12u game situation practice ideas

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Apr 5, 2013
2,130
83
Back on the dirt...
I've done a search and found some ideas but I am looking for some practice ideas for game situations so there is not a lot standing around. We have two weeks (6 practices, if the weather holds out) before games start. I want to work infield and outfield, together, if effective. I have a pretty solid experienced IF. The OF will be less experienced but they seem to be hustlers. We have had a few practices but the weather and spring break has limited them. We have done basics of catching, throwing, hitting, some base running stuff but I want to focus on game stuff at least 3-4 of the last few practices.

So besides hitting the ball to the IF and having them make a decision on where to throw, are there any good drills to keep it fun and effective?

Thanks!

Edit:
This is 11-12 rec btw
 
Last edited:
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Stations... get some help from ACs or dads.
1 hitting 1 fielding and 1 on fly balls. Rotate every 10 min. Everyone stays busy (pitchers and catchers get at least 20 min to work together while the stations are going)
Then put them into typical starting positions and side toss batters (you can dictate where the ball goes by tossing inside or out or deep or out front.do this for about 20 tosses per batter. And finish every practice with pitchers in full game mode, trying to strike out batters. Try to get every girl two real at bats.
 
Jun 23, 2013
547
18
PacNw
Situation side, definitely work on cut-offs and backing up the play. Make sure your infielders know where to go. Have 4F/6F talking and lining each other up. Have them receiving ball on glove side for quick throw. On that note, also have your OF's throwing glove side of their cutoff. Have your OF's work on moving toward target when catching/fielding the ball. Start small and emphasize footwork. Throw simple pop ups to them, gradually increasing to higher flies and more distance to cover with the goal of having them work toward reading the ball off the bat.

Once you have them working on cutoffs, make everything a situation. Make sure every player knows what to do with the ball if it comes to them. Prepare them for every situation. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Good luck.
 
Apr 5, 2013
2,130
83
Back on the dirt...
I do work them in stations now but it's been mostly technique and not so much with runners on type stuff. Like, we have been throwing to all the bases and fielding skills and things like that but not with runners and live hitting, which is in my practice plans but was looking for something to do as a team but still keeping them all involved. We are for sure hitting off our pitchers tomorrow, just to see where we are in that aspect.

Thanks for your response Coach James. They are all appreciated.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
One thing you can try is using parents for baserunners. Then you hit the ball to different players and have the players react to the different situations. You can then perform immediate corrections at the end of each play.

A fun game you can play is 21 (or whatever number you think they can handle) outs. Start with no one on, no one out. Hit the ball somewhere and the players have to execute the proper play to get the out. If they don't get the out you have a runner on first. If they are successful, they have one out. The object is to get to 21 outs. If they don't get the out on any play, the count goes back to zero and they start over. If you hit a ball into the gap, or something else where it's not possible to get an out, it doesn't count.

If you start early enough, you can offer that practice ends when they get 21 outs. It's a great game for getting them to understand situations and deal with pressure. The closer they get to 21 outs, the more they feel the pressure.

One other thing you can do if you have 12 or more players is divide them into four teams of three, and have them do a scrimmage - one team of three against the other three. Each team scores as many runs as they can before they get three outs. Then the next team is up. Be sure to bring paper or a white board to keep track of the score for each team. Also be sure you don't have more than one pitcher or catcher on a team or you may wind up short at those positions.

Hope that helps.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
'situation' practices suck. They bore the kids, and they generally end up addressing 'one' situation - and even then badly.

I much prefer to run intrasquad games or scrimmages where we will stop after a play and go over what we could have done differently (and then go back to the game) - or where we will put runners on as part of the inning, start with one out, etc, etc and so forth.

A lot of situations are never going to be 'practiced learned' they are going to be 'game learned' - so play more game like situations to encounter and create more different situations for the kids to learn.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
0
PA
At 12U I spend a lot of time teaching aggressive base running. Some of the things I work on are: going first to third on a bunt (at 12U many teams forget to cover 3B) or second to home on a bunt (many teams haven't taught their 2B that the play is not over, or 2B does not have the quickness and arm to make that play); delay steals; pickles; squeeze/safety squeeze; runner on third, take off for home on contact; etc.

The reason I do this is not only to teach the kids about base running, but also to be aware on defense what good base running teams are going to try to do to them. The more they understand about how to pressure a defense, the better defenders they become.
 
Feb 16, 2013
19
0
One thing you can try is using parents for baserunners. Then you hit the ball to different players and have the players react to the different situations. You can then perform immediate corrections at the end of each play.

A fun game you can play is 21 (or whatever number you think they can handle) outs. Start with no one on, no one out. Hit the ball somewhere and the players have to execute the proper play to get the out. If they don't get the out you have a runner on first. If they are successful, they have one out. The object is to get to 21 outs. If they don't get the out on any play, the count goes back to zero and they start over. If you hit a ball into the gap, or something else where it's not possible to get an out, it doesn't count.

If you start early enough, you can offer that practice ends when they get 21 outs. It's a great game for getting them to understand situations and deal with pressure. The closer they get to 21 outs, the more they feel the pressure.

One other thing you can do if you have 12 or more players is divide them into four teams of three, and have them do a scrimmage - one team of three against the other three. Each team scores as many runs as they can before they get three outs. Then the next team is up. Be sure to bring paper or a white board to keep track of the score for each team. Also be sure you don't have more than one pitcher or catcher on a team or you may wind up short at those positions.

Hope that helps.

we run a version of 21. its a great drill... we have 18 girls so we treat it as a live game, 9v9 minus the hitting. pitchers still throw their pitches to the catcher but a coach will hit to different spots on the field. mix in line drives, pop flys, grounders, base hits, ect. the base runners all start in the left handed hitters box and run everything out. the defense stays on the field until they have an error or a mental breakdown. then we switch offense and defense. the defense will carry over with them how ever many outs they recorded to the next inning. the only time you clear the bases on offense is after three outs have been recorded. the first team to record 21 outs wins. losers run.
 

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