Looking for fun ideas for practice. 10u rec

ddtimes4 said:

My 10u rec players LOVE contests like the bucket drill and hitting knockout. Whoever hits to the outfield grass stays in the game. Good luck.

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We do a variation of this. Have them line up with your least experienced players first, and have them keep their gloves nearby. Preferably with a pitching machine, tell the girls they get one pitch each. If they reach the grass, they get in the back of the line. Anything else (foul ball, swing and miss, doesn't reach the outfield) and they are out. They then get their glove and race on to the field to play defense. Don't wait for them to get out there and be ready, just keep going with the next batter. Now the defenders have a chance to get back in the game by cleanly fielding a batted ball that gets past the "pitcher." If they do, they get back in line to bat again and the batter gets their glove and goes on defense. Only wait long enough for the next batter to get in the box. After a while, you'll have half the team on defense and half the team still hitting. You will never see more aggressive defenders than when you play this game; the girls almost tackle each other trying to catch a ball, and are almost immediately ready for the next batter since they know you aren't waiting on them. The batters then start to try to "hit it where they ain't" and discover they can hit the opposite field or between two defenders, or over them if they are crowding the infield. The girls are hustling in and out because they know that every pitch they miss is a missed opportunity to get back in the batting line. Just remember to stick to the one pitch per kid rule, otherwise you'll be there all night. Last one standing wins. We call this one "Queen of the Dirt" and you better believe they all want to be the Queen.

4 girl's dad said:

Players lined up, throwing to glove side and then relaying to next player. Down and back the fastest wins. This can be done quickly and really helps reinforce game pressure. I usually do best 3 out 5 or 5 of 7.

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We also do a variation of this. We line them up like this, but instead of down and back up the same line, they throw to the opposite line. Player 1 in Line A throws to Player 2 in Line B who throws to Player 3 in Line A, and so on. We call it the Zipper Game. It helps the girls focus on throwing to a specific person when that person is surrounded by others in the same uniform. Sometimes the teams are so evenly matched that the throws are going up and back simultaneously, and sometimes the balls collide mid-throw and now they have to chase the ball to get it back in and continue.

When my girls were younger they loved playing competitive games against each other. We play speed racer, tom and jerry, small scrimmages. Also they loved batting practice with water balloons. They also enjoyed using buckets as targets during outfield throws. One of the best we learned is they also enjoyed having the coaches practice with them kinda to up the compatition if they do better then you they have so much fun plus you boost their ego. Just be sure as a coach you have a smile on your face to show the girls the game is fun and reward them with these games style thing when they have a good practice. of everyone in a while we would allow gift cards to be won for being the last batter of the last one getting outs on the field. Hope my post as well as all the ones above mine help you. Good luck!!