So we break it down to communication at their positions 1st. For instance at each practice we break off to get more reps in the areas they need it. (This is 12u,13u/14u age level so this may be to advanced for 10u, but thought I would share as others may find this vaulable) You could also differentiate it to work for your level.
During practice we have what we call seperate but equal. Then 1 team, 1 mission.
Seperate but equal means outties are with our OF coach, and innies are working on INF communication. 1st set of drills we do for OF are communication and backup drills. We use thumbs up, thumbs down drill 1st, then queens of the island 2nd. I'll explain both.
Thumbs up, thumbs down - CF in her spot, LF in her spot. Pick 1 player to turn around, give her Thumbs up (Means she she makes the play and calls for it) or Thumbs down (Calls for it, but accidently misses the ball outside of her body). Great drill to do for making sure your outties continue to where the ball may go if someone misses it. We also talk about even though someone calls for it, we have a responsibilty to make sure we are in the proper place just in case.
2nd one for OF is - Queens of the Island. This is a fun game they enjoy often. Make a circle with cones or with mitts of players who are waiting their teams turn.(Competition at practice!!) The goal - communicate and catch all the balls. Both coaches have 3 or 4 balls. The 2 players are in the middle of the circle (Make sure circle is big enough) Coaches throw one ball at a time, start left, thrown right, throw middle. Throw quickly and challenge them. They are told to just catch the ball and flip it out of circle as fast as possble. Encourge diving. I tell them if they dive for a ball we will add a 1 1000 count before next ball goes up. Team that catches the most balls wins. You'll hear them communicate, "Back" "Mine" "Mine", "you, you".
Again I use this at the 13u level up. But has really helped out communcation as a team.
When we come together we use the concentration game. This really makes them communicate and focus.
Concentration game - 1 Team, 1 Mission – (w/music) (Make them yell over the music!!) (They love it!)
Rules:1. All ground balls to infielders go to first base
2. All fly balls to outfielders go to second base
3. After a ground ball to Home (coach’s discretion), the next ground ball is a double-play ball
4. All line drives caught in the infield go to 2nd base
5. All balls past OFers go to third base
6. All ground balls to left field go to third base
7. All ground balls to center field go to second base
8. All ground balls to right field go to first base
9. All bunts go to second base
10. After all bunts, the next ball to third base, fakes to 1st and flips to third (SS covering); the next ball
To shortstop, she fakes to first and flips to third; the next ball to second, she tags an imaginary
runner and flips to 1st for the DP; the next ball to first base, she tags an imaginary baserunner and
throw to Home; the next ball to P, fake to first and flip to Home.
During practice we have what we call seperate but equal. Then 1 team, 1 mission.
Seperate but equal means outties are with our OF coach, and innies are working on INF communication. 1st set of drills we do for OF are communication and backup drills. We use thumbs up, thumbs down drill 1st, then queens of the island 2nd. I'll explain both.
Thumbs up, thumbs down - CF in her spot, LF in her spot. Pick 1 player to turn around, give her Thumbs up (Means she she makes the play and calls for it) or Thumbs down (Calls for it, but accidently misses the ball outside of her body). Great drill to do for making sure your outties continue to where the ball may go if someone misses it. We also talk about even though someone calls for it, we have a responsibilty to make sure we are in the proper place just in case.
2nd one for OF is - Queens of the Island. This is a fun game they enjoy often. Make a circle with cones or with mitts of players who are waiting their teams turn.(Competition at practice!!) The goal - communicate and catch all the balls. Both coaches have 3 or 4 balls. The 2 players are in the middle of the circle (Make sure circle is big enough) Coaches throw one ball at a time, start left, thrown right, throw middle. Throw quickly and challenge them. They are told to just catch the ball and flip it out of circle as fast as possble. Encourge diving. I tell them if they dive for a ball we will add a 1 1000 count before next ball goes up. Team that catches the most balls wins. You'll hear them communicate, "Back" "Mine" "Mine", "you, you".
Again I use this at the 13u level up. But has really helped out communcation as a team.
When we come together we use the concentration game. This really makes them communicate and focus.
Concentration game - 1 Team, 1 Mission – (w/music) (Make them yell over the music!!) (They love it!)
Rules:1. All ground balls to infielders go to first base
2. All fly balls to outfielders go to second base
3. After a ground ball to Home (coach’s discretion), the next ground ball is a double-play ball
4. All line drives caught in the infield go to 2nd base
5. All balls past OFers go to third base
6. All ground balls to left field go to third base
7. All ground balls to center field go to second base
8. All ground balls to right field go to first base
9. All bunts go to second base
10. After all bunts, the next ball to third base, fakes to 1st and flips to third (SS covering); the next ball
To shortstop, she fakes to first and flips to third; the next ball to second, she tags an imaginary
runner and flips to 1st for the DP; the next ball to first base, she tags an imaginary baserunner and
throw to Home; the next ball to P, fake to first and flip to Home.
