5 Essential T-Ball Drills for Defensive Skill
If your search enough, there are literally thousands of drills out there. Some of them are useful, while most are just fluff. With roughly 6 years of T-ball experience under my belt, I have whittled out the fluff and found what I feel are the most useful. From that experience I have compiled what I feel are the five (5) essential T-ball drills to build defensive skills for your aspiring players. no matter what age group, I believe in keeping it as simple as possible. These drills capture that essence and can be used for both baseball and softball. If you are a new t-ball coach, I suggest starting with my tips for new t-ball coaches.
What are My Five (5) Essential T-Ball Drills for Defensive Skill?
1. Ground Ball 1-2-3’s T-Ball Drill
This essential t-ball drill is probably my favorite defensive drill for teaching infield ground ball mechanics. It’s simple enough for t-ballers but can be used for any player level. Basically, for this defensive skill we are breaking down the fielding process into 3 check points.
To set up I will have one cone for the fielder to start and one cone 3-5 feet behind to stage the line. Have the fielder get in to a “ready” position. As you roll the ball to them say “One” and have them freeze in the fielding position as they secure the ball in their glove. In this position you can check for proper form. When form is verified, say “Two”. They should then transition into a throwing stance using a right foot, left foot step for right handers. Once they are in proper throwing position say “Three” and have them toss the ball back to you.
Some coaching points include making sure they are fielding with their backside down and glove out in front. Make sure they are “popping” into the throwing position, using proper footwork, aimed at target with glove out, and ball back.
This is pretty simple drill for defensive skill and I use this concept on a lot of other fundamentals by breaking them into checkpoints.
2. Glove Control T-Ball Drill
For this essential t-ball drill I would keep this to a one coach to one player or two players at a maximum. The defensive skill taught in this drill is to get them used to the different glove positions required to catch balls. This is another drill for young t-ballers but can be progressed up to even older levels of players.
To set up have the two players stand a few feet apart. Instruct them on each glove position by both showing them and by helping them get their glove into the proper spot. From there, you can go through the different glove positions starting from ready.
The next progression in this drill is to have them hold their glove in the correct position, backhand for example, then toss them a ball. For younger players it is advisable to use a tennis ball or whiffle ball for safety. Work through having them catch balls in each glove position.
Another variation you can do is to have them get into the “ready” position and then hold the ball and walk it towards them simulating a ball thrown at them. Make them react with the correct glove position for the ball coming towards them.
3. Goalie T-Ball Drill
This is another essential t-ball drill that can be varied slightly to fit your need. The defensive skill practiced by this drill is moving to the ball and attempting to get in front as much as possible. You can use this as either a skill drill or as a competition.
Set up includes two cones about 4 to 6 feet apart. Another cone can be set up behind to que the line. Spacing of the cones can be made wider to increase the difficulty as either skill goes up or for each round of the competition. Roll balls to each side and have the player use their glove to knock the balls away.
As a variation you could have them field them and toss it back, but I have found that with really young players it works well just having them knock them back.
4. Target Throw T-Ball Drill
The target throw drill is pretty simple. The defensive skill being worked on in this drill is throwing accuracy. This drill is an essential t-ball drill but can be used in older groups as well. It works great for younger t-ballers because they generally cannot throw to each other yet.
This drill can be set up multiple ways. One simple one is to put a helmet on the tee and have them throw at it from 10 – 15 feet. Distance can be increased as needed. Another variant that works great with younger kids is to get an old stuffed animal and put it on the tee. You’d be surprised how competitive 12-year-olds will get trying to knock an Elmo off the tee. I have also printed out targets and taped them to the fence. Archery targets are another option if available.
This is definitely a defensive skill drill that can be used as a game. Kids usually have a good time with this one.
5. 4 Cone T-Ball Drill
Every sport has some sort of 4 cone drill and there are lots of variance between them. This particular 4 cone drill is one of my essential t-ball drills because it’s simple yet effective. The defensive skill worked in this drill is groundball fielding mechanics and footwork.
For this 4 cone drill you will obviously set up four cones in a square. Space them slightly larger than the average players shoulder width. Put a ball in the middle or go without.
Have a player lineup with feet in front of two of the cones facing toward the center of the square. They then simulate fielding a ground ball, then right to left and left to next cone for right-handers into a throwing stance. They then start over simulating fielding a ground ball. Right-Handers will rotate clockwise around the square. Left handers will be opposite.
Here is one of the only quick videos I could find to demonstrate but it is a pretty good one: https://youtube.com/shorts/d2_R1sQ3kFQ?feature=share
Essential T-ball Drills for Defensive Skill
I hope you found these 5 essential t-ball drills for defensive skill useful in your journey to running an effective T-ball practice. If you would like to learn more about me, you can find it here. You can also send me questions or suggestions to CoachFreddy@coachthemkids.com.
Thanks for reading and GOOD LUCK!
