Denville PAL Girls' Softball

Practice Organization - Kindergarten Division

Overview

The Kindergarten Division introduces young athletes to the sport of softball. The coaches have the responsibility of teaching the fundamentals as well as the basic concepts of the game. However, none of this will matter if the players do not have fun. Players at this age have short attention spans and will quickly resort to drawling in the infield dirt if not kept continuously engaged. Stay positive, smile a lot, give lots of high-fives, and keep the players moving and involved in practice.

Break practice down into four learning stations.  Each station should focus on developing one of the following fundamental areas: fielding, throwing, hitting, and base running.  Start the practice with a group of players at each station.  Rotate the groups every 15 minutes until all players have rotated through each station.  One rotation through all four stations should take 60 minutes. 

Arrange short scrimmage games between teams to help reinforce the fundamentals and teach basic softball concepts. Keep the games moving quickly. Rotate the players to different defensive and batting positions during the games.  Limit the game length to one hour.  The coaches should be on the field with the players and should be continuously communicating.

Coaches’ Preparation

Fundamentals, drills, and a coaching checklist are available on the Denville Girls Softball website on the Coaches’ Corner page.  Review the following prior to the first practice.

Fielding & Throwing Station 1

Break the players into small groups and assign a coach to each group.  Use the Thrown Grounders drill with each group for the first 10 minutes.  Use the Thrown Fly Balls drill for the last 5 minutes.  Make sure the players are using proper fielding and throwing fundamentals during both drills.

Fielding & Throwing Station 2

Break the players into small groups and assign a coach to each group.  Use the force play drill with each group for the first 10 minutes.  Make sure each player is given the opportunity rotate between the throwing and catching positions.  Use the Tag Play drill for the last 5 minutes.  Again, make sure each player gets to practice both roles.  Vary the distance the fielder is from the base to allow the fielder to practice both the overhand throw and the underhand toss. Make sure the players are using proper fielding and throwing fundamentals during both drills.

Hitting Station

Setup one or more hitting stations, each equipped with a batting tee.  Use the Hitting from a Tee drill at each station.  Position one player at the tee, one on deck and the rest of the players from that group in the field to field and return the hit balls.  After the player hits, she should rotate to the field, the on deck batter should rotate to the tee, and one of the fielders should rotate to the on deck position.  Make sure the players use proper Hitting Fundamentals during the drills.  As players progress through the season, the Soft Toss drill may be used to add variation.

Base Running Station

Use the Home to First drill at the Base Running station.  Position the players at home and have them take turns performing the drill.  After they perform the drill, leave them on first base.  Have them advance to the next base as the next runner performs the Home to First drill.  Each time the drill is performed, all of the runners should advance one base.  Make sure the runners overrun first and home but do not overrun second and third.

Scrimmage Game

After the teams progress through the four learning stations, two teams should play a two inning scrimmage game.  The game length as described in the Kindergarten Rules should be 2 innings.  However, the coaches may add innings provided the game length does not exceed one hour.