Here is a drill that I have my team complete, usually on a day before a big conference game. It is a pressure-packed, intense drill that involves the whole team and is a great way to boost your squad's defensive reaction time and get them primed and ready for the big game.
Setting Up the Drill
First of all I put out my defensive team, probably the one that will start the game the next day. I grab a fungo and have a base runner ready to go on my contact.
I hit the ball, the base runner reacts to the hit, and the defense must make the play correctly and flawlessly.
Focus of the Drill
The object is to get 21 outs in a row WITHOUT mishandling the ball. We start at zero and when the ball goes from my bat, to the defense, gets thrown for an out, and then relayed back to my catcher, there can be no mistakes, one out is recorded.
All throws must be hard, accurate and handled with preciseness. If the ball is bobbled, misplayed, or thrown awry, we start again at zero.
When the ball hits the catcher's glove, everyone on the team yells the number of outs, or we start over. If someone doesn't hustle or run out a fly ball, we start over.
If you don't run the bases correctly, or the pitcher doesn't back up a specific throw, we start over. We look for and expect perfection.
Variations of the Drill
A variation of this, would be to have the defense switched every three or six outs. This can be a good conditioner if you can do it right.
It is critical for this drill to be successful that your rules are strict and that the players have the awareness NOT to stray from them at all.
If you do this drill one time and slack off on the expectations, the next time you do it, you will be wasting your time. Do this drill with extreme focus and your game faces on, or don't do it at all.
We even throw some music on in the press box to simulate the background noise during a game. By the way, we screw up a lot when we are on out number 20. Good luck!
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