A Note From Big Al
Got this today from Big Al (by way of Big Eric) and I wanted to share with all of you. Especially our Instructional Division, keep those kids busy!! 
-Bruce
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Players 5-8 yrs old are the most important group of players for the future of your program and local league. Between 30% and 50% of these young players quit baseball before they turn 9 yrs old.
Here are some of the reasons why players leave:
- There is too much standing around and they get bored quickly
- Traditional approaches to teaching and practicing skills do not work at this level
- Coaches do not know how to organize, engage and have fun with a group of youngsters at this level
- Players quickly develop a fear of getting hurt if practices and games are not handled properly
The #1 GOAL in your league and on your team should be the RETENTION of these players! Reduce your dropouts and your league will DOUBLE MEMBERSHIP in 2-3 years.
-Al Price
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Sister Teams
“Sister Teams” pairings are as follows:
D-backs – Minors/Mets – Majors
Orioles – Minors/Braves – Majors
Cardinals – Instructional/White Sox – Majors
Padres – Instructional/Yankees – Majors
Phillies – Instructional/Cubs – Majors
Athletics – Instructional/Reds – Minors
Royals – Instructional/Red Sox – Majors
Pirates – Instructional/Rockies – Minors
Marlins – Instructional/Dodgers – Minors
I will email individual pairs the contact info they need after Instructional teams are established.
Thanks!
Bruce
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Fielding Fly Balls
Some good tips, instruction.
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Tags: all divisions, fly balls, info, outfield, video
Outfield Drill – Video
Related to the Drop Step drill, this video helps illustrate the concept.
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Tags: all divisions, Drills, outfield, video
Original location: http://baseballtips.com/print/outfielders.html
Too many times we as coaches think we have to hit fly balls with a bat to our outfielders for every practice. Some problems arise when we consistently attempt this feat: an inability to hit a good fly ball, fly balls that don’t challenge our players, and a lot of “standing around” waiting for a fly ball to be hit.
Eventually we (coaches) have to hit fly balls to our players in order for them to practice reading the ball off the bat, but the following drills will give players more repetition and a “feel” of getting under a fly ball. These drills can be done at any level and are always a lot of fun.
Quarterback Drill
Outfielder is 10 feet away from the coach with both feet pointing toward the coach. The coach uses the words “drop step and go” and points in the direction to where he wants his player to drop step and go.
As soon as the outfielder hears the coach’s command the player uses the drop step and cross over in order to turn his body and sprint in the direction to where the coach has pointed. If the coach points to the player’s right – the player will drop step with his right foot and cross over with his left. If the coach points to the player’s left – the outfielder will drop step with his left and cross over with his right.
Once the player has sprinted approximately 20-40 yards (depending on skill and age) the coach will throw a high fly ball, and the outfielder who is sprinting must try to get under the ball in order to make the catch on the run. Once players get comfortable with the drill and make several catches you can increase the difficulty by throwing the ball further in order to make outfielders run harder and possibly make a diving catch.
To make the drill easier and work the players harder, have each player line up with a ball in their glove. When it is their turn they will toss you the ball and wait for your command. Once they have caught the ball they will jog back to the line up with the ball in their glove.
Tennis Racquet Fly Balls
Using a tennis racquet and tennis balls, hit fly balls to your outfielders but add a communication element to the drill. Have half of your outfielders line up in center and the other half in right (or left field). Hit tennis balls with the racquet in places where the two outfielders will have to communicate in order to catch the ball. Hit balls that are over their shoulder and in front of them.
This drill also works well if you add your middle infield and work on communication with the outfielders and infielders on fly balls that are hit softly between the outfield and infield.
Fly Ball Principles
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Tags: all divisions, Drills, outfield
Drop Step Drill
Drill:
Drop Step – Turn Your Back
Purpose:
Give outfielders practice at performing a drop step and adjusting to a ball hit deep over their heads.
Equipment:
Baseballs
Setup:
Have outfielder start about 10 feet in front of you. Have a line of outfielder a few feet away.
Execution: 
With the ball in your hand, point in one direction, player should take a deep drop step to that side and continue back at an deep angle, but no so deep that he can’t look over his shoulder and see you. After he has taken a few steps, move the ball to the other side. The player should turn his head and change his angle to the other direction picking you up as soon as possible. Change directions one more time, then throw the ball over his head for him to catch.
To add difficulty make the throw over the other shoulder to force one more turn.
Notes: On a ball that is hit deep over an outfielder’s head, the wind, the slice of the ball, or an incorrect angle can put an outfielder in a position where the ball is going to land over the opposite shoulder of where he is looking. This drill will help an outfielder gain confidence in what is a very difficult catch.
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Tags: all divisions, Drills, outfield
Speed Throw Drill
Original location: http://baseballtips.com/print/speedthrow.html
Run this drill in any large open area (a field or a gym). Divide the team into as many groups of two as possible. If an uneven number of players are present use a coach to fill out the last group.
One member of each group lines up on one side of the area, the second member opposite on the other side. Space players an equal distance apart along each side of the area to allow room for safety.
Each group should have a ball. On the word “GO” each team begins throwing the ball back and forth across the area. Each time a team completes one throw and catch they count one point. If the throw is bad, or the ball is not caught, that team’s score goes to zero.
Allow between thirty and sixty seconds for a round then call “STOP.” Each team then gives its score. The team with the highest score wins and each of those two players gets one point. Then rotate to the left so that all teams are different [see diagram].
As soon as all teams are set and have a ball, start another round as above. Run as many rounds as the time allotted for the drill will allow. At the conclusion the player(s) with the most points win.
Watch out for…
Some players have a tendency to throw softly so as not to make an error and have their team score go to zero.
It is important to stress that the objective is to throw as hard and fast as possible and develop good throwing skills, not simply get the best score in this drill. Concentrate on developing a good rhythm of moving to the ball to catch it and continuing on with the throwing motion. This is also a good time to watch your players and see who uses two hands and catches the ball properly.
After running this contest for several practices the best fielders will almost always end up with the highest number of points.
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Tags: instructional, minors, throwing
Infield Rotation
Original location: http://www.qcbaseball.com/drills/baseball_drills.aspx?drill=40
Great drill to keep EVERYONE busy! And no diamond is needed.
Drill:
Infield Rotation
Purpose:
The idea of this rotation drill is to give each infielder a chance to field 3 different types of ground balls and make a throw after fielding.
Equipment:
Two throw down bases or cones; extra cones to mark starting positions; baseballs; bats
Setup:
Split your team into four groups.
One group will split up and catch the throw next to each coach.
Coaches/Parents are shown with hats in the diagram below.
The other three groups will be in the field in a line as shown in the diagram.
Execution: 
Each parent/coach will hit or throw a ground ball (yellow line in diagram) to the fielder in front of them. In this example:
- A normal ground ball is hit to the fielder at the top.
- A timed forehand grounder is hit to the fielder in the middle.
- A timed backhand is hit to the fielder nearest 3rd base.
*** Timed forehand or backhand means that the fielder must wait and time his approach to the ball so he can field the ball with either a forehand or backhand.
After a number of balls have been fielded by each player, rotate the groups one spot.
Ground balls can be hit at the same time or staggered slightly. The player should field the ball, make a throw and then move to the end of the line.
* As with any drill that involves the use of a bat, safety is a primary concern. Tell your players they are not to go near a coach with a bat as they move from station to station.
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Tags: all divisions, Drills, infield
Infield Drills
This video is selling a special training glove (which is a great training aid – BUT NOT NECESSARY). Aside from that, this is a great training video with plenty of drill ideas for you, regardless of what glove you use. You can put these to work for you right away.
Covered:
- Ground balls drill
- Glove hand only drill
- Back hand and moving back hand drills
- Move and square up drill
- Short hops
- Quick hand drill
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Tags: all divisions, infield, video
