As a youth baseball coach, you know that it’s critical to warm up your team with baseball drills. This helps them get physically and mentally prepared for the game ahead. Youth baseball drills prior to the game should coach athletes to focus on being “locked in.”

Physical preparation for pre-game youth baseball drills should vary by position. All players should go through a good J-band routine, run, stretch and throw. Our teams jog for 3 minutes before beginning their stretching routine, which begins with the lower body and finishes with the upper body. Next, the players partner up by position for throwing.

Starting Pitchers

Your starting pitcher should throw with the starting catcher for the day. Every youth pitcher should be given a program on how to get ready for a game. A coach should observe his warm-up, making certain the pitcher follows the program and throws strikes.

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Catchers

The catcher should do 10 repetitions of receiving, blocking, and footwork for throwing to second base. These drills help the catcher get ready to play on game day, and be prepared to lead the team.

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Infielders

Infielders should line up and take eight ground balls, then do some Four-Corner drill work.

• Place the infielders approximately 10 feet apart.
• The players should work on flips, picks, short hops, long hops and other plays that could occur during a game.

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Outfielders

Outfielders should start by doing some drop-step drills.

• A coach stands 10 feet in front of the outfielder and points right or left.
• The player drop-steps to that side.
• After the drop-step, the coach tosses the ball over the outfielder’s shoulder to let him work on catching on the run.
• Each outfielder should do four or five repetitions.
• Finally, the outfielders should take some fly balls and ground balls off a bat.

At some tournaments, if there’s not enough space to do these drills with baseballs, a coach may substitute tennis balls. Teams can even do the drills without a ball if necessary. Caution: Players should not throw tennis balls at a high velocity prior to a game.

RELATED: Mental Warm-Up: How to Build Confidence Before a Game

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