One of my favorite drills/games to have the players play. It’s always funny to hear the groans and comments from the first timers. Interesting to hear kids say “tee’s are for little kids!” Haha! But when we explain how the game will go, boy do their eyes light up!!
I know some out there have their own versions of this but here’s how we’ve done it:
• Depending on the number of players, break them up into 2, 3 or even 4 teams.
• Each inning or team rotate, players need to go to a different position.
• Each play starts with the pitcher. Pitcher makes sure everyone is ready, goes through delivery throwing an imaginary pitch (ball is on a tee at home plate) and the hitter tracks it and swings to hit the ball. **Very important to not let the hitter hit until this happens. Have seen kids hit the ball when defense wasn’t ready. Safety first!
• Play it live from there.
• Play straight up or force situations.
• We’ve played no steals unless it’s a hit and run with the hitter trying to hit the ball to the right side.
• Hitters work on proper tee placement based on where they want to hit it (have a coach at home plate asking them what the goal is).
• Baserunners always working on good primary and secondary leads, aggressive turns, thinking two out of the box on ball to outfield, going 1st to 3rd or 2nd to home.
• Pitchers working PFP and backing up.
• For older players, have the pitchers work in pick off moves (obviously without a baseball) which will give the runners practice on reading the pitcher.
• Etc. Etc.
Kids love it! It’s fast paced and you can cover a lot in an hour. Have fun out there!
Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.
• Position players, study the opposing pitchers. Look for patterns in pitch selection. Tells in their delivery. How they handle hold times and pick off moves with runners on. See if they pay attention to the runner on third.
Besides physical tools, what goes on between our ears is absolutely vital for not just performing well but performing well consistently. 
Raising and developing people…
As a young player, I have no idea how many times this happened to me. I do know, though, that it was more than I would have liked. But to this day, all those moments have helped mold me into the parent and coach that I strive to be today.
Just as a pitcher or hitter, a fielder needs to have a plan before every pitch. They need to know the situation: how many outs, where are the runners, what is the score, where does this guy tend to hit the ball, what is my pitcher throwing on this pitch? All of these will determine what I will do if and when the ball is hit to me. A fielder without a plan can get caught with the ball in their hand and no sense where to throw the ball. At the amateur level, this happens all too often. Parents and coaches, take the time to explain this to your players. Watch a game in person or on TV and have fun with it. Have your Dude put themselves in that situation and ask them what would they do if the ball was hit to them. A good fielder is always thinking and has a plan for when the ball is hit to them.
If you play baseball, I’m sure you know what it means to have soft hands. If you haven’t, then listen up. To have soft hands means to field a ball with your hands moving back towards your body and up just as the ball gets to you. This also means to not have brick hands. How many times have you tried to field a ball only to have it hit right in your glove and bounce right back out? This more than likely happened because you had stone hands. Check out our instructional tip on soft hands to get a better understanding of what this should look like, but understand from this that the reason the ball keeps popping out of your glove is because you don’t have soft hands.
