By: Erik Wetzel

Getting Started Run around the field Get the muscles warm Loosen up Stretch Prevents Injury Warms up the body Get the mind ready to play.

Time for Some Ground Balls! Games are won and lost on defense Catching ground balls are key to successful defense Bunt Defense Important aspect of defense

PFP’s… Fun Stuff PFP stands for pitcher’s fielding plays. This is where the pitchers practice defending bunts and come backers. Come backers are defined as balls that are hit quickly directly at the pitcher. These are quite tough to catch so they need a lot of practice. This is also where the team works on communication as communication is important for successful defense.

Now the Fun Starts… Hitting

Batting Practice Batting Practice is a coordinated “well oiled machine” so to speak. The key to a good batting practice is everybody being where they are supposed to be. There are a lot of different jobs that are performed for this to run smoothly.

Batting Practice There are three groups in batting practice One group hitting One group playing defense One group warming up in the cages Pitchers shag balls in the outfield and get them back to the BP pitcher

Cage Group Warm up off the tees Take some soft toss Pitch to each other Hit off of the machines Work on drills

Defense Group Defense group is pretty simple. Practice more ground balls and fly balls while making sure not to get hit by any batted balls from the live group. This last tip is very important.

Live Group This is where the coordination takes place There is a hitter and about three other hitters who run the bases when not hitting When the hitter bunts the next hitter picks it up and gives it to the BP pitcher Each hitter takes four rounds of about five swings Base runners work on getting jumps, leads and reads from hit balls. They also need to make sure they do not get hit by any balls

Base Running At the end of practice for a good warm down Work on rounding the bases Work on getting as efficient as possible around the bases Work on getting good jumps

End of Practice Get some light instruction Any questions about the day Time to loosen up and have a good time