Your favorite throwing drills

This entry was posted on Friday, December 22, 2006 2:52 PM and is filed under Throwing.

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• Thursday, January 04, 2007 12:19 PM Ken Krause wrote:
  One of my favorites for throwing isn't a drill so much as a game. You split the team in half, and send one half out into the infield. You need a minimum of 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, and C, and can use a pitcher if you need one more spot. The rest of the team are the baserunners. The coach hits a ground ball to one of the infielders, who throws the ball home. At the same time, the first baserunner takes off for first base. When the throw reaches the catcher, he/she throws the ball to third, third throws to 2B or SS covering 2B, 2B throws to first, and first throws home. The ball must in the possession of the fielder on the base in order to advance, so if it is thrown away someone needs to chase it down and get it back to that base before it can go on. In the meantime, the runner is rounding the bases non-stop.
  
  The situation is a race -- does the ball get back home before the baserunner? If so, the defensive team gets an out. If the runner makes it home first, the offensive team scores a run. When the defensive team has earned three outs the offense and defense switch.
  
  This is a great game for learning to throw accurately under pressure, learning to take tight corners when rounding the bases, and for conditioning. It's also a lot of fun for the players. I've also used it as a measure of quality for my teams over the years, reminding them of when scores used to look like football games instead of softball games.
  
  The only downside (from a drill perspective) is it doesn't do much for throwing form. That has to be there already as there are no "style points" for good form. Still, there are plenty of other great drills for learning form. This one provides a great way to apply those skills in a competitive situation.
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