10u practice 8 | eaconsulting

PRACTICE 8 Focus: Hitting, Fielding/Footwork, Base Running

Agility Warm Up (10 Min)

Player shuffles laterally right and left around the outside of the cone with glove tucked

Running with their glove tucked in and out of cones
Every other time, have the player drop step around the cone

Hitting (35 Min)

Tee
- Athletic stance with no stride approach
- Feet positioned straight or slightly inward with weight on the inside
- Feet are positioned just outside the shoulders with equal weight on each
- Have the player just get to contact and through to extension starting slow then progressively getting faster maintaining proper form
- Focus on staying athletic through to extension with chin staying down
- Have the player take a full swing finishing high at the shoulder
- Position the tee to the middle contact point and have the player take a full swing
- Position the tee to inside contact point and have the player take a full swing
- Position the tee to outside contact point and have player take a full swing
- Make necessary adjustments to a player’s swing

Soft Toss
- Coach kneels to the side and slightly in front of batter
- Coach slowly tosses the ball to batters strike zone
- Batter swings through with focus points above
Front Toss
- Coach pitches from 12-15 feet away
- Keep focus on proper mechanics
- Make necessary adjustments
Sacrifice Bunts
- Athletic stance with feet opened up towards pitcher
- Bat start at the top of the strike zone
- Bat is at eye level
- All pitches above the bat, the bat is pulled back
- All pitches in the strike zone, the legs get the bat to the ball
- Arms are flexed and upon contact a small push can be made to the ball
- Bat is slightly angled for placement down 3rd and 1st

Introduce Base Hit Bunts
- Have a coach demonstrate the proper fundamentals of a base hit bunt
- Player sets up in an athletic stance
- As the pitch is delivered the player starts to drop step with their back foot
- The players back foot touches the ground on the drop step as contact is made with the ball
- All pitches above the bat, the bat is pulled back
- Bat is slightly angled for placement down 3rd and 1st

Base Running (15 Min)

Running with proper mechanics
- Running on the balls of the feet
- Elbows in, arms pumping
- Head up looking at the base ahead
Running through the first base bag, touching the front of the bag and breaking down
Rounding first base touching the inside of the bag
Focus on taking proper angles when rounding
Time players running from home to first and home to second
Log the times and compare them to their past timed run to see their progress
Sliding

Catching/Throwing/Fly’s (25 Min)

Knee wrist snaps with glove
Throwing from the knees
Regular throws starting close and slowly move back.
Add a competition for fun having the players attempt to throw into a bucket from 10-12 feet
The focus is on elevating the ball with a proper release point and wrist snap
Catching and moving through the ball
- Player sets up in an athletic position
- The player steps forward with her glove foot as she receives the ball fingertips up and throwing hand to the side
- The player continues working through the catch by carrying her momentum forward as she crosses over with her throwing hand foot
- The players momentum continues through the ball as she plants her throwing hand foot
- Her glove foot strides toward the target finishing in a throwing position
Coaches toss short fly balls directly to the player
- Focus should be catching ball above the shoulder finger tips up
- Player’s left foot should be forward when catching if possible
- Encourage the player to communicate “ball”, “ball”, “ball”
Start with short fly balls and progress higher as appropriate
Drop step left (right handed player)
- Player sets up in an athletic position
- Player drop steps with their left foot while tucking the glove
- The player crosses over with their right foot
- The proper angle is then taken towards the ball
Drop step right (right handed player)
- Player sets up in an athletic position
- Player drop steps with their right foot while tucking the glove
- The player crosses over with their left foot
- The proper angle is then taken towards the ball

Infield Dailies (10 Min)

Dailies are performed by two players that are 5-7 feet apart
If the players are having difficult feeding to each other and it's not efficient, have the coaches step in

Fielding Circuit (20 Min)

Circuit 1 (10 Min)
- Equal players are positioned at 3rd, short stop, and 2nd
- For the first five minutes
- The player at 3rd fields a ball rolled from the coach at home and throws to 1st, Player then rotates to short stop
- The player at short stop fields a ball from a coach close to the pitching mound and throws to 2nd, then rotates to 2nd
- The player at second receives the throw from the short stop with the footwork to turn a double play, then rotates to 3rd
- Next five minutes
- Same fielding positions, only the coach rolls to 2nd and the throw is received by the short stop
- The player at short stop receives the throw from the second baseman with the footwork to turn a doubt play, then rotates to 2nd

Circuit 2 (5 Min)
- Equal players are positioned at short stop, and 2nd
- The player at short stop fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 1st, then rotates to 2nd
- The player at 2nd fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 3rd, then rotates to short stop

Circuit 3 (5 Min)
- Equal players are positioned at short stop, and 2nd
- The player at short stop fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 3rd, then rotates to 2nd
- The player at 2nd fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 1st, then rotates to short stop

Pitching (20 Min)

Wrist snaps restraining pitching arm shoulders stay isolated
Long Toss
- The pitcher starts at the mound and moves back about three feet after each successful pitch across the plate
- Once the pitcher fails to reach the plate, she moves forward and starts her long toss from that location
- The pitcher pitches 20 pitches from this location
Full Motion from the mound

Catching

Setup/Positioning
- Feet are shoulder width apart
- Knees fully bent
- Back is straight
- Glove arm is at 90 degree with glove opened towards pitcher
- Throwing hand is behind back
Framing/Receiving
- Glove arm stays flexed and out in front
- For an inside pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers thumb is up
- For an outside pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers thumb is down
- For a high pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers palm is down
- For a low pitch, the catcher receives the ball finger tips up
Blocking
- Feet are kicked out behind catcher
- Body/Chest is over the ball
- Shoulders are square to the plate
- Glove is positioned on the ground between legs
- Throwing hand is placed behind the glove to protect it
- Chin is to the chest
- Goal is to have the ball hit the chest and drop straight down towards the plate
Throwing
- Upon catching the ball, the catcher pops up staying in an athletic position
- Feet touch down on the balls simultaneously
- Glove shoulder is facing target
- Glove is pulled towards ear and ball is transferred to throwing hand
- The ball is separated from the glove in back of throwing shoulder

Player shuffles laterally right and left around the outside of the cone with glove tucked

Running with their glove tucked in and out of cones

Every other time, have the player drop step around the cone

Tee

Athletic stance with no stride approach

Feet positioned straight or slightly inward with weight on the inside

Feet are positioned just outside the shoulders with equal weight on each

Have the player just get to contact and through to extension starting slow then progressively getting faster maintaining proper form

Focus on staying athletic through to extension with chin staying down

Have the player take a full swing finishing high at the shoulder

Make necessary adjustments to a player’s swing

Soft Toss

Coach kneels to the side and slightly in front of batter

Coach slowly tosses the ball to batters strike zone

Batter swings through with focus points above

Front Toss

Coach pitches from 12-15 feet away

Keep focus on proper mechanics

Make necessary adjustments

Sacrifice Bunts

Bat start at the top of the strike zone

Bat is at eye level

All pitches above the bat, the bat is pulled back

All pitches in the strike zone, the legs get the bat to the ball

Arms are flexed and upon contact a small push can be made to the ball

Bat is slightly angled for placement down 3rd and 1st

Introduce Base Hit Bunts

Have a coach demonstrate the proper fundamentals of a base hit bunt

As the pitch is delivered the player starts to drop step with their back foot

The players back foot touches the ground on the drop step as contact is made with the ball

All pitches above the bat, the bat is pulled back

Bat is slightly angled for placement down 3rd and 1st

Running with proper mechanics

Running on the balls of the feet

Elbows in, arms pumping

Head up looking at the base ahead

Focus on taking proper angles when rounding

Time players running from home to first and home to second

Log the times and compare them to their past timed run to see their progress

Add a competition for fun having the players attempt to throw into a bucket from 10-12 feet

The focus is on elevating the ball with a proper release point and wrist snap

Player sets up in an athletic position​​

The player steps forward with her glove foot as she receives the ball fingertips up and throwing hand to the side

The player continues working through the catch by carrying her momentum forward as she crosses over with her throwing hand foot

The players momentum continues through the ball as she plants her throwing hand foot

Her glove foot strides toward the target finishing in a throwing position

Focus should be catching ball above the shoulder finger tips up

Player’s left foot should be forward when catching if possible

Encourage the player to communicate “ball”, “ball”, “ball”

Start with short fly balls and progress higher as appropriate

​Player sets up in an athletic position

Player drop steps with their left foot while tucking the glove

The player crosses over with their right foot

The proper angle is then taken towards the ball​

​Player sets up in an athletic position

Player drop steps with their right foot while tucking the glove

The player crosses over with their left foot

The proper angle is then taken towards the ball

Infield Dailies (10 Min)

​​

Dailies are performed by two players that are 5-7 feet apart

If the players are having difficult feeding to each other and it's not efficient, have the coaches step in

Circuit 1 (10 Min)

Equal players are positioned at 3rd, short stop, and 2nd

For the first five minutes

The player at 3rd fields a ball rolled from the coach at home and throws to 1st, Player then rotates to short stop

The player at short stop fields a ball from a coach close to the pitching mound and throws to 2nd, then rotates to 2nd

Next five minutes

Same fielding positions, only the coach rolls to 2nd and the throw is received by the short stop

Circuit 2 (5 Min)

Equal players are positioned at short stop, and 2nd

The player at short stop fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 1st, then rotates to 2nd

The player at 2nd fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 3rd, then rotates to short stop

Circuit 3 (5 Min)

Equal players are positioned at short stop, and 2nd

The player at 2nd fields a ball from a coach at home and throws to 1st, then rotates to short stop

The pitcher starts at the mound and moves back about three feet after each successful pitch across the plate

Once the pitcher fails to reach the plate, she moves forward and starts her long toss from that location

The pitcher pitches 20 pitches from this location

Setup/Positioning

Player sets up in an athletic position

Player sets up in an athletic position

The proper angle is then taken towards the ball

Player sets up in an athletic position