Baseball Practice Format That Motivates

Baseball Practice Format Coaches Can Use

Using the same baseball practice format every practice gets boring to youth players. At baseball camps, one baseball practice format that I use is to have kids pick three baseball positions they want to learn or play. The first round they go to their favorite position, the next round to their second favorite, followed by their third favorite baseball position. In this way, players not only learn different positions, always a good thing at the youth levels, but they get to play their favorite position. Getting to play their favorite position motivates players to work hard, along with keeping them interested in baseball. Unfortunately, most kids do not get to play their favorite position on their regular teams, or not as often as they would like to play them. It is always a good thing for youth baseball coaches to recognize this and incorporate a favorite position, baseball-practice format, at least occasionally.

There are a few ways coaches can incorporate this baseball practice format:

Baseball Practice Format Possibilities

1. As in the camp format above, players rotate every fifteen minutes to different positions in the order they like the positions. Coaches divide their coaching help up according to where players go.
2. During scrimmage games, players have to change positions every inning for three innings before they can return to the same position.
3. Take infield practice with players having to rotate to different positions every five minutes.

Of course, coaches have to keep safety in mind, and not allow kids, who are unready to play certain positions, away from those in game situations. For example, kids who cannot handle strong throws at this stage of their development may not be ready to play first base in games until they learn to handle strong throws. Another advantage of this baseball practice format is that players remain happy, even if they do not get to play their favorite in games. Additionally, it gives coaches an idea of what positions players like best, it helps coaches see other players at different positions and it creates a little competition for positions, which may serve to motivate players more than without that baseball practice format.