Baseball has been a sport in America since 1846 and since then there have been lots of different drills coaches have invented to help baseball players improve their hitting abilities.
One of the things coaches wonder is, with all the different drills out there – which drills are the most fun? Well, you’re in luck because for the rest of this article we’ll be covering 6 fun hitting drills for youth baseball players.
6 fun hitting drills for youth baseball are:
- Pinball Drill
- Bunt Competition
- Bottle Cap Batting Practice
- Batting Practice Game with Goalie Net
- Home Run Derby
- Golf Game
Let’s take a few minutes to go over what each of these drills entails.
Article Contents
1) Pinball Drill
This drill is appropriately named the Pinball Drill because, just like in pinball, you’re aiming for a specific target with a ball. This drill also comes from Baseball Tutorials so feel free to also check out this drill on their site.
To perform this drill:
- You’ll stack 3 buckets in a triangle (alternatively, you can use almost anything else you want to make into a target)
- Place a tee about 20-30 feet away from the target
- Split the players into two different teams
- Teams will take turns hitting baseballs with the goal of hitting the baseball off of a tee and into the target
- Once one player has made an attempt they will go to the back of their team’s line.
- The first team to 5 points wins
The goal of this drill:
From this drill, players will learn to keep on top of the ball and learn how to better aim where they are hitting. And because everyone will be watching the person hitting the ball, it also helps players learn to hit while they’re feeling some pressure.
2) Bunt Competition
Bunting is a crucial aspect of baseball and is something that is often overlooked during practice. To encourage players to improve their bunting skills, a bunt competition could be just the thing your team needs.
To perform this drill:
- The coach will mark off a rectangular area of the infield they want their players to aim for when bunting (typically an area down the third base line and first base line). When players successfully bunt into these areas, they score a point.
- Split up the players into 2-4 teams
- Each player on each team gets 3 pitches to bunt
- Coaches will pitch (either manually or with a pitching machine) to players
- Whenever a player bunts the ball within the designated area they score one point for their team
- The team with the most points wins
The goal of this drill:
The drill encourages players to focus on bunting the ball within specified areas of the infield, while adding in that fun element of a competition. And similar to the previous drill, this drill helps batters perform under pressure because they have all eyes on them while they are also trying to help their team win.
3) Bottle Cap Batting Practice
To make things interesting, use plastic bottle caps for some batting practice. Once pitched, these bottle caps will go in many directions and force the batter to stay focused on what they’re hitting.
To perform this drill:
- The coach will line up about 20-30 feet in front of the batter, with many plastic bottle caps in their hand
- The batter will be using their normal bat
- The coach will throw bottle caps, one at a time, over the plate
- The batter will attempt to make contact with the pitched bottle cap
The goal of this drill:
When the plastic bottle caps are pitched, they will be moving all over the place – especially if there is wind. This will make hitting the bottle caps very difficult.
The goal of the batter is simply to keep their eye on the bottle cap and make contact with it when they swing. This drill will help batters focus while in the batter’s box and, because of the erratic movement of the bottle caps, you might even get a laugh or two out of this drill.
4) Batting Practice Game with Goalie Net
This fun drill is a combination of two sports – baseball and soccer. We’ll go over how the drill works without teams, but to step up the competition level you could always split out players into a few teams.
To perform this drill:
- Set up a small goalie net behind home plate, where the catcher would normally be
- The pitcher will attempt to get the ball into the net. It doesn’t matter if the pitch is a ball or a strike – the ball simply has to go into the net
- The batter will try to prevent the pitch from making it into the net by swinging at those pitches
- The batter with the least amount of balls in the net is the winner
The goal of this drill:
This drill will teach batters how to hit the ball where it is pitched and forces batters to focus on contact. It also adds excitement to the game when pitchers start bouncing the ball into the net!
5) Home Run Derby
This home run derby would be just like you see on TV where the focus is to hit the ball as far as possible. A home run derby is a great way to add some excitement and fun to any baseball practice.
To perform this drill:
- Each player gets 10 outs
- An “out” is anything a batter swings at that does not result in a home run
- Home runs do not count as outs
- The batter with the most home runs is the winner
The goal of this drill:
Everyone loves to hit for power and this drill taps into that desire to hit the ball as far as possible. A home run derby is a great way to get batters into the mindset of trying to smack the ball as hard as possible while still making solid contact.
6) Golf Game
The Golf Game for baseball is a combination of hitting the ball like you would in baseball and keeping score like you would in golf. Players will all pick a target, then take turns throwing the ball up to themselves and attempting to hit that target in as few turns as possible.
To perform this drill:
- The object of the game is to get to the target in the least amount of strokes as possible
- Players start by picking an object to be their target (fun tip – trash cans make great targets!)
- Players will take turns by tossing the ball up to themselves and hitting their ball towards the target (this is considered one “stroke”)
- After each player has had their turn, players walk up to their ball and repeat the process of trying to hit the target by tossing the ball up to themselves and swinging
- Once the player hits the target, they tally up their strokes. The player with the least amount of strokes is the winner of that hole.
- Players will pick another target to start another hole and repeat the process of hitting their ball towards the target
The goal of this drill:
To be good at this game, players will need to be able to hit for power and accuracy. So this game forces players to take it slow and really focus on how and where they will be hitting the ball.
Conclusion
There are a lot of great baseball drills out there for youth ballplayers to try, but every once in a while it’s good to incorporate some drills that add in that extra element of fun. So try out some of these fun baseball drills to add some excitement to your next practice!
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