Today I got to see the University of North Carolina practice and it was just amazing. They put on a practice session of things they did during a typical practice session as part of the North Carolina High School Baseball Coaches Association. About 12 years ago I got to do the same thing with the University of Indiana and it was very inspiring like UNC was.
Of course they are dealing with a different type of player than most of us. I wouldn't say they didn't teach but most of what they did was about getting different types of game speed reps in.
A couple of the things they did that stood out to me were
1. Tee Double Play - all the infielders were in their positions with a pitcher on the mound. The outfielders hit balls off a Tee at the plate with the purpose of getting groundballs to the IF. The IF would turn double plays with the OF (and catchers) running up first baseline. What's great about it is it creates a sense of urgency in turning two because the hitter typically beats out the turn. The IF is competing to get that turn although it's pretty obvious the batters are going to reach first safely. Today they did turn some pretty sick doubleplays and it's just amazing how fast the transfers were. They did not have a runner at first base.
2. Bunt Defense - this was really genius and I never would have thought to do this but they had a pitcher on the mound and a coach throwing to a catcher about halfway to the plate. This helped to get good pitches for the OF to bunt. They ran through all their bunt defenses. The coach would throw the ball and get out of the way opposite of where the bunt is laid down. I've tried doing this in the past but either the pitcher couldn't get near the plate or the batters couldn't get the bunt down and it was a waste of time. With the coach its' more consistent in getting good pitches and bunts.
3. OF / IF throwing drill - not sure what to call this one but it does incorporate a lot of accurate throwing. Coach would stand at home and yell out a series of 3 or 4 numbers (1,2,3,4) for the bases. Then he would hit a ball to the outfield and the players would throw the ball around based on the series called. For example coach yells out 3,2,4,1 and hits to the RF. The RF and IF set up for relay throw to 3B. When 3B catches throw from RF he tags the bag and throws to 2B who tags the bag. Then the 2B throws to the plate for a tag the bag. Then the catcher rolls the ball out in front of the plate for a "bunt" and fields it and throws to first. Really great drill to get the guys to focus on what play to make with accurate throws.
4. Two Coach Fungo - did a lot of this on various drills to get more reps at different situations. For example two coaches hit at the same time and one hits to 3B to do a 5-4 double play turn. The other coach hits a 6-3 groundball to a first base up the line. They did two fungos on several PFP drills. Look runner back go to 1B, GB turn to 2B double play, bunt field to third, squeeze etc...
I seriously recommend if you have the opportunity to see a college team practice go and do it. Take a note pad and write things down that you see that you think can fit into your program. Usually if you contact the coach ahead of time they will comply with your request and will go out of their way to help you with anything during the practice.
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