Fewer kids play baseball today then they used to.  They have more options, as many other sports are offered in the spring in addition to baseball.  Sports like lacrosse, flag football, and soccer have encroached on what was baseball’s traditional season.  These sports are, arguably, faster-paced and more athletic alternatives.   Baseball, however – is our national past-time and continues to be a unique sport that also teaches children valuable life lessons. 

In baseball there are periods of inactivity that are more difficult for today’s kids to deal with (they seem to need more constant stimulation).  During practices, coaches can control the amount of inactivity that kids experience.  Running an efficient practice is the best way to handle these inactive moments that doom a baseball team. Coaches can give kids a better experience and make them better baseball players, by increasing their repetitions in practices.  Engage them and watch out for how long a kid is “standing around”.  Here are some tips for running an efficient, tight practice:

1. Obtain help from parents/coaches. Ask them!


2. Split kids into groups of three or four players.  (Minimum of 3 groups!)


3. Run separate drills (stations) for each group, rotating groups so all get reps at each drill.


4. Be organized.  Know what you want to do for practice and write it down before practice.


5. Challenge kids with competitions and reward the winners.  Reward kids for practicing the correct fundamentals!


6. Avoid batting practices with one batter and 11 fielders.  Bad use of time.  Use hitting drills (like soft toss, wiffle balls, hit sticks and tees) and remember the more swings a child gets, the better.


7. Baseball is a tough sport, requiring learned skills and proper fundamentals.  It’s very important that you praise and correct a child for the right things!!  Make sure parents understand the correct fundamentals also.  We don’t want kids practicing the wrong things.

Active kids are happy and they will respond better to their coach.  Minimize downtime at practice and increase the amount of time they touch, or hit a baseball.  You will find that kids will improve faster, feel better about themselves, win more games, and have a more enjoyable season.  Call your division director for ideas, tips and drills to run more efficient practices.

With thanks to Deke Lincoln and Joe Mountain.