Intangible Scrimmage

Intangible Scrimmage for Baseball


Not a creative name, but it can be a creative way to maintain effort and concentration during practice when you want your first team to practice as a group. Keeping your first team together as a group has the potential of having everybody lose interest, effort, and concentration because of a large disparity of runs scored between your first and second teams.

However, by changing the way the score is kept and disregarding completing the number of times home plate is touched both groups have incentive to play hard and the ability to "win the game." Team scores are kept by keeping track of both teams ability to execute the mental (concentration, discipline, positioning) and physical effort (hustle) fundamentals of baseball. "Runs" are scored by the correct application of the fundamental or subtracted because of the lack of execution.

The starting point is identifying the fundamentals you want evaluated during practice. The following list includes examples of aspects that can be evaluated. A coach can,obviously, add items that would be unique to their situation. These fundamentals can be executed regardless of a players talent. A player helps the team score "runs" by giving effort and prevent "runs" from being subtracted by just being mentally into the game.



Team Defense:

Outfielders

1. Get behind the routine flyball. (Mental)


2. Call for the flyball. (Mental)


3. Call off the infielder if the outfielder has an easier play. (Mental)


4. Back up each other on balls in the gap. (Mental)


5. Back up the infield properly, according to the play. (Mental)


6. Through to/through the cut off. (Physical/Concentration)


7. Go for the catch. Dive for catches in practice, teach situations when to keep the ball in front at other practice times. (+Effort)
   

1-6: A "run" is subtracted for lack of execution

7 : A "run" is earned for each + effort dive play

Infielders

1. Anticipation step before every pitch. (Mental)


2. Cover the bases, according to the play. (Mental)


3. Back each other up properly, according to the play. (Mental)


4. Use two hands when catching throws. (Concentration)


5. Communicate on pop ups, slow rollers, base coverage, etc. (Mental)


6. Get in front of the ground ball. (Mental/Concentration)


7. Dive for the ball. (+Effort)


8. Block any bad throw in the dirt. First basement can earn a + effort run by saving an infielding and making a pick on a ball in the dirt. (+Effort)

1-6: A "run" is subtracted for lack of execution

7,8: A "run" is earned for a + effort play

Team

1. Three quarter sprint on and off the field between innings. (Effort)
2. Run out every ball that is hit when up to bat.

A "run" is subtracted for lack of execution

There's a multitude of areas that can be evaluated during an intra squad scrimmage. I implemented it by having an assistant coach observe and keep score during the scrimmage. The first time I tried it I told the team that the winner of the scrimmage would not be judged by the number of runners that crossed the plate. After the scrimmage we announced the winner and explained why. My assistant detailed each play that had a run subtracted or added to a teams total. The kids loved it. They asked to do the intangible scrimmage many times after that day. I think part of it might have been being acknowledged for doing "the little things." The level of play and intensity went way up in practices. Unfortunately, I didn't incorporate this until late in the season, but I do feel it did carry over into games.