Training, Drills, and Games
Welcome to the Baseball Training, Drills and Games page at Yarmouth Little League. This page is intended to provide tools that are designed to help players, parents, and coaches learn (and teach) some of the most basic skills used in Baseball. This information was pulled together by Marc Halsted, Head Coach of the Yarmouth High School Baseball program, and we owe a great debt to his for helping us bring this information to you.
This page offers instruction for current Little Leaguers and future YHS Baseball players through online videos, links, and YHSBB generated content. But we also need to emphasize the importance of fun and creative games to keep our young players engaged, enthusiastic, and having fun with the great game of baseball.
What You Will Find Here
- Hitting Instruction
- Pitching Instruction
- Catching instruction
- Fielding Instruction
- Creative Games
I. Basic Hitting Instruction
Pro Speed Baseball creates some very good content for a variety of baseball levels. Here’s a fantastic “4 Part Checklist” video for young hitters.
THE YHSBB Hitting Approach
This Pro Speed Baseball video is EXACTLY what Yarmouth High School’s Varsity Baseball program teaches. The High School team preaches “hard ground balls and line drives” solid contact concepts along with both “Middle-Away” and “On Plane” approaches. Head Coach Marc Halsted been teaching this for 25 years and this video compliments what kids will continue to practice as they get older and move into the YHSBB program.
Click here to view the Out Hit Everyone With 2 Simple Keys | Baseball Hitting Mechanics video from Pro Speed Baseball. (Embedding disabled)
II. Basic Pitching Instruction
This is a very simple and short video from Baseball Factory about the three most important elements of pitching for Little League kids. We spend a lot of time at the YHS level preaching the importance of the “Power Position” and getting kids to “Gather” with their body over the pitching rubber. We want our guys “Gathering before Going” with the lift-leg at 90-degrees or higher.
Pitching for “Minors”
This is a good starting point for young pitchers learning to pitch at the “Farm” or YLL “Minors” (10u) level. Coach Birkby talks about the true basics that we teach in Yarmouth: Pitch from the stretch, get to a “Gather” position with the lift-knee above 90-degrees, stride straight (with the front foot perpendicular or slightly closed) towards the target, and then tuck-and-rotate.
Throwing Progression
Here is a summary of the four-step Throwing Progression that we use at all levels of Yarmouth Baseball. The goal is to create momentum and “torque” so that our kids learn to never throw “all arm.” We want them to use their shoulders, midsection, core, and lower body to generate power AND to keep their arms healthy. Distance-wise, these four steps should be done at 20 foot intervals (20 feet, 40 feet, 60 feet, 80 feet) for Little Leaguers, and they should make 10-15 throws per step.
Pitching Mechanics
This video is designed to teach the most basic elements of pitching to our Little Leaguers. It highlights why and how we pitch from the stretch, “set” position, balance point, hand-break, and stride. I hope this video helps players, coaches, and parents as we develop our young pitchers in a safe, healthy, effective, and successful way. I plan to add more pitching videos (with more specific instruction) in the near future.
Pitch with “Late Launch”
“Late Launch” is a goal for all pitchers. By striding out, bending the lower back, and releasing the ball in front of the body a pitcher utilizes his entire arm and lower body. This movement makes it possible to throw harder and reduce stress on the arm.
Declan Hickey has an excellent delivery with a great “Power Position” balance point and perfect hand-break. If you pause it at 0:03, 0:15, or 0:27 you can see him bend and extend his release-point into the “Superman” or “Late Launch” position.
We do need Declan to stride straight with his land-foot, which will enable him to land in a more balanced position (and not “run off the mound”) but that’s an easy thing to adjust. Declan…phenomenal job!
Pitching Mechanics
This motion starts with a high balance point (“Power Position”) with the knee above 90-degrees. If you pause it right before the :01 or :13 marks you’ll see that the first thing that moves towards the plate is his front hip (which is very important to prevent “leaning” or leading with the upper body). He then strides out far enough (80-90% of his height) and starts to move to the plate by “Tucking and Pulling” his left elbow. Admittedly, we’ve got to get him to release the ball more out in front of his body, but this is pretty solid delivery in terms of mechanics.
III. CATCHING INSTRUCTION
I’d like to introduce a new section to our “Baseball Instruction” page, as we turn some attention to the catching position. As you all know, the catcher in Little League is crucial to the success of a pitcher and a team during a game, and catching is equally crucial to the success of middle school and high school teams. To start, I’m presenting four short videos on throwing, stance, receiving, and framing, and then a three-video block that shows two of our YLL catchers working on these fundamentals. Finally, there’s some short videos on basic throwing fundamentals with Owen Damasco and Jack Flanagan.
Catcher Throwing Tech.
This is a really good video that breaks down the catch-and-throw technique for Catchers throwing to 2B. It covers receiving, the transfer, proper footwork, and separation. It also goes into what NOT to do with footwork (3:00 mark) with is really important for young Catchers.
Stance & Catching Drill
Jack Flanagan is doing a very simple – but effective – receiving drill here without a glove. We are using a soft baseball (Farm League balls or tennis balls work well) so he can focus on catching the ball with a soft glove-side hand. Jack is also focused on a proper set-up with his feet shoulder width apart and his glove-side foot (left) slightly ahead of his right foot so he can further extend his glove. Additionally, he’s “rolled his hips” back so he can properly lean forward in an athletic catching position. This can be a really effective daily warm-up drill too.
Framing the Pitch
After establishing a good stance, the catcher needs to focus on framing the pitch by simply pointing the nose of the glove to the pitcher, or (to put it differently) turning the ball to face homeplate.
Framing Drill
The “Catch, Frame, & Drop” drill reenforces the proper framing technique of pointing the note and/or turning the ball to the heart of the plate.
Foul Line Drill
The “Foul Line Drill” positions the catcher behind the plate, with the throw coming down the foul line from a coach. The catcher (Owen Damasco) must use a strong glove hand to control the ball and not let it push the glove away. We can do this down each foul line to reenforce proper receiving.
Foul Line Drill 1B
Here’s Jack doing the “Foul Line Drill” with the coach throwing down the 1B line. Again, he’s trying to control the ball (and not let the ball control him!) with a strong glove hand.
Frame & Bucket
This is the “Frame to Bucket” drill that I’ve described above. Jack is working hard to control the ball, point the nose of the glove back at the pitcher, and turn the ball towards the heart of the plate.
Throwing Footwork
Owen Damasco shows off the right footwork for throwing in this video. He starts by “Gaining Ground” with his right foot, then strides with his left foot, and gets the throw off quickly and accurately. I know these videos are short and quick, but take a second to pause it and check out Owen’s technique. Most importantly, he only takes the “1-2” steps, and avoids extra movement with his feet.
Aligning Feet & Shoulders
I know that Jack Flanagan is 100 feet away, but you can still see him do four things right with this throw. (1) he goes right foot, left foot, 1-2, (2) he lines up his shoulders and hips correctly, (3) he gets perpendicular to his target, and (4) makes an incredibly accurate throw. Like the throw from Owen (left) he avoids extra steps and displays the type of footwork that leads to strong and accurate throws.
CREATIVE GAMES: The following videos were created during the 2020 Quarantine, but they are still relevant to our kids. I will continue to add new videos with Wiffle Ball and baseball games that are fun AND instructive. The bottom line is that we want our kids to enjoy playing baseball and to find new and different ways to play game(s) with their buddies. Enjoy!
“Mound Ball” Wiffle Ball
This is normal Wiffle Ball with base-running. If you have only 2v2 or 3v3, you can use “Ghost Runners” once the hitter reaches base. The most important rule to “Mound Ball” is that the Pitcher Mound = 1B. Therefore, if a ball is fielded and thrown to the pitcher on mound before the batter reaches 1B, he is out. Or, if there’s a force play at 2B, 3B, or Home, a player who touches the mound before the hitter reaches first, the lead runner is out. This is a great way to play Wiffle Ball and limit some of the action around 1B (but yes, outs can still be made at any base).
Pitching Game
It may be hard to motivate your guy(s) to just go pitch in the front yard, so let’s make it more competitive. The Pitching Game simply requires that the pitchers throw strikes, keep the count, and strikeout more hitters than they walk. You can keep track of innings and even compete with a friend in-person or through competitive social media posts.
Ghost Ball or Wiffle Ball Field
A Ghost Ball field can also be a simple Wiffle Ball field. The key is to mow lines into your grass to make foul lines and base lines for your field. You can also mow “target lines” for Ghost Ball, which is a game I’ll explain in our next video.
Ghost Ball
This video explains how to play Ghost Ball. It’s a great game for social distancing and it’s a fun and creative way to get your son a lot of swings in a fun and unique competition. Ghost Ball can be played with 2, 4, or even 6 people.
10 Swing Game
The 10 Swing Game is a hitting competition that can be played by any number of kids using Wiffle Balls or real bats and balls. This is a fun game for little guys just learning to hit and play the game. You can use a Ghost Ball field or make your own targets for single, doubles, triples, and homeruns at an actual field. For example, a single could be a ground-ball or fly-ball that gets to the infield dirt, a double could be a ball that lands in the outfield grass, and a triple could be a ball that reaches a certain target area in the outfield.
2v2v2 MOdified BP Game
This game was created during the Covid Summer of 2020. The “2v2v2 Modified Batting Practice Game” is a fast paced small-group game that incorporates almost all facets of baseball. The rules are explained in the video and listed below. Feel free to email me if you have questions.
2v2v2 Modified Batting Practice Game rules-Teams rotate each two innings from Outfield, to Infield, to Hitting. Each player hits for an inning and then switches with his teammate-Therefore, each team hits for two innings at time before rotating to the Outfield-Start with a 2-1 count. 3 strikes is an out, 4 balls is a walk, 3 foul balls are an out, 3 outs per inning-Coaches pitch from 40 feet and from one-knee -A ground-ball must be fielded cleanly in the infield and thrown to 1B without an error-All fly-balls to the outfield must be caught on one hop or in the air for an out. All pop-flies need to be caught to be an out, unless the pop fly doesn’t leave the infield grass (automatic out)-An error in the IF = single, an error in the OF = double-A ground-ball that gets to the outfield is a single. A ground-ball that doesn’t leave the infield grass is an automatic out-A fly-ball/line-drive in the outfield is a double. A ball that gets to the outfield fence is a triple. A homerun is a homerun!-No baserunning. All base-runners are Ghost Runners. Ghost Runners move up as many bases as the hit produced (double = 2 bases)-Adults play P, 1B, and pick up balls at the backstop (no catcher). Adults also help keep track of counts, outs, base-runners, and the score