by coachgrumpy » April 12th, 2008, 8:24 pm
On rainy days, we practice under the eaves, outdoors in the hallways at our local junior high school. We use whiffle balls for teaching and reinforcing situations with the boys.
We place our players in their defensive positions approx 5-10 feet apart (depending on space available) and the coach will describe the situation, ie 0ne out, man on first. Then we throw the ball to the one of the fielders and have him tell us where he needs to throw it and then he throws it. This make the players use several senses at the same time to help reinforce the lesson. They have to think about their next move, they have to describe what they are going to do, and they physically have to do it.
I learned that trick from a chemistry professor. We had to read the formulas from the board, say them aloud as a class, and then write them down. Visual, Aural, and Physical repetition for learning. If anyone failed chemistry, it was because they tried to fail.