Baseball Practice Plans and Drills
NEW! Baseball Zone’s interactive Practice Planner makes planning a practice and running fun and effective practices easy. Start a free trial now.
Baseball Zone’s practice plans are designed for coaches who want to run effective practices using fun drills and useful game scenarios. Our practice plans teach players about game-winning situations while getting them reps in an exciting and interesting way.
How To Plan A Baseball Practice
Practice design is not as intimidating as one would think. However, for the novice coach, it may be a daunting task. Baseball Zone’s Practice Planner makes it quick and easy. We have a bunch of great drills and formats already in there for you to choose from. Just point, click and print.
Here is a quick template that touches on the most important aspects of a practice for the younger kids:
Drills, Drills and More Drills
Drills are a great way to get the player to feel what you are trying to get them to feel. If done properly, they can benefit the players immensely. If done improperly, they are reinforcing bad habits.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent.”
Occupy Baseball, 99% vs. 1%
This time of year, many travel baseball teams here in the Midwest have secured inside training facilities on a weekly basis. Travel baseball is big business now. Players pay a pretty penny for coaches, training, leagues and tournaments. Training sessions for teams inside can last anywhere from an 1-2 hours. If your team is lucky enough (or has spent enough money), you will rent a field and some cages.
Fielding Footwork
While it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of major leaguers possess great arm strength, a closer look may reveal something you might not expect. Players seldom during a game “air it out.” Not every pitch or play requires a player to use 100% of his arm speed/strength. But when they have to, how do they do it?
What Really Loses The Game
Time and time again throughout the course of the season, games are lost more frequently by poor fielding. Think back to last year and remember how many times you won and lost and what the cause was. A missed ground ball, fly ball or bad throw turns into a run(s). An extra out may be all a team needs to push across the winning run or build a cushion to put the game out of reach.
Coach Training for Leagues
Volunteer coaches are vital to youth baseball, but many are first-timers who can get easily overwhelmed or frustrated. Training your coaches is crucial to your players’ development and happiness, as well as the success of your league.
Provide the coaches in your league with all the tools they need to succeed. Baseball Zone’s League Packages are customized from the following available options:
Individual Practice Plans
Having a well thought out individual practice plan is important. Players need reps and having a plan to get those reps efficiently can make for very productive workout.
Download these individual practice plans and practice planners if you are serious about getting your reps.
Practice Station Cheatsheet
This chart will help you quickly decide how many stations you want to do based on how many parents show up to help.
Download the Practice Station Cheatsheet here (PDF).
Fun Warmups for Baseball Teams
Here are some fun things to put in your warmup to get your players warm and stretched out.
- Arm Circles
- Rockets
- Stars - Jump up and put arms and legs out like a star
- Run the bases
For Older Players