Offered during the Olympics practice, the outfield station involves a movement-based fly ball competition.  Although the Olympics are designed to bring a fun break to the grind of preseason practices, the theme to this drill is performance under pressure.  Baseball requires accurate plays to be made both on the catch and the throw.  

EXECUTION – The Olympics – Outfield Drill is run anywhere in the outfield.  Place three cones down in a straight line, each 10 yards apart.  Live athlete will start in the middle cone and work fly balls to three locations: Left / Right / At ’em (in or out).  Work through the line twice, so each athlete will get two sets of three fly balls.  There are four possible points for EACH fly ball:

• Footwork – Dropstep and crossover footwork.
• Effort – Go hard and give best effort.
• Catch – Point earned for a clean catch.
• Accurate Throw – One point earned if ball is thrown into the catch net.

Award points on a clean field and accurate throw to a catch net set up in front of the outfield fence (to stop overthrows).  To keep a running total for each athlete, have the athlete yell out his/her score after each round.  

DC KEYS

1. Encourage Points – Throw, rather than hit, fly balls and shorten the distance to the throw net if needed.
2. Get Through the Line Twice – Take the highest total per athlete – 12 points possible per round if three fly balls used.
3. Positive Competition – Teach that you CAN compete to win and NOT root against an opponent.  Focus on YOUR process as a competitor – be the best you!

CLOSING – Process vs. Results  The Olympics, and this drill in particular, is a great opportunity to teach a focused approach on what you CAN control as an athlete.  Handle your business, control your wandering thoughts, and let the results speak for themselves.  Focus on competing to do your best!

EQUIPMENT LIST