All Star Practice 6 | eaconsulting

ALL STAR PRACTICE 6 Focus: Agility, Catching/Throwing/Fly's, Infield Dailies, Timed Zig Zag, Fielding Circuit, Pitching/Catching, Hitting/Bunting, "Stinger" Hitting Game

Agility Warm Up (10 Min)

Player starts at bottom left cone with glove and sprints forward
Once past the top cone, the player back pedals in the opposite direction
Player continues until through all cones

Player start at bottom right cone with their glove and shuffles feet athletically until outside bottom right cone
Player sprints forward until past top right cone and shuffles left until outside top left cone
Player then back pedals to bottom left cone

Catching/Throwing/Fly’s (15 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

Timed Zig Zag (10 Min)

The team is lined up each having a throwing partner about 20 feet away
The ball starts on one end
The player's are positioned in an athletic position to receive the ball with both hands giving a target
With their feet running in place, they will call for the ball, "Ball"
Catching and moving through the ball
- 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

The time starts when player 1 throws the ball to player 2 and the time ends when player 1 receives the final throw after
Have the players repeat the zig zag 3-4 times trying to beat the previous time and best time
The focus should be on communication, footwork, quick ball transfers, and accurate throws

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

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

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

Hitting - "Stinger" Game (20 Min)
- This game can be played individually or in groups
- For the sake of this description we will split the team in to two even groups
- Group 1 is at bat first while group 2 is shagging in the field
- Each player in group 1 will have two rounds of at bats
- A coach front tosses from roughly 20 feet
- The batter should be selective on pitches to swing at only swinging at pitches they can hit hard
- During an at bat, the batter will continue to hit for every hard hit ball with the coach being the judge
- When the batter hits a ball that is not deemed a hard hit by the coach, she steps out and the next player steps in
- This continues until all batters have had two rounds
- Group 1 keeps a cumulative count of balls hit hard by their team
- After group 1 completes their round they shag on the field and group 2 bats
The focus on this game should be pitch selection and concentrating under pressure to hit each ball hard

Pitching (20 Min)

Wrist snaps restraining pitching arm shoulders stay isolated
L Drill
- Glove pointed to target
- Body is open with glove shoulder facing target
- Pitching arm is straight up with ball
- Feet are positioned at a 45 degree angle towards target
- Back heel starts raised
- Player takes a small step with the front foot
- Then the back leg drives towards the target
- Back knee finished close to front knee
- Glove arm and pitching arm drive down together
- Wrist snap to target
Knee Arm Circle (Right Handed Pitcher)
- Right knee is on the ground at a 90 degree angle to the target
- Left leg is extended to the target
- Glove and front shoulder are facing target
- Pitching arm is elevated above and out over the body
- Player starts by driving the pitching arm down in a circular path
- The ball is snapped toward the target by the hip
Lunge Leg Drive

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

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

Timed Zig Zag (10 Min)

​​

The team is lined up each having a throwing partner about 20 feet away

The ball starts on one end

The player's are positioned in an athletic position to receive the ball with both hands giving a target

With their feet running in place, they will call for the ball, "Ball"

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

​​

The time starts when player 1 throws the ball to player 2 and the time ends when player 1 receives the final throw after

Have the players repeat the zig zag 3-4 times trying to beat the previous time and best time

The focus should be on communication, footwork, quick ball transfers, and accurate throws

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

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

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

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

This game can be played individually or in groups