Baseball Tips for Kids

Baseball can be fun for all ages, but elementary school kids learning the game can have a tough time picking up the skills and developing the necessary hand-eye coordination. Running drills on their level will help make the process run smoothly. Using competitive drills can keep players interested and engaged. Bringing baseball tips to kids' level can make them better players without their realizing you are working them.

  1. Keep It Simple

    • Breaking things down, such as teaching "the alligator," will help kids understand how to play baseball. The alligator is a technique to field ground balls. Tell the kids to think of their hands as an alligator's mouth. The base of the bare hand stays with the base of the glove. The end of glove needs to rest on the ground just as the bottom of an alligator's mouth would. When the ball reaches the glove, close the top hand down as the mouth would close on food to lock the ball into the glove.

      The cover hand protects the player's face. The glove on the ground prevents the ball from getting past the player. The simple terms of the alligator drill make it easy for the players to understand.

    Keep the Ball in Front

    • Players need to keep the ball in front of them. The countdown drill teaches kids that skill. It is a baseball version of hot potato. Have kids line up across from each other about 20 feet apart. They throw a ball back and forth while you count down from 30. The player holding the ball when the count reaches zero loses. Keep playing until only one player is left.

    Be Patient at Bat

    • Players must learn to be patient at the plate so they can get hittable pitches. One way to teach patience is to make a rule that kids should not swing the bat until they take at least one strike. Kids will learn to watch the ball and get a sense of whether a pitch is a hittable strike or a ball. As the season progresses, consider lifting the rule to let your players show the patience and the personal strike zone they have learned.

    Watch the Ball

    • Watch the ball. As simple as that sounds, it is crucial for fielding and batting. A drill to emphasize its importance uses yellow and white balls. Tell the batter to swing at only one of the colors. Tell fielders to catch only one of the colors. The similar colors force players to watch each ball all the way to determine the color. A player who hits or fields an incorrect color is out.