Baseball Practice – Running an Organized Practice

The key to running an organized baseball practice is planning and consistency so players know what to expect at every practice. Early in the season, practices will always feel less organized, but as players get used to the routine, their practice sessions will run more smoothly and players will receive much more benefit in less time and have more fun.

If you’re running a youth practice, you may not have assistant coaches, but recruiting parents to help will get parents involved, giving them more time with their kids and building their support. Helping parents should have clearly defined instructions on each exercise and clear instructions on how to be impartial. I have found that a preseason meeting with parents with a handout explaining the goals and instructions for each drill is a great way to organize parents and will help them organize their practice schedule.

Having a consistent practice schedule helps organize your baseball practice. Divide your practice time into time slots where you work on different facets of the game and always keep these time slots in the same order by simply changing the drills. For example, have players show up and start catching one of the foul lines on the field, then stretch, then move on to team defensive drills, then individual defensive drills, then individual hitting drills, and finally conditioning. Structuring your practice this way will help players learn a routine and know where they need to be and what to expect next.

Dividing your players into small groups during stretches and using a drill station practice setup for individual drills keeps players engaged during practice and is more efficient. To give an example of a station practice plan for individual fielding drills, I would divide the players into groups of four. Set up a station to field ground balls at the third base line and throw to first. In right field, set up a station for outfielder drills catching fly balls and hitting the cut man. In left field, set up a station for players to work on fielding bunts and making a short throw. The size of your groups should not be more than four, the time they spend at each station and the number of stations depends on the time available and the number of players.

Running a season-style baseball practice limits down time so players maintain their interest. Just as much care must be taken when planning for safety as drills, considering where the balls will fly and locating their stations accordingly. Make sure helmets are available at batting drills. The practice will seem a bit confusing at first, but you’ll find that a station-type baseball practice will take less time and be much more organized once the players have gone through the drills for the first time.