Softball drills at home for 16 year olds

At a glance

At 16

83 softball drills the app opens for a 16 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for a 16 year old.

How often

At most 5 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 16 hours for a 16 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: glove (30 of the 83 drills), softballs (30), bat (17), balls (11), bases (9), net (7), batting tee (5), catcher (5). 4 drills need nothing but space. 38 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

Safe at home

One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

83 at-home drills

Softball drills for 16 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for a 16 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

arm strength

Arm Strength

• Long Toss Build-UpAges 11 and up · 15 min
• One-Hop Throws HomeAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Quick Transfer ThrowsAges 11 and up · 10 min

base running

Base Running

• Towel-Resisted StartsAges 14 and up · 10 min
• Base Running SprintsAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Bunt and Run ThroughAges 11 and up · 10 min

fielding

Fielding

• First Base Short-Hop ScoopAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Underhand Flip to SecondAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Barehand Roll and FieldAges 7 and up · 8 min

hitting

Hitting

• BuntingAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Drag Bunt for a HitAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Front TossAges 11 and up · 15 min

pitching

Pitching

• Inside and Outside FastballsAges 11 and up · 12 min
• K Position PitchesAges 11 and up · 12 min
• Leap and DragAges 11 and up · 12 min

A 46-minute session

A home softball session for a 16 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 46 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Softball Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for softball players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then softball moves at practice speed.12 min
2. 2Rotational ThrowsPower starts from the ground, hips lead.10 min
3. 3Band Shoulder CareSlow and controlled. Light band.8 min
4. 4Dry Swings in a MirrorHead still, hips before hands.8 min
5. 5Softball Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for softball players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and wrists, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 16

What changes in softball training at 16

The app opens the same 83 at-home drills at 16 as at 15; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 16 hours for a 16 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting softball into a week at 16

At 16 the limit is 16 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 11.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 hours.

The research behind it

• Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.

  Côté and Vierimaa 2014

• Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.

  NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers