All That You Needed to Know About Baseball Drills for 13-Year-Olds

Drills at this stage are quite different from that suitable for kids or that suitable for the grown-ups. People of 13 to 14 years of age usually fall within the level three of baseball tutorials.

Before you begin with the drill, you need to know about the various things that are needed to start with-

Things That You Require for Baseball Drills for 13 Year Olds

• Baseball: The first thing you would require for baseball drills for 13 year Olds. Is a baseball. The circumference of these balls should be between 9 and 9 ¼ inches and the weight should be between 5 and 5 ¼ ounces.

• The baseball glove: There are different types of baseball gloves available in the market and you need to choose the right one depending on your preferred dimension and material.

• The baseball bat: While buying bats make sure that they are in accordance with the BBCOR standards.

• The baseball pants: You should buy pants of proper size. Remember that 13-14 years is the time of growth so do not go for a tight fitting pant as it may not fit you after two months. It also makes you feel uncomfortable and can thus affect your game.

• Baseball hat: It is important to protect you from the scorching sun. It will help you to see better as well as protect you from tans.

• Baseball undershirt: There are both full-sleeve and half-sleeve undershirts available out of which you can choose the right one depending on your requirements.

• Baseball sunglasses: This is important especially if you are playing the game on a sunny day.

• Hula hoops: These are essential fitness equipments required for the drill and will keep you slim and trim and fit for the game. Coloured hula hoops are preferred for kids and teenagers.

• Snacks and water: You should also keep some healthy snacks and water bottles ready near you so that you can have a bite or take a sip from them during the breaks.

Procedure to Follow for Baseball Drills for 13 Year Olds

The baseball drills for 13 year olds. are entirely unique and are always exciting and fun-filled. The different lessons taken include the following:

• Target Bunting: Target bunting requires a few balls, a couple of bats along with hula hoops. First of all, the hula hoops need to be kept on the bunting zones, in front of home plates. If you have problems choosing the ideal bunting positions, then let us tell you that first and third baselines at the forefront of the plate is ideal for it. After proper positioning is done, as the coach needs to pitcher the players in the home plate and ask them to bunt a baseball into a particular hoop depending on the colour. This will help the players to develop bunting control and to carry it out effectively; points can be awarded on making targets.

• The Balance Drill: This part of baseball drills for 13 year olds helps the pitchers to learn how they can save energy before they run towards the plate. It will help the pitchers to find balance standing on one of their feet for a few seconds without bending. This is due to the reason that when one loses energy, it will become harder for you to break off at a high speed and then lower the velocity. It is necessary for the players to stand in a ready stance so that they can throw the ball with precision and in a well-defined path.

• Injury Drill: There is always a chance that you will suffer injuries in baseball. So the common injury drill is very important. The purpose of this drill is to ensure utmost safety when teenagers are playing. You need the proper protective gears such as helmets, knee and arm guards for the purpose. You should also teach them to grip properly for proper swinging and batting drilling can also be the reason of injury. Drills on how to stand in a ready stance is also important so that injuries while swinging to hit the ball can be avoided.

• Do Not Switch Back and Forth: It is not at all a good idea to switch back and forth from 60/90 to 54/80 during the game. Neither the coaches nor good players approve of switching back and forth. And the same needs to be learnt in baseball drills for 13 year Olds. Irrespective of whether the players are pitchers, outfielders or infielders, make them play in 60/90 pitches and let them get acclimatised to the same.

• Find a Pitching Coach: Irrespective of whether you are a good baseball player or not, you should appoint a pitching coach to teach the teenagers since pitching is not an easy task at all and requires training by a specialist. Let the coach teach them the right arm motions so that they can identify the wrong postures and rectify the same.

• Batting Drills: As already mentioned, pitching coach is kind of indispensable for baseball drills for 13 year Olds... Batting, on the other hand, does not make it mandatory to take coaching from a professional coach. Batting is all about practice and once you have learnt the techniques you need to keep practising the same for excelling in it. The drill involves a few parts such as:

• Step Forward Drill: This is especially needed for people who find it difficult to step out on a pitch. It is also known as hitting in the bucket, or hitting from the dugout. Many people keep a brick or a log behind the batter to overcome this problem. This can work in some cases but is not always effective. So step forward drill is considered as an effective solution for such people. For this, the batter is made to stand at distance of one step from the plate and then starts stepping towards the plate using his back foot. Then he is made to step with his front foot. As the back foot hits the ground, the person who is tossing the ball has to pitch it towards him.

The batter must receive it by the time his front foot touches the ground.

• Developing Inside Swing: Here the player is made to stand near the fence with a bat and take make swings in the air. The swings here have to be short. You should keep on practising it till you find yourself swing at the fullest speed. This should be practised quite a few times every week if you are interested in baseball drills for 13 year olds.

• Lower Body Work Out: This is primarily done in order to help you bring your hip and legs into swing. For this, all that you need is a broom and a baseball tee. Place the bill on the tee. Next, put the broom at your back, just above the hips. Take your batting stance on the forward at about six inches in the forward direction (from where you usually stand).

Then you will have to rotate your body in such a way that the broom comes out and hits the ball. At the beginning, you will find it very difficult to hit the ball out of the tee but slowly, as you gain expertise, you will be able to do it in an easier manner.

This drill is of utmost importance if you want to improve hitting.

• Upper Body Workout: This involves the upper part of the body, mainly the arms. It is done mainly to solve the problem of those batters with big uppercuts. Big uppercuts are dangerous as they can cause you to miss the ball or it will pop up. In order to work on level swings, the swings must be taken from the knees.

This drill can also be taken by sitting on a chair and hitting off a tee.

These two drills, if practised regularly, will help you to improve your uppercuts in every possible way.

• The Precautionary Measures: Last but not the least adopt necessary precautionary measures so that you are not injured while playing the game.

So this is all about baseball drills for 13 year Olds. We hope we have solved your doubts in this respect. If you are a guardian, you can teach it to your children. On the other hand, if you are 13-14 years of age, try it yourself. Get started with baseball drills for 13 year olds and have a great time!