Below are a number of drills for players to do at home! Some of the drills require some equipment, such as a tennis ball, baseball, softball, glove, bat, net, wall, or catchers gear. Find something that works for you and give it a shot. Don't forget to participate in the ZLL Wall Ball Challenge as well. If you have an idea to add, email us at
Click a link below to go to the section discussing the drill:
ZLL Coaches Guide (Full of content for our coaches to use at practices that you can do at home)
Keeping Baseball Pitching Mechanics Sharp
Comprehensive Library of Drills at Home (Presented by Dick's Sporting Goods)
USA Softball Coaches Course
ZLL is conducting a stay-at-home challenge for all of our Little League players. The contest involves two tennis balls and finding a wall to throw at. Please make sure parents approve of where the player is throwing the ball at before doing it! Remember to stay safe and abide by the stay-at-home order!
How To Complete The Challenge:
Start with a tennis ball in each hand, and stand 10 feet away from a wall. Begin by using your throwing hand to throw a ball against the wall. (If you don't have a wall, feel free to get creative on what you can bounce a ball off of). Once you release the ball, transfer the ball in your "catching" hand to your throwing hand because you need your catching hand free to catch the ball coming back to you from the wall. Continue this process until you have completed 20 total throws/catches. Some example videos of what this looks like are here: Video 1 Video 2
Submit Results:
After you get the hang of the drill, we want to see your best! You can enter into the contest in a few different ways. Please note, once you submit a video, that is your entry. We will not count additional submittals for a player after the first one. If you delete your first video, then the entry is void:
- Add the video to Facebook and tag Zeeland Recreation. Include the player's name so we know who it is! We will like the post to confirm we see the video.
- Comment on the Facebook thread about the challenge on the Zeeland Rec Facebook Page with the video link and player's name. We will like the comment to confirm we see the video.
- Submit a link to the video on the ZLL website HERE.
- NOTE: We suggest completing more than 20 catch/throws in your submission to make sure you reach the 20 minimum. We will record the time for just the first 20!
Winners:
The contest will run until April 30. We will record the times of the video submissions from when the first ball is thrown until the 20th ball is caught. The fastest times in each division listed below will receive a Dicks Sporting Goods Equipment Bag:
- AA Baseball (both American and National League combined)
- AAA Baseball (both American and National League combined)
- Minors Softball
- Majors Baseball
- Majors Softball
- 50/70 and Juniors Baseball (both divisions are combined to have 1 winner)
The winners will be announced once we have recorded the times of all submissions. Good luck, have fun, and we hope to be on the field soon!
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Here is a great video on how to start pitching mechanics to avoid an illegal pitch:
https://www.facebook.com/LoriCookBairdPitching/videos/1408876742481941/
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With limited space and the necessity to stay at home, many players may struggle to find a way to work on throwing mechanics. This unique drill is a great way for players to still throw a ball as hard as they can and be inside. All you need is a baseball/softball sock, some tape, and a ball. Check out the video HERE for how it is done!
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Working on ground ball mechanics requires a wall and a ball you don't mind throwing against it. There are a number of different mechanics that infielders can go through to work on different situations. The video HERE is a great breakdown of what types of drills to go through, and a description of the situation for each drill.
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The video HERE shows many different drills for kids that want to be catchers to work on the craft in a fun and challenging way. These involve fribees, BOSU balls, a tee and net/wall, and catchers gear (optional).
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Ryan Dempster shows a great way to work on pitching mechanics and simulate being on the mound in a game! Check out the video HERE.
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