The idea of practicing indoors for baseball doesn’t sound fun, however, it can actually be effective just like outdoor practice. There are many indoor baseball practice ideas that one can make use of. A nearby indoor baseball facility should be used for the purpose of practicing. The indoor environment doesn’t provide the freedom that one enjoys (hitting, throwing) in the outdoors. It is however, possible to make the indoor baseball drills interesting and also effective with the help of our imagination. The article presents some useful ideas for practicing in an indoor environment.
Practice Ideas for Indoor Baseball
Here are few of the effective ideas for practicing baseball indoors. The drills for batting, pitching and fielding are presented in the paragraphs below.
Pitching
The pitching activity is an important part of the game of baseball. It is possible to master the pitching activity by regular practice. Controlling the path (curve, height) of ball is the essence of pitching; indoor practice should allow for honing the pitching skills without any problems. The portable indoor mounds are used for pitching practice in the indoor environment. These mounds serve the purpose of offering an elevated position, similar to that on a baseball field. The distance between home plate and pitching mound should be that of 60 feet and 6 inches for the pitching drills to be effective. A home plate made of rubber should be used and catcher positioned behind this plate. The practice sessions for pitching should be conducted twice or thrice a week. The pitch count of around 150 in a week should provide enough practice to the players. The 150 pitches should be distributed equally in 2 or 3 sessions a week. This indoor baseball practice schedule for pitching should help in improving this vital skill.
Batting
The equipment needed for batting practice in an indoor environment include the pitching machine and indoor cage. Use of indoor cage is as effective as practicing in an outdoor environment. It is possible to study and improve the skills of swinging the bat through this exercise. A batter should be allowed to take 15-20 swings at a stretch. The use of pitching machine in batting practice is optional. Live practice with pitchers is another option. The L-screen should be used for the protection of pitchers in case an indoor cage is used.
Fielding
There are many things to try out for improving the fielding. Catching is an important aspect of fielding. Pop-ups are not an option when indoor practice is conducted. Instead of pop-ups one can think of playing ground hits; the ground hits should also allow a good amount of practice for fielders. Hitting fly balls also is one of the options. Fly balls are the hits which travel through air. However, these hits do not go high up in the air like pop-ups. Practice of throwing the ball to the bases is also important for fielders. In order to practice throws, rubber bases have to be set up indoors. Fielders should be directed to throw balls at all three of the bases in order to get enough practice.
The indoor baseball practice ideas presented in the article above, should be as effective as the outdoor drills. Many a time, we tend to get so used to a particular environment/setting, that it becomes difficult to accept changes. It is not about the medium that one is using but the final objective of the practice i.e. improving skills is important. If the indoor practice is effective in honing the different skills like pitching, batting and field, one should definitely use it, at least, during the bad weather conditions.