Bucket Ball is a fun fielding drill that not only gives the kids a lot of practice catching ground balls, but also keeps them interested and motivated.
Choose two captains, then let them pick up sides from your team.
You'll need two empty 5 gallon buckets or two milk crates.
Place one bucket on the ground a couple of feet down the first base line from home plate, and the other down the third base line.
One group of kids goes to first base, the other to third base.
Rules are:
* You must catch the ball before you can throw it back. * The ball must be thrown in the bucket on 2 to 4 hops. * No throwing directly into the bucket on the fly. * No bowling, or rolling the ball on the ground to the bucket. * First team to get 5 in a bucket wins the first round. * Then groups switch bases for the second round. * No running in to throw, the throw is made from first or third base.
We sometimes have it so the person with the most thrown in the bucket gets to hit first in practice. You can think up other ways of rewarding the most catches or throws.
It's a bit harder to get the balls in the bucket than you might imagine. The kids have a lot of fun cheering each other on and they learn focus on catching the ball and throwing at a target.
It goes a lot faster if you have two coaches hitting the balls.
In about 15 minutes each kid can get a lot of grounders and no one gets bored standing around because this is a fast moving game.
About the author:
Dave Cole Copyright
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