Practice Plans, Drills, Videos & more

Outfield Drills

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Line Drives

  • Coach is throwing line drives directly at, to the left or to the right of the fielders.
  • Make sure player is in proper ready position. Athletic stance, hands out front, elbows down and relaxed.


  • Pop Ups

  • Coach is hitting (or throwing) pop ups directly at, to the left or to the right of the fielders (for more control, tennis racket is great).
  • Make sure players are catching ball above their head (in front of their face) with two hands.


  • Back Right

  • Working on going back right to receive ball.
  • Working on coming in to the left to receive ball.
  • Catch ball above head in strong throwing position.
  • Fielders first step is a jab step, then hip turn and go.


  • Mix Em Up Fly Balls

  • Coach hitting (throwing) fly balls to all directions.
  • After ball is caught, crow hop and quickly throw ball in.


  • Ground Balls

  • Make sure you keep the ball in front of you.
  • On a hard hit grounder, going down to one knee is advised.
  • Play the grounder like an infielder. Field ball in middle of body, hands out front.
  • When charging a ball, execute footwork to field ball in front of toes on front foot allowing balance to get good throwing momentum.


  • Preventing Extra Bases

  • Hit grounders to left/right of outfielder.
  • Take proper angle to cut ball off.
  • Get in front of ball.
  • After ball is caught, crow hop and quickly throw ball in.


  • Bloop Flyballs

  • Aggressively closing on bloopers, calling off infielder
  • Stress running through the ball.
  • Point out weak balls you can be aggressive with because they will not get too far from you and liners that could get pretty far past you that need to be knocked down..


  • Tennis Ball Triangle

  • SS, 2B CF all at their positions. With a tennis racket, hit a pop up between the 3 fielders. One has to call and catch it.
  • Work on communication between the fielders. Have catcher call ball 3 times.
  • Infielder closest to fly ball can help back up outfielder. Infielder farthest away from fly ball must go and cover 2B.


  • Me You Flyball Lines

  • Set two players up about 30' apart. Coach throws the ball in between them and one fielder has to call/catch the ball.
  • Have catcher call ball 3 times.
  • Other outfielder backs up catch.


  • Wide Receiver Drill

  • Have players running left/right and catching fly balls.
  • Player runs to right and coach throws ball. Outfielder has to catch ball.
  • Player runs to left and coach throws ball. Outfielder has to catch ball.
  • Variation: Coach throws ball back left/right. After ball is caught, crow hop and quickly throw ball in.


  • Ball to the Wall

  • Roll ball to outfield wall.
  • Outfielder chases ball, plants feet, grabs ball, shuffles and throws.
  • Add second ball to stress importance of footwork providing some momentum.


  • 500

  • Split the team into 2 groups and have fielders in right field/left field and one hitter for each group. A game where hitter throws up the ball and hits it to the fielders.
  • If you catch it on the fly, 100 points. One bounce, 75 points. Two bounces, 50 points. Three or more, 25 points.
  • Keep track of your score. If you miss the catch, deduct that amount from your score.
  • Make sure kids are calling for the ball and communicating.


  • Blind Pop ups

  • Have fielders about 20'-30' in front of coach with their back to you. Throw or hit a fly ball and yell \"ball.\"
  • When fielders hear \"ball,\" they have to turn around, find the ball and catch it.


  • Outfield Target Practice

  • Pick a spot on the backstop to hit or a bucket on home plate.
  • Emphasis line drive throws.


  • Do Or Die Ground Balls

  • Have outfielders in center field and hit them grounders. They have to throw the runner out at home plate.
  • Have outfielder field ball on the run on their glove side, take a crow hop and make a strong throw through the cutoff man.
  • Remind player of proper four seam grip.