Youth Baseball Drills: 20 Drills by Skill and Age
- By Julien Levadoux
Twenty drills that cover what a youth team needs, with the ages each one suits. Every drill has its setup, how it runs and the one or two things to watch. The practice plans by age are built from these.
Each drill lists the ages it suits, what you need, and how long it usually takes. Keep groups small: three or four players per station keeps everyone moving, and a youth practice should have very little standing in line.
Warm-up
1. Dynamic warm-up
Ages: all · Time: 8–10 min · Needs: two lines of cones 20 yards apart
Players go out and back between the cones: easy jog, high knees, butt kicks, side shuffles both ways, carioca, then a build-up sprint. Finish with arm circles, forward and back. Keep it brisk; it’s a warm-up, not conditioning. For 6U and 8U, turn it into “follow the leader” and let a player lead.
2. Throwing progression
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 10–12 min · Needs: a ball per pair
Partners face each other and work back as they go.
- Wrist flicks, 10 feet apart, elbow held up by the glove hand.
- One knee, throwing-side knee down, chest to the target.
- Standing, feet set, a full arm circle.
- Step-behind, the crow hop footwork, at 60–90 feet for older players.
Watch for the glove pointing at the target and the throwing elbow at shoulder height or above. Throwing is the skill every other one depends on, so don’t rush this block.
Throwing and fielding
3. Four-corner throwing
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 8–10 min · Needs: four bases or cones in a square
A player at each corner throws to the next one, around the square. Then reverse direction, so players turn both ways to throw. Add a second ball once they’re sharp. It builds quick feet, receiving the ball on the throwing-hand side, and a fast transfer.
4. Ground ball “alligator”
Ages: 6U–10U · Time: 8–10 min · Needs: soft balls or tennis balls, gloves
The coach rolls ground balls from 15 feet. The player gets low with the glove open on the ground, then traps the ball with the top hand like an alligator’s jaw closing. Field it out in front of the body, not under it. For 6U, roll gently and celebrate every clean trap; for 10U, add a shuffle and a throw to a partner.
5. Short hops
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 6–8 min · Needs: a ball per pair
Partners kneel 10 feet apart and throw short hops at each other’s glove. The fielder pushes the glove forward through the ball, backhand and forehand. It’s the fastest way to make infielders comfortable with bad bounces, and first basemen with bad throws.
6. Fly balls with a drop step
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 10 min · Needs: tennis balls for younger players, a fungo or tossed balls
The player stands ready. The coach points left or right, the player opens their hips that way (the drop step) and runs back. Then the coach throws the ball over that shoulder. Teach “get under it, catch it above your eyes, two hands.” Younger players start with tossed tennis balls, so nobody gets hurt learning.
7. Relay race
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 8 min · Needs: two teams of 4–5, a ball each
Two lines spread out 40–60 feet apart. The ball goes from one end to the other and back, each player catching, turning to the glove side and throwing. Fastest team without a drop wins. It teaches the cutoff relay that every team needs, and kids like a race.
8. Pop-up communication
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 8 min · Needs: three fielders at a time, balls
The coach throws or hits pop-ups between two or three fielders. The one who takes it calls “Ball, ball, ball!” loud and early; the others call that player’s name and peel off. Outfielders have priority over infielders coming back. Collisions in games come from silence in practice.
Hitting
9. Tee stations
Ages: all · Time: 15 min (rotating) · Needs: tees, a net or fence, balls
Set two or three tees with a different job each: line drives into the net, high tee (stay on top), low tee (stay down through the ball). Players rotate on a whistle. Tee work isn’t just for little kids: the swing gets built here, without a moving ball to worry about.
10. Side soft toss
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 10–15 min · Needs: a net, balls, a coach or partner kneeling to the side
The tosser kneels at a 45-degree angle in front and to the side, and tosses into the front of the strike zone. The hitter drives the ball into the net. Toss underhand and softly; the point is timing and a short path to the ball, not power.
11. Front toss
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 15 min · Needs: an L-screen, a bucket of balls
A coach behind an L-screen, 15–25 feet away, tosses firm underhand pitches. It’s closer to live pitching than soft toss but far more controlled than batting practice off a pitcher. Count swings, not minutes: 8–10 good swings, then rotate.
12. Bunting
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 8 min · Needs: balls, a coach tossing
Square around (or pivot), bat at the top of the zone, top hand sliding up behind the barrel, fingers out of the way. Catch the ball with the bat, and bunt only strikes. Put two cones down the lines as targets. A team that can bunt can manufacture runs at every level.
Baserunning
13. Run through first
Ages: all · Time: 6–8 min · Needs: home plate and first base
From the batter’s box, swing and run through first base: hit the front of the bag, keep running, break down and look right for an overthrow. Never slide into first and never slow down before the bag. Time it for older players; they love beating their own time.
14. Rounding the bases
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 8 min · Needs: a full set of bases
Teach the banana turn: swing out a few steps before the base, hit the inside corner with either foot, and head straight for the next base. Players run singles (round first and stop), doubles and home-to-home. Add a coach at third giving stop and go signs.
15. Leads and reads
Ages: 13 and up (and any league that allows leading off) · Time: 10 min · Needs: a pitcher or coach on the mound
Little League Majors and younger don’t allow leading off, so save this for older players. Take a lead, shuffle on the pitch, and read the ball off the bat: down, back or go. Add the pitcher’s pickoff move so runners learn to get back.
Team play
16. Pickle (rundown)
Ages: 8U and up · Time: 8–10 min · Needs: two bases, two lines of fielders, one runner at a time
A runner is caught between bases. Two fielders run them down with as few throws as possible: run hard at the runner, ball held up and visible, and throw only when the receiver calls “Now!” The runner tries to stay alive. Kids will ask for it every practice.
17. Situations
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 15–20 min · Needs: a full defense, a coach with a fungo, runners
Coach calls the situation (“Runner on first, one out”), then hits the ball. Everyone has a job on every ball: field it, cover a base, back up a throw. Freeze the play when someone’s out of place and walk it through. This is where the drills turn into baseball.
18. Sharks and minnows
Ages: 6U–8U · Time: 8 min · Needs: a big open space, cones
A baserunning tag game: “minnows” run from one line of cones to the other while “sharks” try to tag them; tagged players become sharks. It’s a disguised sprint and change-of-direction drill, and young players will run until they drop.
Pitchers and catchers
19. Pitchers’ flat ground
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 10–15 min · Needs: a catcher or net, a pitch counter
Pitchers throw from flat ground, not the mound: first from the knee, then from the stretch, then the full windup. Count every throw. Practice pitches don’t count toward game pitch counts, but they’re still throws, so keep sessions short. Don’t schedule one on a day a pitcher threw a lot in a game.
20. Catcher blocking
Ages: 10U and up · Time: 8–10 min · Needs: full catcher’s gear, soft balls to start
The coach throws balls in the dirt. The catcher drops to both knees, glove between the legs, chin down, shoulders rounded forward, and keeps the ball in front. Start with soft balls and slow throws; speed comes later.