Baseball Drills for Kids

Youth baseball is a time for kids to learn the fundamentals of the sport, whether it is how to hit a line drive, steal a base or judge a fly ball. It is important for coaches to utilize practice time by having the players perform a variety of drills that emphasize hitting, defense, throwing and running the bases.

  1. Hitting Pop-Ups

    • Stand either at home plate or in the outfield, line up your players at their various positions and hit fly balls in their direction. This drill will help teach them to judge the flight of the ball. As they get more advanced, you can teach them how to best catch the ball, so their body is positioned to make a quick throw. Also, make sure players practice calling off their teammates if they are in a better position to make the catch.

    Hitting Ground Balls

    • Line up your players in various positions around the field and hit ground balls to them, varying the bounce of the ball and speed at which you hit it. This will teach them one of the hardest fundamentals of baseball, which is how to successfully track a ground ball. Follow through on the drill by having the players throw the ball to the correct base.

    Game Situations

    • Line up your defensive players and give various examples of game situations before hitting balls to them. For example, before hitting the ball, tell them "one out, men on first and second base." When you hit the ball, the players will then take into account the game situation and throw to the proper base. This will teach them to visualize what they will do before they get the ball.

    Going First to Third

    • Line up your players at first base and, one at a time, have them run around second base to third. While they are running, make sure they are taking the proper angle around second base so they maintain the highest level of speed. Make sure to instruct them to step on the inside part of second base to make the turn quicker.

    Running Bases

    • Divide the players in half and put them behind two consecutive bases (for example: first base and second, or second base and third, or third base and home plate) with one player acting as the base runner caught "in a rundown." The players at the bases will work on trying to get the runner out by throwing the ball between them, while the runner will work on trying to get safely to one of the bags.

    Garbage Can

    • Line up your players in the outfield and tip a garbage can over at home plate so the opening faces them. Gently roll or hit a ball at them, so they must collect the ground ball and then quickly throw toward the can. This will help improve a player's throwing accuracy and prepare them for game situations when they must make a quick throw to home plate to keep the other team from scoring.

    Sliding

    • Line players at first base and, one at a time, have them run to second base and slide into the bag. This is a simple drill, but key in their development at properly avoiding an opponent's tag as well as successfully stopping at the base. As the players progress further, introduce the pop-up slide, in which the player pops up immediately after the slide in case he needs to immediately begin running again.

    Quick-Toss Hitting

    • Have a player facing either a batting net or a fence and gently toss balls in front of him while he hits them into the fence. This will help the player's hand-eye coordination and, if you toss enough balls in rapid succession, will develop the player's arm muscles which will improve hitting.