By: Joe Zander, Home State Bank
This winter, I will also be spending some weekly gym time indoors with my team. The main purpose is to work with our pitchers. Like you, the space we have is a bit small. I have blocked out some station areas, and we intend to work on the following skills. 1) Conditioning--with kids working in pairs, we will introduce them to some exercises they can do using medicine balls and some simple plyometrics, e.g., jumping and bounding. This will be beneficial and fun. 2) Double Play station--work on the footwork for mid fielders throwing and receiving throws at 2B to turn the double play. All the kids can participate, not just the regular SS and 2B. Even kids who won't play this position can learn the techniques of moving their feet properly, receiving the ball vs. catching it, quick ball transfer, etc. 3) Tag Plays--we have a simple tag play drill that we run outdoors that can also be done in the gym. With a runner bearing down on them, basemen learn to concentrate on receiving throws and getting the glove quickly to the ground in order to tag the runner's feet and not the thigh. This can also double as a sliding station. 4) Catching Skills--primarily blocking, throwing, and fielding bunts. We may also work on framing and set ups for tag plays at the plate. 5) Arm strengthening--using thera-bands, after bullpen work is completed, we will supervise pitchers (and catchers) as they do a few range-of- motion resistance exercises. 6) Form running--mostly for outfielders to teach them the different types of footwork that is used. Drill can be done on command or mimic a leader. Types of running can include: crossovers, backwards, steals, high knees, carioca, power skips, shuffles, and so forth. 7)Hitting exercises--there are several hitting stations that can be easily set up in a corner of a small gym area. There are so many things that we can do with hitting that we’re only limited by our imaginations and the number of training devices we have in our tool kits. Happy practicing to you. Baseball is a blast
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Date: March 28, 1998 at 09:22