How to Teach Speed in Baseball

Speed is an important element in baseball, but it must be combined with agility. Simple aerobic exercise like jogging or running laps won't do much to help your baseball students reach the reactive speed they need to successfully play the game. Instead, you need to teach your students to react and move quickly based on the attributes that are specific to their game by using things like auditory and visual cues. Help your students attain a greater level of speed by conducting some drills.

Things You'll Need

  • Baseball
  • Bases
  • Stopwatch
  • Water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Get a group of students to train together and divide them into teams of two. This helps to solidify the team aspect of the game and makes training easier because several drills require more than one individual to be effective.

    • 2

      Start the training with a sprinting drill using two bases spaced roughly 30 yards apart. One student should be at each base. The student completing the drill is the runner while the other student provides the cue to start the runner off.

    • 3

      Instruct the student who is not completing the drill use a baseball to cue the runner to start sprinting by hitting the baseball against the ground. This technique mimics the sound of a baseball landing. When the runner hears the sound, he should sprint as fast as possible to the other student at the second base. Repeat the drill several times, alternating between students, and use a stopwatch to keep track of speed improvements.

    • 4

      Position the student pairs so that both players are facing the same direction. Have one student throw the ball from behind the other. In this drill, the runner is the student without the ball, who will use the visual cue of the flying ball to determine where it will land. The runner must then sprint to the presumed landing spot and catch the ball. This not only increases speed but also helps ensure that players to do overestimate or underestimate the speed and distance to the landing area.

    • 5

      Alternate between students so that each individual gets a chance to sprint and throw. Then have the entire group line up behind you in a single file line. Instruct them that they are to follow your movements exactly and as quickly as possible. Lead the group around the field, changing your direction and footwork regularly. Do not tell the students what you will do next. This helps train your students to react and to do so faster with every change, thereby increasing their agility and making them better players.

    • 6

      Play a mock game with your group backward. In other words, have the players swing in the opposite direction from what they would normally do and run in a clockwise direction from third base, to second, to first, to home. This helps improve player's speed and agility because it trains the body to change directions easily. Since baseball is normally played in a single direction, this training will help in reacting to hits in field positions.