Youth Baseball Outfield Drills

Use drills designed for the outfield to teach children baseball fundamentals. Sometimes children don't like playing in the outfield because the ball isn't often hit that far by young batters. But with fun drills, you can show the team that the outfield positions can be just as exciting and important as the others.

  1. Hot Seat

    • Judging where a pop fly is going is one of the hardest parts about playing in the outfield. Use this drill to help kids practice that skill. Put a chair in the outfield or simply place a glove in the field for a child to sit on. This child is in the "hot seat." Have the rest of the team make two lines, one toward left-center field and another toward right-center field. A coach will hit the ball toward one of the lines and the child in the hot seat will have to yell out directions the first child in line must follow. For example, if the child needs to run up or go left or right, the hot seat child should tell him. Let each child take a turn in the hot seat.

    Angle

    • Sometimes, outfielders have to run long distances to catch a ball. For young players, it can be hard to judge the distance and whether they should run forward or backward. Emphasize to the players that it is always easier to stay behind the ball and let it come to you than to turn around and chase it. Have the outfielders line up on one side of the field. Then, hit balls far away from them and let them practice running in the correct direction, catching the ball and throwing it in. When a player finishes catching, he can get back in line. Go through the drill several times.

    Best Play

    • Help outfielders learn how to make the best play. For example, if a ground ball is hit to an outfielder and the lead runner is heading to second base, the best play is to throw the ball to second. With all of the players in the field, hit the ball to the outfielders, yelling out where the runners are as you hit. The players must quickly decide what to do with the ball, just like in a game situation.

    Timed Release

    • Young children love competition, so make this drill into a fun game. It's important that outfielders learn to catch the ball, take it out of their gloves, get into the throwing position and throw the ball in quickly. Line the players up in the field. One coach should be about 30 to 40 feet away and the other one should be near the players with a stopwatch. Hit the ball to the fielder, who should catch it and throw it in as fast as he can. The coach with the stopwatch will begin timing when the player catches the ball and stop when it leaves his hand. The player with the fastest time wins.