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PRACTICE 9 Focus: Agility, Pitching/Catching, Catching, Throwing, Fielding/Footwork, Infield/Outfield, Situations, Hitting
Agility Warm Up (10 Min)
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One foot in each moving forward
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Two feet in each moving forward
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Two feet in each moving laterally
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Player starts at front left cone with their glove and shuffles laterally to the right in an athletic position
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Once past the front right cone, the player sprints forward until past the cone ahead
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Once past, the player shuffles to the left
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When the player reaches the front of the ladder, they move forward with quick feet stepping one foot in each
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When player exits the ladder they use the proper footwork to enter the second ladder breaking down into a fielding position and extending the glove to the ball
Catching/Throwing (15 Min)
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Players start throwing to each other
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Knee wrist snaps with glove
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Regular throws starting close and slowly move back.
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Add a competition for fun having the players attempt to throw into a bucket from 10-12 feet
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The focus is on elevating the ball with a proper release point and wrist snap
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Stay athletic when receiving moving the feet to the ball
Introduce Infield/Outfield (40 Min)
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Outfield
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Put the players into positions
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Have them rotate between 2 positions during the infield/outfield session as the coaches should know the potential of each player at this point
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Use coaches as base runners so players can visually see what’s happening on the bases
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Start with the outfield by hitting balls to each position starting with no base runners, explaining where to throw the ball, who is the cut off, and what the rotations are for each player
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Add a runner on 1st, then 1st and 2nd, and finally base loaded, and repeat where to throw the ball, who the cut off is, and what the rotations are for each player
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Infield
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Emphasize proper footwork ,throwing, and catching
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Again, use coaches as base runners so players can visually see where the play should be
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Explain the difference between a force out and a tag play
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Put coaches at the various bases discussing where the play should be if X position received the ball and the infield and outfield rotations
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With force and tag plays make sure the player is gets to the proper positioning to tag the base and stay away from a slide
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Encourage communication in both the infield and outfield as to where the play is and where to throw the ball
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Hitting (30 Min)
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Tee
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Athletic stance with no stride approach
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Feet positioned straight or slightly inward with weight on the inside
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Feet are positioned just outside the shoulders with equal weight on each
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Have the player just get to contact and through to extension starting slow then progressively getting faster maintaining proper form
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Focus on staying athletic through to extension with chin staying down
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Have the player take a full swing finishing high at the shoulder
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Position the tee to the middle contact point and have the player take a full swing
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Position the tee to inside contact point and have the player take a full swing
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Position the tee to outside contact point and have player take a full swing
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Make necessary adjustments to a player’s swing
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Soft Toss
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Coach kneels to the side and slightly in front of batter
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Coach slowly tosses the ball to batters strike zone
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Batter swings through with focus points above
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Front Toss
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Coach pitches from 12-15 feet away
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Keep focus on proper mechanics
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Make necessary adjustments
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Pitching (20 Min)
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Wrist snaps restraining pitching arm shoulders stay isolated
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L Drill
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Glove pointed to target
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Body is open with glove shoulder facing target
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Pitching arm is straight up with ball
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Feet are positioned at a 45 degree angle towards target
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Back heel starts raised
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Player takes a small step with the front foot
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Then the back leg drives towards the target
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Back knee finished close to front knee
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Glove arm and pitching arm drive down together
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Wrist snap to target
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Knee Arm Circle (Right Handed Pitcher)
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Right knee is on the ground at a 90 degree angle to the target
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Left leg is extended to the target
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Glove and front shoulder are facing target
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Pitching arm is elevated above and out over the body
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Player starts by driving the pitching arm down in a circular path
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The ball is snapped toward the target by the hip
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Full Motion or Lunge Leg Drive
Catching
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Setup/Positioning
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Feet are shoulder width apart
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Knees fully bent
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Back is straight
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Glove arm is at 90 degree with glove opened towards pitcher
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Throwing hand is behind back
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Introduce Framing/Receiving
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The coach demonstrates the proper fundamentals of framing/receiving
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Glove arm stays flexed and out in front
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For an inside pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers thumb is up
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For an outside pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers thumb is down
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For a high pitch, upon catching the ball the catchers palm is down
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For a low pitch, the catcher receives the ball finger tips up
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