by
Marty Schupak
59
Minute Baseball Practice Video
Back in the late 70's an old college professor
of mine was fond of saying, "Don't confuse activity with
accomplishment." Jump forward about eight years and imagine
me observing a coach running practice for his Little League
team. At the start of practice most of the 10, 11, and 12 year
olds are very enthusiastic. As the practice progresses I notice
only two forms of activity taking place. One has the head coach
throwing batting practice, with each hitter getting 10 to 15
swings while each pitcher takes a turn throwing to the assistant
coach as the others stand and watch. I, too, stand and watch
and I don't know who is more bored the players or me.
When
I saw a member of the board of directors, I commented on how
poorly I thought the practice had been run. The board member
responded, "If you think you can do a better job, then
volunteer to coach." (Me and my big mouth!) But I did just
that. And my first practice, though planned differently, ended
up being two tedious hours of batting practice and pitchers
throwing on the sidelines. Exactly what I had been so critical
of myself! After that first practice I told my wife that there
must be a better way. Even though I had a master's degree in
Phys. Ed from Arizona State University, baseball was the major
sport I was least knowledgeable about.
So,
I decided to research alternative practice methods. I observed
a variety of teams during practice ranging from seven-year-olds
to college level players. I noticed that the best practices
were not necessarily the longest and that the most organized
coaches wasted little time. On most of the drills every player
was involved. It was amazing the way some coaches integrated
fun and learning and how creative some of the drills and games
were. I began to use some of these techniques with my team.
After a little trial and error I was actually able to run a
more effective practice in half the time.
To
run a practice like this does take preparation, mostly at the
beginning of the season. But coaches need not look at this as
a chore. It can be as much fun for you as it is for the players.
The
youth baseball coach, whether it's Babe Ruth League, Little
League, or local Park and Recreation Dept., should make a list
of drills at the beginning of the year that they are interested
in trying. The idea is to be creative. When my oldest son was
eight, I began a practice with a simple relay race, consisting
of two lines of six players each. To put a baseball theme into
the race, I had each player wear their glove and hold two baseballs
in it. The learning benefit of this relay race was to teach
kids the importance of squeezing the glove. Another year I was
teaching players how to bunt. When the team took batting practice,
I put one cone 10 feet directly in front of home plate and another
cone 10 feet to the left of the plate. Each player gets two
bunts before his regular swings. For each bunt that goes between
the cones, the player earns two extra swings. This motivated
the players to focus when they bunted. And, it worked!
If
a coach plans five to seven drills of ten to twelve minutes
in length for each practice, the players will be more attentive
and less bored. Don't worry about players not liking certain
drills. About a third through the season they will let you know
which ones to weed out.
The
youth baseball season is unlike any other season. Fathers sneak
out of work early, families rarely eat dinner before 8:30 at
night and the laundry room is active day and night. As parents
and coaches, we should make practices more interesting and fun
because during a typical youth baseball season, players spend
as much or more time practicing than in actual games.
Be creative and have a great baseball season!
Marty
Schupak is the producer of the baseball video "The 59 Minute
Baseball Practice" and the best-selling videos Backyard
Baseball Drills and Winning Baseball Strategies. His products
can be purchased on our Y-Coach Store by clicking here: 59
Minute Baseball Practice
