Go run a lap, you hear this all the time at youth practices, the problem is coaches are not using these laps as warm ups they are using them as teaching methods.

Here is how it goes: coach hits ground ball, kid misses ground ball, coach says something along the line of “do it again”…coach hits another ground ball, kid misses said ground ball, coach says “you gotta make that play it is routine” and proceeds to whack another grounder, and of course the kid misses it again.  This time is different though the coach says “GO RUN A LAP”, this makes about as much sense as a track coach telling a kid who keeps knocking the hurdle down to go field a ground ball but it happens everyday.

I have a great idea, instead of yelling at the kid or making them run try coaching them.  I know this is progressive thinking but how is a kid running a lap going to help him field a ground ball? it won’t, but it will make him think about how much he doesn’t like his coach and how much baseball stinks because he never learns at practice, he just works on his track skills.  No matter the situation, if a kid is messing up go help them, give them more swings, teach them how to get their glove out in front and bend at the knees, show them how to use two hands, after all your name is coach, right?

Use running laps for warm ups or the kids acting up in practice, not for the kid who loves to play and is trying is hardest.  All kids are not superstars, and your job isn’t to make them that, it is to teach them some skills and allow the love for the game to grow.