Day 5 - Practice Plan

Building off Fly Ball work in practice #4.  Follow up work, on skills introduced in the previous practice, goes a long way towards solidifying skills. We focus on training the Pitcher to break to a corner base on all balls hit in the infield. While doing this, infielders get ground ball work.

Batting Practice: our goal is, to see the kids (and coaching staff) demonstrating an understanding of the flow of Batting Practice and having this activity run smoother.

Scrimmage is settling in as a daily aspect of the practice routine and, like Batting Practice, is running smoother and more efficiently.

Pre-Practice: Whiffle Ball Batting

0:00-0:15         

Skill Building Warm-up

  1.   6-5, P Backing-up       

  2.   Drop Step

  3.   Fly Ball Communication: 2b & 1b

[Catcher(s): Position specific work on the side]

 

 

0:15-0:30         

Playing Catch Practice

 

Instruction

  • Batting - Skip-a-Rock

  • Pitching & Throwing - Fingers Power Wrist Snap

 

No Bat Drills  / No Ball Drills

 

PCP Routine

  1.   Pitching  Practice

  2.   Position Player Throwing (35’ | 60’: Feet & Wrist)

  3.   Replaying the Ball

 

 

0:30-0:50

Team Drills

Instruction: Pitcher Movement - Balls hit to infield: Breaks to Corners on every ball to the Infield (BBB)

Drill: Three Groups

  • 6-5 (SS deep, OH Throw); P Backing-up

  • 4-6 (going away; OH Throw - Wrist)

  • 3-4 (P Backing-up)

 

 

0:50-1:00

Toss Drills - Angling In:

  1. Keep Running

  2. Reach Out to Catch

(‘Go For It’ in practice …don’t just let the ball drop)

1:00-1:05        <Break> 

 

 

1:05-1:40     

Batting Practice - 12-Player Drill                                         

  I. Live Batting (Full Field ) 

     Tee Work (p.3)

 

 II. Defense

      Play balls off the bat at a position

III. Skills Station

      Pitching

      Batting: Live Wiffle

 

 

1:40-2:00

Scrimmage

  • Review Structure

  • Each Player Bats 1x

 

*** Wiffle Ball Scrimmage ...on Rain/Wet Days***

BATTING

Instruction

Skip-a-Rock

  • Skip-a-Rock is the continuation of the Sideways Karate Chop action.

  • Just before contact, the Wrist snaps straight forward, similar to the action used when skipping a rock.

  • The energy of the Wrist Snap continues in a straight line out towards the field.  The top-hand arm follows the hand/wrist in a straight line until fully extended.

  • Set-up for the Skip-a-Rock dill:

                1.  Switch Heels position (Feet wider than the hips)

                2.  Elbow (bent) at the side of the torso

                3.  Top hand near their armpit

 

No Bat Drills

  • Twist                                                 4 seconds  x1

  • Switch Heels                                  x5  (Anchor: Head over Back Knee)

  • Sideways Karate                            x5  (Elbow leads)

  • Sideways Karate + Skip-a-Rock   x5  (Start from Elbow Drive position)

 

Tee Work

  1.  Switch Heels (Anchor: Drive off Pad of Back Big Toe)

  2.  Skip-a-Rock

 

PITCHING & THROWING

Instruction

  • Fingers, snapping down, power the Wrist Snap; the Wrist Snap leads the Snap Down action of the arm

  • We want to be very conscious of the movement of our fingers when throwing.  It is important to focus on the fingers snapping straight down through the top of the ball.

  • Reminder: Straight Lines ...all actions, including Head (and fingers)

 

 

No Ball Drills

Throwing

  1. Turn & Pull    x5

  2. Drive & Pull   x5

  3. Wrist Action   6-7 seconds (fingers power the action)

  4. Shuffle, Shuffle, Pull-Snap …momentum x1

 

Pitching

  • Snap Down   x5 (Fingers start the action)

Playing Catch Practice  

  1. Rocking: Drive & Pull (Anchor focus)

  2. Rocking: Pull-Snap (Fingers focus)

 

 

Skills Station

  • Rocking: Drive & Pull + Snap Down (Fingers focus)

 

Skill Building Warm-up

6-5 Play

  • Ball delivered a couple steps to Shortstop’s right; Pitcher sprints to Back-up

  • Rotation: SS > 3b > P> SS (extra player is at Shortstop; jumps in on the next repetition).

LINK: Drop Step & ‘Toss Drills’ Explanation - found in ‘Fly Balls’ section of Drills

LINK: Fly Ball Communication Drill Explanation — found in ‘Team Defense’ Table of Contents

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