U13 Baseball Practice Plan
Danny Hosford
I knew that my players would have little or no time to prepare on the field prior to Game 1, so I needed to get them enough quality reps to be ready to play once the snow melted. That meant that in those early days, a big part of my job was figuring out how to plan productive practices for a team of high school and college-level baseball players in a space just a little bigger than a regulation basketball court.
This allows you to essentially remove half of the team from the drill and double the space between players. However, it will also take longer to get everyone loose, so you need to make sure your players are being intentional and maintaining a solid pace.
Jim Malec is the founder and editor of Chalk and Clay. A DC-based writer, editor and content strategist, he has more than two decades of baseball coaching experience at levels ranging from t-ball to semi-pro. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
We had a blast at practice! The players watched the videos we assigned and when we went over leading and stealing. They all did it so well. I attribute that to the fact that they all had the app, knew where to find the drills (outlined on the practice plan I shared with them), and had a plan to work on. The homework was, each player was to work on the assigned drills for 5 minutes a day before school, after school, or sometime throughout the day. They came to practice excited and eager to show me that they knew how to lead. In return, instead of having to re teach the entire practice plan day 1, we were able to review, and move on to secondary leads and discussing how to read the ball in the dirt.
After we did our dynamic warm up, and throwing program which again, they performed much better than last year, we worked on the cone drill (to get their bodied moving properly on ground balls) and multi ball drills.
The players were able to work on tags, ground balls, line drives, fly balls, and force outs all in the same drills. This was a fun station, and it got the players moving, working on sills, and high pace
I have been coaching for almost 15 years. I started and run a travel baseball organization. I have put on summer camps, mentored other coaches and spent countless hours throwing BP. But I am sure we are very similar. We care about the experience our players have and want their hard work to bring them success. That is why you are on the internet researching practice planning and baseball drills.
Why have I built this website? Our time is valuable. We are parents, coaches, spouses, sons/daughters, volunteers and also work for a living. I have spent many hours and spent some decent money building the easiest practice planner on the web. You can literally build a practice in minutes or use one of our clipboard ready practice plans. You can pull these plans up on your phone out on the field and use our videos to visualize proper technique or to show a player. You can print it out. You can email it to an assistant coach.
We have two types of memberships for coaches and parents. Our coaches membership gives you the tools to plan practices and work with players. These guides and videos include our practice planner, a guide for troubleshooting the baseball swing, coaching individual positions and proper mechanics.Our parents section includes lots of information on working with your player at home and how to find proper professional instruction.
An essential skill as a parent and coach is knowing when you need guidance. I have employed excellent coaches who have coached and played at high levels. You will are getting their expertise through our videos and articles and access to the drills they run at here very own practices.
The photo above is from a few years back but it still sits on my desk to this day. It is a memory from a very fun season where all the practices and hard work came through at the right time of year and we had a lot of success. I started this website to share what I've learned and help you practice smarter. I hope I can help you learn and plan for successful training that leads to days like the one that picture represents. And if you ever run across any of the kids in that picture, you may want to pitch around them. ;)
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Working with young players is a constant challenge. Baseball Zone helps you plan practices quickly, giving you a solid practice plan in no time. These are some of the same drills we used at the major league level.
Do anyone have any practice plans or ideas for this type of league? I have a couple of ideas, but could use help. I will be a first year head coach next year and I am trying to get a head's up. I have helped coach the past couple of years, but the practices didn't keep the kids interested too much. I want something that will keep the kids interested and having fun as well. Any help would be greatly apprecciated.
Keep it short and hour to an hour and 15 minutes tops. Enlist help so that you can break your players down into small groups of 3 or 3 players. That way there is no one standing around. Stick to the fundamentals.
We try to make it fun and interesting for the kids by introducing a new skill each practice. In this age group, fundamentals are just the beginning. Having them pay attention seems to be the hardest to do...so we break it up into different areas so each kid isn't standing around waiting for a ball to be hit to him. We have one group go into the batting cage and rotate. We work with our infielders, gradually building them up into game situations. Outfielders also have their own session, taking pop ups and grounders and hitting the cut-off man each time. We usually introduce a new skill, anything from something as simple as running on the inside corners of the bag to having them pickup the 1st/3rd base coaches as they are running. Then towards the end of the practice, we'll have a short 2 inning scrimmage (kids really love this part).
This can include research and writing (such as watching instructional videos and writing short reflections, or watching and analyzing the swings of other players), or practice-based homework like indoor drills or exercises. Your coaching goal should be to empower your players to develop into the best possible athlete that their drive will allow.
Have infielders begin on their knees with no glove. The players should align in pairs, across from each other and about 10 feet apart. Partners will alternate in throwing firm (but not overpowering) short hops, completing eight reps each of:
After the short hop drill is completed, infielders should break into a double barrel infield. This alignment requires two coaches (or two players, if you lack coaches). Players will field ground balls for a total of 15 minutes, following the template below:
In this round, the third basemen are throwing across the field to first, so the second basemen and shortstops will field grounders and work on their feeds and footwork to turn a double play without actually finishing.
This drill helps teach communication skills and pop-up priorities in the outfield. Using this drill, especially with younger athletes, will help build confidence to go after balls that may be out of their comfort zone.
While these are important reps for outfielders, they do not compare to the ones they need to take in batting practice. Outfielders can read fungo bats easier than reading One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss, because the hitter usually turns his or her body towards where they intend to hit. In order to improve their reading and reaction times, they need to get plenty of reads off live hitting.
A great team starts with a great catcher. Having a catcher with a high baseball IQ will help keep your team grounded, and having one who can frame pitches to steal strikes, block balls and throw runners out will translate to runs saved and extra wins.
Do this three times through: your catchers will get tired because this is a leg strengthener, but they need to be able to still block balls with good form at the end of the game and through the long season.
By teaching your players to let the ball travel and stick it, you will find your team stealing a lot more strikes. Atlanta Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is one of the best defensive catchers in the MLB, and this video helps dive into more of the philosophy of a strong receiving catcher.
When covering first, the pitcher should cut up along the inside of the base path, running parallel to (but not on) the foul line. The pitcher should never cross the foul line, as doing so puts the player at risk for getting barreled into by the runner.
This is where players take the reps they just performed in their group session and bring them to life in a game simulation. Hit a mix of fly balls and ground balls to the outfielders, forcing them to take different routes and make harder throws (including throwing through the relay).
For the long-short, align the infielders at their maximum depth for their respective positions. Hit a hard grounder to their right side, forcing them to set their feet and make a long cross-field throw to first. Hitting the ball to their deep right also prevents them from cheating by playing up on the ball.
As we mentioned earlier in this practice plan, understanding and implementing the correct sequence of movements is essential for producing power at the plate. As a coach, you should utilize hitting stations that help players learn, develop, and master these movements.
This is strictly a lower half drill that teaches the movement of the hips and torso while separating it from the shoulders. These are two different movements: hitters need to be able to explode through the zone with their lower half before their upper body follows.
This drill builds on the Separation Drill (above), and also integrates the last phase of the swing. The Full Turns Drill teaches hitters the proper hip and torso rotation. This is an easy drill that all hitters can utilize during their careers.
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