Ages 7 and Under
There are 4 pillars of development the AABC will explore for this age group;
- Physical
- Mental
- Technical/Tactical Skills
- Life Skills
Coaches should pay attention to their players, and as interest wanes, they should switch to another drill/activity.
U7 DRILLS
- Timed running baseball drill (home & first)
- Unzip and release drill (softer baseballs)
- Bucket drill (roll regular or softer baseballs to players from a distance of 2-3 meters, have the players run the ball over to a bucket. At this age, roll the ball directly at the player.
- Low fly balls drill (softer baseballs)
- T-Ball Hitting drill with softer and larger softballs. Have players hit until they make contact with at least five balls.
U7 LEAD-UP GAMES
- Alligator Game: see how many rolled soft rolled baseballs a player can catch out of five. Try and use three or four groups to keep the kids involved
- Head-Hunter Game: after a player has fielded a soft baseball, they can throw it at a helmet placed on a tee. Keep track of the score, but try and make sure it is a team score, not an individual total.
- Large target hitting drill: have the players hit balls, placed on a tee, at a specific target. It can be part of the backstop or part of the field. Players can do it as teams, preferably, or as individuals.
- Line drives hitting: similar to the previous one, but this time keep track of the line drives out of 5 cuts. Be a generous judge; want to be as positive as possible.
- Cone Drill: place a cone in the following spots: halfway between home and the mound - 1 point | mound - 2 points | halfway between the mound and second - 3 points | second base - 4 points
For each batted ball, off a tee, give a point that corresponds with the above point totals, regarding where the ball lands. Softer balls are encouraged, and you can probably have two or three games going on at once, provided you have some help. If at all possible, please try and have team contests, as opposed to individual competition.
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