Rapid Fire -Warm-up Drill for TEE Ball Baseball

by Brian
(Saint Louis, MO)

This is a great baseball warm-up drill for K-2 it is very flexible for Tee-ball teams who need a quick and easy way to get really young players a chance to do a quick stretch and warm-up.

It also gets in a lot of reps for throwing, taking ground balls, and taking short pop-flys. Lastly for the teams that only get 1 practice a week, this a great drill to get extra practice time in on fundamentals before the game during pre-game baseball practice.

What you need:
You will need 8 soccer cones (really cheap at Wal-Mart) optional.

How to setup it up:

Here is simple diagram of how this drill is setup. The C is for Coaches. The o is cone and x is a player.

C o ------------15ft----------o xxxx
C o ------------15ft----------o xxxx
C o ------------15ft----------o xxxx
C o ------------15ft----------o xxxx

There should be 10 to 15 ft minimum between each group setup.
You can setup this up in Left Field or Right Field. Make sure you are far enough away from diamond, so that you don’t disturb the other teams play if you are running this before a game during pre-game baseball practice.

For Practices I setup it up behind First base to keep out it of my other station areas.

How it Works:

After 2 or 3 practices the younger players figure it out pretty quickly and know the routine.

1. There are 4 rounds more if you want. Each player will go through each round 4 times

2. First Round is base stealing. They face home plate and take three slides steps from the first cone and then sprint to the second cone and round it and go back to the end of the line. This stretches their inner thighs and legs and gives their legs and arms a quick warm-up. The younger players bodies needs less stretching than older players. They must do this 4 times before moving onto the next drill.

3. Second Round is basic catching and throwing stance. The coaches at each cone will throw a light throw to the players and remind them to catch with both hands.

For younger players at the beginning of the season I use (RAG BALL or Sock Balls), this allows them to have less fear of catching and builds up their confidence. When they catch them they have to do the (JTT) Jump, Turn and Throw. They jump and turn their feet side-ways and point their glove shoulder toward the coach and then throw. They do this 4 times around.

4. Third Round is ground balls. They must straddle the cone and pretend to sit down as the ball starts to come toward them. Then (JTT) jump, turn and throw. The sit down part reinforces how to breakdown on a ground ball as it comes to you vs. bending at the waist and letting it go through your legs. Again this simple thing helps the player’s confidence. Again 4 times through.

5. Fourth Round is Fly balls. They must stand in front of the cone the coach throws a short fly ball and the player must catch with two hands and then (JTT). You can also teach a crow hop for this if your kids are advanced enough. Again 4 times through

Benefits:

Teams with players who show up a little late can join and go to 1 set of cones and do the routine while the kids who are on- time can get more reps at the other 3 stations. You can always do more or less depending how much time you have.

The routine is so simple and effective that you can have any parent or volunteer help run it just in-case your assistant coaches are late or can’t be at the game.

I have found this to be an extremely useful baseball drill with kids older than second grade too. You just have to change up the distance and the skills to being taught. Hope you enjoy this and remember to make it FUN!

Brian,

Great work.This excellent baseball drill incorporates everything necessary to conduct a productive practice drill for any age level.

Well organized.
Safety is covered.
Multiple repetitions.
Fast paced.
Teaches baseball skills.
Keeps the kids very engaged.
Minimal downtime.
Adaptable to various age levels.
May be added to.

You are on the right track. If you could think about adding a mini-competition within each group it would distract the kids from the monotonous work and make it a fun game.