Thread: Fun things to do at practice

how about some ideas for fun activities during practices?

My personal favorite is a game called "shotgun". There are three teams, 4 or 5 on a team. One team bats, one plays infield and one plays outfield.

Three outs an at bat.

The coach pitches. The only way to make an out is if you are put out prior to getting to 1B. (Caught fly-ball, thrown out at 1B, strike out).

Otherwise, the team gets one point per base. Once you are tagged, you get back in line for hitting and you cannot score any more runs. If you are tagged, it is not an "out". After 3 outs, everyone changes (team at bat goes to infield, infield goes to outfield, outfield goes to bat).

E.g., if a kid hits a double, her team gets 2 points. If she is tagged between 2B and 3B, it doesn't count as an out but she cannot score any more points for her team.

You want to keep the game moving. As soon as the batter gets to the plate, you throw the ball--even if the defensive players aren't in position or are talking or whatever. You can cut the number of strikes down to 2 or 1 before an out to encourage aggressiveness at the plate.

The team is working on base running skills and defensive skills (hitting the cutoff and relays) at the same time. The kids love it because of everyone being involved. They will play this game until the sun goes down.

We have been known to play Ultimate Softball. This is like Ultimate Frisbee but with gloves and a softball instead of a frisbee. The team is split into two teams and the rules that apply to Ultimate Frisbee apply to Ultimate Softball. This game takes them out of the normal softball environment but they still have to work on footwork since you cannot move after receiving a throw, catching since the ball cannot hit the ground, accurate throws, communication, fake throws, etc. We usually play this indoors to break up the monotony & repetitive nature of our indoor practices. The girls enjoy the game and don't realize the workout they are getting until after the game is completed.