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Baseball Drills you can play at home

You don’t need a field or a lot of equipment to help your child improve their baseball skills. Simply playing catch is a great way to help them practice their throwing technique and glove control (tip: you can gamify catch by making them take a step back each time they catch the ball, so increasing the difficulty). If your child is keen to do more than play a bit of catch, then these three at-home baseball drills will help them to build hand-eye coordination, improve their throwing, and develop their confidence. What’s more, you can do these drills in your backyard, driveway, or even your living room.

Throwing at a Target

Goal: This drill aims to build throwing accuracy and arm strength, two essential baseball skills.

See how many times your child can hit the target.

How It Works: This drill can evolve as your child develops their throwing accuracy. For young children, have them practice the drill using just a wrist flick. This involves their non-throwing arm supporting their throwing elbow to keep it stable. They then toss the ball just by flicking their wrist forward, which isolates the final motion of the throw and lets them focus only on accuracy.

The aim of this game is simple. Your child should throw the ball at a target. That could be anything from a bucket on the floor to a taped ‘X’ on the wall. You do not have to use a baseball for this, and if there are breakable things around, maybe use a softer ball. Younger children should start from 6-8 feet/2-3 meters away, but older children can go much further back.

Gamify it: Give your kid five goes to hit the target. They get a point every time they do. If they hit it every time, make them throw from further away. If they miss every time, let them take a step closer.

The Soft Toss Drill

Goal: This drill will help your child develop their hand-eye coordination with a moving ball.

The soft toss drill helps introduce your child to hitting a moving ball.

How it works: Do not use a baseball for this drill. Ideally, use a wiffle ball or a foam ball. Kneel about 6-8 feet/2-3 meters away from your child, at a 45-degree angle in front of them. Have them prepare to hit the ball by adopting the correct hitting stance. Gently toss the ball into your child’s hitting zone. You’re looking for a gentle arc on the ball, making it easy for them to hit.

Gamify it: Can they your child three in a row? Can they hit five in a row? Celebrate every time that they do hit the ball, but challenge them to build a streak.

Fielding Ground Balls

Goal: Fielding ground balls is an important baseball skill. And while we’ve looked at how to catch the ball, it’s just as important to be able to stop it when it is coming along the ground. This drill will improve your child’s fielding skills and glove coordination.

Learning to field ground balls is an important baseball skill.

How it works: It’s best not to use a baseball for this drill, as your child may get injured. Instead, use a tennis ball or a foam ball. Gently roll the ball towards your child across a soft surface (grass or a rug will suffice). Encourage them to get low by bending their knees, lowering their butt and presenting their hands out front to funnel the ball in. Remind them to keep their eyes on the ball and use their bare hand to trap it in the glove. Mix it up by rolling the ball to the left, right, and straight ahead, and changing the speed.

Gamify it: When you first practice this drill with your child, tell them whether you’re rolling left, right, or center. As their confidence grows, stop telling them. Practice rolling the ball ten times. If they pick it up, they get a point. If they fumble it or it goes past them, you get a point. See who has the most points at the end.

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