PRACTICE WITH A PLAN & A PURPOSE Brenda Holaday Washburn Rural High School

Planning During Off-Season Meet with returning players – give them a focus for the off-season Select team leaders and share expectations Allow them to share ideas for team building, workouts, theme ideas, etc. Team leaders must help set goals and buy in to the work that must be done to accomplish them.

Planning Practices After tryouts, work backwards from date of first game. Make a list of things you must practice before you are game ready. Fit these into your practices as they make sense.

Assistant Coaches They must be involved in the planning Give your coaches responsibility and hold them accountable for those things. Give them season responsibilities, practice responsibilities and game responsibilities. The more involved your coaches are, the more successful your program will be.

All Practices Have These Components Pre-practice warm up Position specific work Stations to develop skill sets Core defense by groups (IF, OF, P/C) Offensive stations Offensive/Defensive execution Live defense w/baserunning

Pre-Practice Warm up Led by team captains Stretching, running Catch, long toss

Position Specific Work Focus for the day for each position 5-7 minutes Examples: Pitchers – (fast arms, spins, fielding the bunt) Catchers – (blocking, pop ups, throw downs) Corners – (short hops, bunts, foul balls) Middles – (exchanges, back hands, quick release) Outfield – (sun balls, fence balls, crow hops, angles)

Stations to Develop Skill Sets Includes all players, divided into three groups Three stations a day, one coach per station 15 minutes total, 5 minutes per station Examples: Extension drillDive and reach Over the shoulderTarget throws Fast handsShort infield Hot boxTwo ball drill Field 3Bunting

Core Defense By Groups Assign a coach to each group (rotate or don’t) 15 minutes each day Have a particular focus every day for each group Examples: Pitchers – stride, spots, counts, particular pitch Catchers – framing, receive/release Infield – accuracy, quickness, drop step, bunts Outfield – angles, ground balls, one hop throws

Offensive Stations 3 stations, one coach per group minutes total, minutes per station Don’t just hit, what is your focus/purpose Examples: Tennis balls – focus on staying back Tunnel hitting – drive ball to back of tunnel Tees – weighted balls, outside pitch, balance Front toss – 5 pitches at a time with a focus Live hitting – with a count, use limits on this

Offensive Execution Pick a focus for the day and practice live execution. Give limited opportunities (5 pitches per at bat) Examples: Live bunting (sac, base hit, squeeze) Hitting behind runners Hit and run Fly ball to score the run

Defensive Execution Pick a focus for the day and practice live execution. Build repetitions for this Examples: Defending the bunt, slap, squeeze Using cuts w/live base runners Run downs Covering steals 1 st /3 rd plays Pop flies between infield/outfield

Live Defense w/Baserunning We do this every day, at the end of the day Favorite part of practice for everyone Build a mind set that our defense is the most important part of our game Create a different focus each day of week Examples: Play 21, keep track of errors Switch every 3 outs, 10 seconds to change Take the extra base, points for your team Run for errors when errors are made

Practice with Purpose Coaches take notes in practice and games Points of emphasis/improvement Give players homework – (example) Listen to asst. coaches/team captains Use practice to imitate games, both in execution and emotion Take the time needed to plan good practices I use about 30 minutes (lunch or 7-7:30)

Why is planning important? If you don’t know where you are headed, how do you know when you have arrived at your destination? This is why we have team/individual goals It is our job as coaches to develop a plan to make sure we have a chance to reach our destination.

Sample Practice Schedule Use same format every day Share the schedule with assistants/players Stick to the schedule Quality vs. Quantity (rarely go over 2 hours) Most of conditioning is built into practice We hustle in everything we do Self-imposed consequences Clean up schedule