The Relay Drill
A common error that leads to extra bases, is when a
fielder misses the cut-off man with his/her throw. You should work
on the cut off in every practice until it becomes section nature with
your players.
An easy drill is the Relay Drill.
For this drills divide you team into equal groups of
4 - 5 players. Each team of players lines up in a straight line about
20-30 yards apart. All players should maintain a good athletic position
with their gloves up and ready to receive a throw.
One player starts with the ball, the other players face
the player with the ball. On the coach's command, the player with
the ball throws the ball to the player next in line. The player throwing
the ball should demonstrate good throwing fundamentals. The player
throwing the ball should use the next player's chest as a target.
By using the chest as a target, if the throw is too high it will be
at the head level, and if too low, it will be at the player's waist.
The player catching the ball should catch the ball with
both hands (no one handed catches) and turn/pivot TO THEIR GLOVE SIDE
and throw the ball to the next player in line. It is extremely important
that the players pivot the correct way.
This should continue down the line and then reverse
itself back to the player that had the ball originally.
Once the ball is back to its starting point, all the
players should rotate positions down the line.
