Sample Practice Plan | St. Helena Red Devils Baseball

Our practices center around consistency and continuous activity to keep players engaged and active as much as possible. You will notice several consistencies between the practice outline and pregame outline. Two to three of the team and station drills listed below will be selected for each practice session — team and station drills supplement each other to ensure players stay engaged throughout.

Warmup
30 min

Independent Defense
30 min

Team & Station Drills
~90 min

Wrapup
~10 min

Warmup

30 Minutes

Conditioning

Jog & Active Stretch

10 Minutes

5 min — Jog (lap of the field)
5 min — Active stretch

Explosiveness

Plyometrics

5 Minutes · Alternating Sessions

3x3 max effort — flip-flop between Session 1 and Session 2 each practice.

Session 1

Broad Jumps
Lateral Broad Jumps
Vert Jumps

Session 2

Triple Broad Jumps
Rebound Skate Jumps
Repeated Vert Jumps

Arm Care

Play Catch / Long Toss

10 Minutes · Long toss every other day

200 ft max — focus on reaching each distance with as little effort as possible
Let the hips and lower half trigger the throw

Baserunning

Three Steals — Reading the Pitcher

5 Minutes

Hit & Run — ensure pitcher goes to plate; read the swing after 5 steps
Delay Steal — take a full secondary with a late break to second
Straight Steal — watch the pitcher's front foot; go when it lifts

Independent Defense

30 Minutes

Catchers (with a buddy)

Open glove receiving — with heavies and baseballs if available
Transfers — hands only and all together; mix in pancake glove if available, barehand if not
Blocking — hands behind back, then with glove; last few are block and recover

Infielders (with a buddy) · Pitchers mix in

Roll and transfer on the knees — pancake or barehand if unavailable
Same drill with glove
Catch transfers — pancake or barehand, then with glove
1st Basemen: backhand picks with and without glove from a lunge position for the remainder of independent defense

Outfielders · Pitchers mix in occasionally

3-cone fly balls:
Breaking left
Breaking straight back
Breaking right
Cutoff work

Key: Throws always stay down — long hop or no hop.

Team & Station Drills

~90 Minutes · Choose 2–3 per practice

Select a combination of team and station drills for each practice. Team and station drills supplement each other to keep players engaged. It is often best to pair a team drill with several station drills running simultaneously.

Team

Hit and Run Game

5–15 min per round

Competitive · Helps hitters see the ball deep · Improves aggressiveness and bat control · Keeps defense and baserunners locked in

On-field pitching machine or live BP · 3rd base coach for baserunners
Split into at least two teams (max 9 per team)
Starting 1-1 count · hitting team gets 6 outs to score as many points as possible

+1 Ground ball or base hit to opposite field
+1 Going 1st to 3rd

-1 Swing and miss or take
-1 Thrown out at 3rd base

Max: 10 points per round

Team

Quick Hitters

10 min per round

Great for hitters · Runners executing situationally · Forces defense to communicate and execute under pressure

Groups of 4–5: one hitting, one running, one on defense; additional groups rotate through batting cage stations
Four rounds of 3 pitches each (last pitch of each round is a hard 90):

Round 1: Sac bunt down 3rd base line; bunt for a hit; hit and run (must swing, ideally on the ground toward 2B)
Round 2: Move the runner from 1st (hit and run approach; don't have to swing on a ball; 3-4 hole ideal)
Round 3: Use the middle of the field to move or score runner from 2nd (gap-to-gap approach)
Round 4: Score the runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs (sac fly or extra-base hit)

Runners: One at each base, each in their own situation. Move up one base every 3 pitches regardless of batter performance.

Team

In and Out

Full team · Continuous

All-around defense working as a unit · Good throws · Attention to detail · Fast moving

Grounders to outfielders → throw to 2nd
Fly balls to outfielders → throw to 2nd
Same to 3rd (x2), then home (x2)
Infield throw-around: catcher → 2B (short covers) → 3B (tag) → 1B (tag) → 2B (tag) → home (tag) → 3B (tag) → 2B (tag) → home (tag) → 1B inside (force) → 3B (tag) → home (tag)
Grounders all around → 1st (pitchers included)
All around double plays, home-to-first DP, tag plays to home, slow roller to 1st
Pop fly to catcher

Finish: As each player leaves the field they wait to dap up teammates in a line in front of the dugout — every player daps every other player.

Team

21 Outs

Full team · Situational

All-around defense · Defensive communication · Learning situational responsibilities · Executing under pressure

One player at each position + additional players as baserunners, or full team rotating each time they touch the ball
Get 21 outs, resetting every 3
On an error: restart from zero, add one sprint, or both (based on conditioning need)
Coach hits fungos to random spots — team makes plays based on the situation

Variations: Run purely on pop-ups (priority learning), fly balls (jumps and relays), or groundballs (keeping the ball in front and making good throws).

Station

Bunting

2–4 min per round

Seeing the ball hit the bat · Practicing when and when not to take

Any kind of ball, any location — machine pitch, BP pitch, or underhand toss
Practice squaring up on time
Keep bat at 45-degree angle at all times
Adjust up and down using the legs only
Angle the bat toward a foul line by moving the bottom hand forward or backward
Practice pulling back if the pitch is a ball (unless bunt and run is on)

Station

Underhand Toss

2–4 min per round

Muscle memory · Correcting mechanics · Working on letting the ball travel

Coach or player underhand toss from behind an L-screen, 10–15 feet from hitter
On field or in the cage
To improve adjustment to offspeed: make every other pitch on one long bounce

Station

Machine Hitting

2–4 min per round

Hitting velo · Different pitch types · Consistent strikes

Coach or player feeding machine — in cage or on field
Hitters work on loading on time, getting the front foot down, and tracking the ball all the way to contact
Add a second machine throwing a different pitch to work on "sit fastball, adjust to offspeed" approach

Station

Tee Hitting

2–4 min per round

Tuning mechanics · Practicing point of contact · Hitting to all fields · Barrel accuracy

Tee in cage or on field
Consistent swings in a controlled setting for easy adjustments
Practice different points of contact with a specific target in mind

Tip: Tee can be added to machine hitting, underhand toss, or live BP to work on keeping hands back and adjusting — or used in Quick Hitters for younger groups.

Station

Live BP

2–4 min per round

Reading the ball out of the hand · Plate discipline · Competing in a controlled at-bat scenario

Coach throwing from behind a screen — consistent strikes, on field or in cage
Hitters work on seeing the ball all the way to contact (track even on a take), selectiveness, and plate discipline
Work on bunting, pulling back on balls, and bunt-and-run (must attempt to bunt regardless of location)

Station

Bullpens

Vary by age & arm health

Pitchers practice command, execution, and mechanics development

Vary pitch counts based on age, arm health, and upcoming game schedule
Emphasize command of the strike zone — if a pitch can't consistently be thrown for a strike, it doesn't get thrown in a game
Start with fastballs; throw a couple fastballs between each off-speed pitch
Pitchers thank the catcher when finished

Wrapup

Every Practice · All Players Take a Knee

The end of each practice takes place with all players taking a knee in a huddle.

Ask players what they saw that was good and what they want to see improved — coaches chime in and comment on what they say. (Sometimes it's best to simply agree, fostering group accountability independent of coaching.)
Remind the team: keep up in school, be on time, maintain a good diet, get enough sleep, and look out for each other.

"FAMILY ON ME — 1, 2, 3 — FAMILY!"