All you need is a ball and a wall
January 3, 2011 by Coach McCreary
Filed under Coaching, Indoor, Off-Season, Practice
My elementary school playground. There is no telling how many hours I spent there practicing by myself. |
I was fortunate to grow up in a house right next to an elementary school. Anytime I got bored I would walk up and throw a ball against one of the brick walls that were part of the school. The picture to the right shows two of the walls I would use. With the amount of balls that I threw up against those bricks, it’s amazing the walls are still standing. Hugh Alexander, a famous scout, once said the best thing a father can do for his son in terms of baseball is to build him a wall to throw against. I could not agree more. I mentioned in a previous post that a friend of mine at Mississippi State created a video called Wall Ball. In it are suggestions and drills for using a pitch-back screen. Below are some advantages to using any type of wall and also tips to getting the most out of it.
Advantages:
A great indoor option if you have access. Do not hurt the wall or the floor with the balls! |
- You can practice by yourself
- Every position on the field can be practiced – just use your imagination
- Develops arm strength
- Not much space is needed
- Develops pitching accuracy
- If there are lights (mine did), you can throw day or night
- Can practice year round. A few times I brought a snow shovel!
Perfect! Even has a strike zone. |
Tips to using a wall:
- Throw at varying distances – short toss to long toss if space permits
- A rubber pitching machine style ball works best. Leather balls get torn up.
- Use different sizes and types of balls to develop soft hands, quick reactions, and eye-hand coordination. Tennis balls, racquet balls, super balls, Super Pinkies, and golf balls are all fair game and work great against a wall.
- Use your glove and just your bare hands at times too.
- Use a training glove or pick up a paddle at the dollar store to develop proper two-hand fielding.
- If you are able to use an indoor gym wall, be sure to use balls that do not mark up the wall or the floor.
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