***Practices***
Always have a plan! We suggest creating a bank of three different practices - A, B & C - that you can go to and rotate throughout the season.
Practice A: 3 stations - whatever drills you choose, but keep the kids in groups of four and rotate every 25 minutes. Ideally this would have 1 station dedicated to hitting, 1 dedicated to groundballs, and 1 dedicated to flyballs.
Practice B: Three-team/Speedball - the single best way to simulate game scenarios and keep the kids moving. Coaches pitch, split into 3 teams of four: one team in the OF, one team in the IF, one team hitting. Rotate every 8 minutes. Clear the bases after 3 outs. Runs score at 3B Kids must play a different position every inning
Practice C: whole team - use your imagination, but cover topics like cut-offs, bunting, bunt defense, signs and baserunning. Stuff you can only cover with the whole team there.
*No matter how you choose to practice, make it a priority to keep the kids moving! Nothing could be more boring to a kid than 10 players standing around watching one take swings.
Play LOTS of catch! Seriously, structure it however you'd like - long, regular, quick, around-the-horn, but don't be afraid to spend 30+ minutes playing catch.
*Pro-tip: Have assistants and volunteers stand behind the line with no fence and have extra balls in hand. Less time chasing overthrows = more time throwing.