Baseball Drills for Young People

Written for coaches, this work presents more than 180 baseball games and activities for young children and adolescents, focusing on teaching, improvement of skills and enjoyment. Games emphasizing baserunning, bunting, catching, fielding, hitting, throwing and pitching are covered. Each section reviews fundamentals, introduces creative skills and drills for group practice, and details the age group, objective, equipment and rules for each activity.

Worcester State University head baseball coach Dirk Baker was an adjunct professor at the university for 15 years. He previously coached at Harvard and Boston University as well as in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He lives in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Dirk Baker
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 195
Bibliographic Info: photos, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3725-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0660-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Foreword by Bill “Spaceman” Lee      1
Preface      3

CHAPTER 1. RUNNING A BASEBALL CAMP, CLINIC, CLASS OR PRACTICE: TIPS FROM A TO Z      5

CHAPTER 2. BASERUNNING      23
The Basics      24
Team Baserunning Drills      25
Baserunning Games and Activities      26

CHAPTER 3. BUNTING      41
The Basics      42
Team Bunting Drills      43
Bunting Games and Activities      43

CHAPTER 4. CATCHING      49
The Basics      50
Team Catching Drills      51
Catching Games and Activities      52

CHAPTER 5. FIELDING      55
The Basics      56
Team Infield Drills      57
Team Outfield Drills      58
Fielding Games and Activities      58

CHAPTER 6. HITTING      87
The Basics      88
Team Hitting Drills      89
Hitting Games and Activities      89

CHAPTER 7. THROWING AND PITCHING      141
The Basics      142
Team Throwing Drills      144
Team Pitching Drills (Overhand)      144
Team Pitching Drills (Underhand)      145
Throwing and Pitching Games and Activities      146

CHAPTER 8. CLOSING WORDS      175

Index of Games and Activities      183

Reviews of the first edition: “informative…will please its intended audience…recommended”—Library Journal.