Situational Practice for Youth Baseball
An 8 year old player came up to me a few days ago after batting practice, and said “I wish I hit like that in games”. Fact is..He is the best hitter on the team but still needs instruction on pitch counts..approaches.. 
Every season I see youth baseball players hit the ball hard and hitting line drives while doing batting practice. We get to a game situation and it just does not happen. Infield does not miss a ball during practice.. Game situation..they crumble .
This is not new. It has baffled coaches for years. We (coaches and kids ) work on routine plays..till we get it right. But the game is non routine. When the game starts , the routines may have not been built into muscle memory. Actually a lot has to happen during a play from every player on the field.
Ready Position , Watching the Ball , Where do I go if I get the ball, where do I go if it’s not hit to me? , If the ball is not hit to me but to my side..where do I go?, where do I go if the ball is hit to the other side?..etc.
Key point is every has something to do no matter where the ball is or where it is hit to.. Actually ,The outfield should be more tired than anybody on the team. Coaches have to make time for situational practice for youth baseball .
Overload
All these things to do at certain times can relate to sensory overloads (plus Mom and Dad and other fans , giving instructions). Sensory overload causes a child to try and do to many tasks at once. This usually results in nothing happening and infield the park home runs.
Proper scenario is ..make the play the coach called , stop the runner . This does not mean stop the run at home.
If runners are on base many players experience overload,. A player should listen to the coach ,make the play..which may not work out. Thus we listen to the coaches next call.
Reaction to situations takes time, hell..pros are still working on it. Do the right thing at the right time. It is hard to do but if you follow your coaches commands..you will have done the right thing and become a coachable player. If the result does not work out..thats ok..just do the right thing.
Note: I have seen Many..many coaches make the wrong calls..once a player has enough knowledge..he still needs to follow the coaches call..but he can and should address with his coach and parents. If he is a pitcher and does not like the call( 12 ish) he needs to confer with the coach. The pitcher and catcher are setting the field..or at least learning to..
Thus, for situational practice.. we actually set our players in the positions..and use extra players(siblings,parents) as base runners.
Conclusion
As Always ,we recommend rotating your players in groups for the half of practice. Then do some situational practice with an entire field set and some base runners. Finish with a competition. . This is a fun active way to actually learn basic skills , play baseball, have fun , and control Situational Practice for Youth Baseball .
