Lesson 1: Run a Hitting Practice Kids Love
One hour, four stations, every kid swinging. No lines, no lectures.
One hour, four stations, every kid swinging. No lines, no lectures.
The 46/60 practice hour: a short athletic warm-up, three hitting stations kids rotate through, a team game, and a 4-minute wrap. Every kid gets 60–100 swings in an hour instead of 10 swings and 50 minutes in line.
The reason
Kids this age learn by doing, and they quit when they are bored. The biggest mistake youth coaches make is one batter, one coach pitching, eleven kids standing in the field. Stations fix that. They also let you put your best eyes (you) where they matter most.
Show, explain, feel, drill, test
- Show walk the kids through the four stations before practice starts, 30 seconds each. Point to where they stand and where the balls go.
- Explain one job per station, said in five words or less. “Tee: hit the back of the net.” “Toss: see it, hit it.”
- Feel send each group to its first station for a 2-minute dry run with no balls so they learn the space.
- Drill run 3 rotations of 12 minutes. Blow the whistle, everyone rotates clockwise, no exceptions.
- Test in the team game at the end, watch who brings the station cue into a live swing. That tells you what next practice needs.
Say it the same way every time
- “Next station!”Fixes: Ends the drifting. Rotations happen on the whistle, not when a group feels done.
- “Ball, bat, buddy.”Fixes: Before every swing: ball is ready, bat path is clear, buddy is out of swing range.
- “Hit it and grab one.”Fixes: Keeps the line moving at the tee: hit, set the next ball, go to the back.
What to look for
- What wrong looks like
Kids waiting in long lines, poking each other.
The fixCut the group size. Three per station, never more than four. Add a second tee before you add a second kid to a line.
- What wrong looks like
Swings in the same space where kids are walking.
The fixMark a swing box with four cones per hitting station. Only the hitter goes in the box. Everyone else stays behind the bucket line.
- What wrong looks like
You spend the whole hour pitching.
The fixYour helper runs the tee and the game station. You run the toss station, because that is where the coaching happens.
Run it tonight
10–12 players · 1 coach + 1 helper · about 60 minutes. Stations run at the same time; groups rotate on your whistle.
| 8 min | Athletic warm-upJog, skip, side shuffle, 5 frog jumps, 5 throws to a partner. Kids should be breathing hard by minute 8. |
| 12 min | Station 1: Tee into a netTwo tees, 3 kids each. Hit, set the next ball, rotate. Goal: line drives into the middle of the net. |
| 12 min | Station 2: Coach soft tossYou kneel off to the side and toss into a net. One cue for the day. 8 swings, rotate. |
| 12 min | Station 3: Hitting gameHelper runs a whiffle-ball game: hit the cone, call the color, or Home Run Derby with foam balls. |
| 12 min | Team gameLive coach pitch or “Hitter vs. the Field” with soft balls. Every kid gets at least 4 at-bats. |
| 4 min | WrapHuddle. One thing we got better at. One thing to try at home. Break on “Earned!” |
Coaching fastpitch
Same hour works for fastpitch. Use a short-distance underhand toss at the toss station so hitters see the ball rising slightly, and keep the tee a little lower in the zone.
The win
Every kid took at least 60 swings and nobody stood in a line longer than a minute.
Take it to the field
Print this lesson and clip it to your clipboard, or keep it open on your phone at practice.
Lesson 1 done?
Mark it complete after you run it. Run any practice again whenever your team needs it.
Coach safely
Helmets for every live and toss rep. Swing boxes marked with cones, one hitter per box, everyone else behind the bucket line. Throw from behind an L-screen for front toss. Soft or foam balls for younger players and for any player working through fear of the ball. Stop for pain, dizziness, a possible head injury, or a kid who is upset and not settling.
Field sizes, bat rules and pitching rules vary by league. Follow yours.