"T-Game" Drill

This drill comes from Jim Rosenberg our March 2003 Drill of the Month Winner.

Equipment:

• Batting Tee

Assign players to create two teams. If you do not have enough players, you can omit one or more of the outfielders. The outfielders are helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

At home plate set up the batting tee and place ball on tee. Players hit the ball in order as usual. However, each team gets 6 outs instead of 3 and you can play as many innings as you desire, or time permits.

In the game, any ball hit to the outfield grass or outfield area on a fly is an out. The purpose is to work on hitting hard hit balls up the middle or through the infield. That doesn't mean that there won't be any balls in the outfield. It just means that they will have to be grounders, or line drives that hit in the infield first.

The key aspect to the game is that it is designed to be very instructive. Instead of scoring only when runs cross the plate, points are scored any time the coach awards them. For example, if the ball is hit and the shortstop makes an excellent catch, the coach may award a point or two. Perhaps the second baseman makes the play and executes a backhand flip to the shortstop. Again, a point may be awarded. Maybe the first baseman scoops a ball in the dirt... again a point could be awarded.

Meanwhile, if the second baseman lets the ball go through his/her legs a point is deducted. If the outfielder throws to the wrong base, a point may be deducted. Meanwhile, the hitting team can earn or lose points by good hitting, scoring runs, or good or bad base running.

The beauty of this drill is that it allows the coach to emphasize those points he has been trying to teach, or needs to teach and still have a very exciting game for the players. Obviously, the coach or another player keeps track of the total points and the winning team is the one with the most points at the end of the game. Add an incentive like the loser picks up the equipment, or whatever incentive the coach deems fit. The T-Game drill will provide an enjoyable, and an instructive competitive game.