 1st baseman throws to catcher After 2 successful rounds (or whenever), players rotate. Keep rotating until all players have played all positions You can make this deal into a team competition by keeping track of errors and who made them. Players try to finish drill with no errors. Page 5 of 15

Drill: Beat the Runner Home (Intermediate) Purpose: This drill will improve infield play and focus on fast base running. This drill is designed to work on strong, accurate throws with a quick release, in addition to proper base running techniques. Equipment Needed: Balls Setup: The drill starts with someone at each infield position, except the pitcher position. You also have a catcher at home plate. There is also a runner ready to run standing on first base (wearing a helmet). Execution: Start the drill by hitting a ground ball to the SS. When you hit the ball, the runner starts to run to second. The SS fields and throws the ball to first, the first baseman then throws the ball to third base. The third baseman throws to second base, who throws the ball home, hoping to beat the runner. The runner that started at first base has now circled the bases and is trying to beat the throw home. Variation: Depending on the age group, you may have to adjust where the runner starts from. Page 6 of 15

Drill: Ground Ball Competition (Advanced) Purpose: This is a fun competition game for working on fielding grounders and getting in the proper position to field the ball. Equipment Needed: 8 cones or throw down bases or chalk to define playing area; Balls Setup: Split group into 2 teams. Maximum of 3 or 4 on each team. Can be played with as few as 2 players (1 on 1 game). Execution: 1 Player is playing at a time for each team. Both players must start behind back cone or line. Player with the ball throws the ball toward the player on the other team. Rules for throwing are: 1. Ball can bounce any number of times before getting to the other team. 2. If thrown in the air, it must be caught or hit the ground before going over the back line. (see #1 in illustration above) 3. Ball must be thrown between the cones. (see #2) First player in the line from the other team must move forward and field the ball anywhere in the fielding area. He doesn't have to let it bounce as long as he stays in the fielding area. (see #3) Once he has fielded the ball, he becomes the thrower and throws the ball back to the player on the other team. He then goes to the end of the line. Scoring - Points are given for mistakes and can be given to either the throwing or fielding team. The goal is not to get points. 1 point is added to the team total for each of the following: Ball is not fielded cleanly (defined as not hitting the ground after hitting the glove or other body part) Ball is fielded outside of the fielding area. Throwing team throws the ball outside the fielding area. First team to 10 points loses. Variation: You can add additional rules based on what you want them to work on. If you want them to work on fielding the ball in front of them, have a rule that the ball must travel over the back line in play or it is considered a throwing error. This prevents players from trying to cut the corners with the throw. Now, if you would like them to work on fielding balls to the side as well as in front, allow throws to be legal as long as they hit once in the fielding area. Page 7 of 15

Drill: Relay Race (Beginner) Purpose: This is a good conditioning drill and helps players work on making good turns when taking extra bases. Equipment Needed: 2 Balls Setup: Split your team into 2 equal squads. Have half the team at home and half at second. Execution: Have the first player in line start with the ball in his hand. On your signal each team will start running around the bases. After each player runs around the bases, he will hand the ball to the next player. First team to get all players completely around the base path wins. Variation: To add a level of difficulty and decision making, use tennis balls and let the players throw the ball to the next player any time after he has rounded the last base. Page 8 of 15

Drill: Dueling Fungos (Beginner) Purpose: To get maximum amount of infield practice while keeping more kids engaged and moving. Coaches Needed: 2 Equipment Needed: 2buckets of balls and a target at home Setup: Split your team into 2 equal squads. Have half the team at SS and half at 2B. Execution: Two coaches take turns hitting ground balls and checking fundamentals, one hitting from the third base side of home plate to the players at the second base station and one from the first base side of home plate to the kids at the shortstop station (a single coach could be used hitting balls alternately to each team). As coaches hit ground balls to each player, they must field with proper technique, meaning they must get into the ready position, field correctly, shuffle their feet, make a good aggressive throw and then return to the end of their line. The throws are made into a target net behind home plate. If proper fielding technique is accomplished and the ball ends up hitting the target or within reason of it, that player s team earns a point first team to a pre-determined number of points is the winner. This is a fast paced drill that keeps players engaged and encourages competition. This drill can be used for CP1 and higher. Variation: For target, coaches can use an empty bucket with a bat inside standing up with a batting helmet on the end as the target. This is very close to ideal position for a catcher to then apply a tag. Page 9 of 15

Drill: Force Play/Turn 2 (Advanced) Purpose: Focus on getting lead runner in a force situation at 2B. -4 Equipment Needed: Balls Setup: Evenly divide up players in to 3 groups one at SS one at 2B and one at 1B. Execution: Coach at home hits grounder to SS and that player makes appropriate throw to Second Baseman coming over to cover 2B. That player then throws on to 1B. SS then goes to back of 2B line and the 2B goes to back of 1B line, 1B goes to back of SS line. Coach can switch and hit to the 2B and he then throws to SS who throws on to 1B. The 2B then goes to SS line and the SS goes to 1B line and the 1B goes to back of 2B line. Variation: Make sure waiting players give players in front plenty of room by being in the grass. Either keep empty bucket at 1B to have player put the balls in or have them throw on to Home. Good idea to have coaches behind all positions to secure missed balls so the drill can continue quickly instead of players running to retrieve these errant throws or missed grounders. This will insure pace of drill. Page 10 of 15

Drill: Outfield Zig Zag (Intermediate) Purpose: Teaches left to right movement while tracking a ball Equipment Needed: Balls Setup: Have players line up near coach and then one player goes out to an outfield position some number of feet away facing coach. Execution: Coach points right or left and the player moves directly in that direction while watching coach. The coach then points in opposite direction and the player then stops and runs back in that direction without turning back to coach. The coach throws a fly ball with enough air to allow player to settle under ball and make catch. Variation: Coach can make the throw more difficult and force players to catch while on the run. Page 11 of 15

Drill: Bare Hand Ground Work (Beginner) Purpose: Works on fundamentals of being low when fielding ground balls as well as the proper use of the hands when fielding ground balls. Coaches Needed: Any # Equipment Needed: Balls Video Link: (11 minutes) can skip ahead to see content https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=douwerodcnc&list=plztqosxdoinuk4bykus7wktluhlvr 8hP2 Setup: Have players arranged in a semi-circle (best with 3-4 players in each group) each group needs a coach. They should have no glove and should be down on their knees with their knees slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Execution: Coach sends slow rollers at a player and that player is working on fielding by bending at the waist getting low and using single bare glove hand to field the ball. Make sure the player fields the ball out in front not right under their face. Coach can roll only to the middle for the drill and then switch to have players work on forehand side or backhand side. Players should focus on dragging fingers through the dirt as they field the ball on forehands and backhands so they understand how low they need to be in order to field these balls correctly. Page 12 of 15

Drill: Snake Drill (Beginner) Purpose: Work on fundamentals of fielding ground balls including footwork and ball position in the glove when fielded. Very important to stress footwork here. Player should approach ball like an airplane landing with the feet hitting right then left as they field it for right hander and left right for a left hander. Do not let them do this wrong! Coaches Needed: 3 Total Equipment Needed: 6 buckets (3 at a minimum) with a few balls in 3 of the buckets. Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctwkhojbzm4 Setup: Have team line up single file with 1 st coach approximately 30 feet from the line. The coach will either be on an empty bucket or knee with a bucket with some balls to his side. The 2 nd coach is to the right of the players approximately 10 away again on an empty bucket or knee with some balls in an additional bucket by his side. The 3 rd coach is to the left of the first coach approximately 20 away in an identical position as other coaches. The coaches would form a triangle if viewed from above. Execution: 1 st Coach throws a slow roller to the 1 st player as he/she moves towards the coach. The player should field the ball on the glove side of the body and see it in to the glove. We are not trying to catch this grounder in the web but instead get it in the palm. The player should pause briefly in the fielding position to demonstrate they have the proper technique. Then run to coach and drop the ball in the bucket. They then curve around and go towards the 2 nd coach and so on through all 3 coaches before returning to starting line. This drill enables 3 players to be in the drill at the same time with the players in constant motion through the snake. Variation: Can run with just 2 coaches in a shorter snake. Players can also be encouraged to pop up from fielding position to throwing position before running to drop ball in bucket. Page 13 of 15

Drill: Four Ball (Beginner/Intermediate) Purpose: Teaches player to move forward on the ball. Equipment Needed: Balls (cones for variation of drill) Setup: Players line up at SS and one player is at 1B. Coach lines up 4 balls starting a few feet in front of the SS. The remaining 3 balls are 5-10 apart in a line towards Home. Execution: Coach says Go and the player charges the first ball and fields properly with glove and throwing hand and makes throw to 1B. That same player then goes back to the starting point and the coach says Go again and the player charges the next ball which is further away and so on through all 4 balls. That player then goes to 1B and the player at 1 st goes to back of SS line. Variation: Coach could set up a few cones in front of each ball that are lined up diagonally away from 1B and ask the player to approach the balls going around the cones which would promote fielding the ball headed in a direction that takes you to 1 st instead of straight in to home. This is more advanced and more about footwork for infielders trying to get them to field ground balls with their momentum headed towards the base they usually throw to. Page 14 of 15

Drill: Follow the Ball (Intermediate) Purpose: Warm-up and conditioning infield drill. Use this as a warm up drill to work on several different items quickly, while also working on running and conditioning in quick sprints. Good way to get the blood flowing at the start of a practice. Equipment Needed: Infield area with bases and balls. Setup: Place 1 player at each infield position except pitcher. All other players are in a line at SS ready to receive a ground ball. Execution: Coach hits a ground ball to the SS who throw to 1B, who throws to 2B, who throws to 3B who throws home. After each throw the player goes to the base they just threw to for the next round, and the catcher goes to the back of the line at SS (thus follow the ball). In all cases the focus is on good throws, proper catching technique and tagging. 1B should be focused on a proper step and catch, 2B, 3B and Catcher should receive the ball in the correct manner so they can place the tag quickly. Variation: You can also make it a game by counting errors for throwing and catching (fewest points is the winner). Page 15 of 15