Youth Baseball Season Curriculum: 10-Week Plan
By the Practice Plan App Coaching Team · Published August 2026
- 1.Who Is This 10-Week Baseball Season Plan For?
- 2.How Are the 20 Practices Structured?
- 3.What Should Players Be Able to Do by Week 10?
- 4.The 10-Week Curriculum
- 5.What You'll Need
- 6.How Do You Run Stations With Volunteer Coaches?
- 7.How Do You Manage Throwing Volume and Arm Care?
- 8.How Do You Track Benchmarks Without Slowing Practice Down?
- 9.What If You Lose a Week to Weather?
- 10.Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is This 10-Week Baseball Season Plan For?#
This curriculum is written for a rec-league director or head volunteer coordinating a roster of roughly 11-13 players, ages 8-12, with two 90-minute practices per week and a coaching staff that changes from night to night. Every practice is station-based: groups of 4-5 kids, never 12 kids watching one batter. If a station has more than 5 players waiting, the plan is being run wrong — split it.
The season is built on four progressions that each week extends by name. Throwing starts at a 30-foot chest window in Week 1, becomes a scored 45-foot target test in Week 5, and gets retested in Week 10. Hitting climbs a ladder — tee (Week 3), soft toss (Week 3), front toss (Week 8) — with a 10-swing tee test recorded three times so improvement is a number, not a feeling. Defense moves from bare footwork (Week 2) to calling the play before the pitch (Week 4) to live outs and cutoffs (Week 9). And from Week 6 on, players face live-game situations — force vs tag reads, runners on, real decisions — instead of drills that never meet a game.
How Are the 20 Practices Structured?#
Each week pairs one linked, ready-to-run practice plan from our published library with one companion session described inline. Several linked plans run 60 or 75 minutes or target middle schoolers; each week's summary states exactly how to stretch or scale them — usually by adding a 15-minute warm-up that reuses the previous week's benchmark and a repeated closing game. Arm care is non-negotiable: a 5-minute band routine before throwing from Week 5 on, a 40-50 throw cap per player per practice, and 20-pitch bullpens (25 max) when pitching arrives in Week 7.
What Should Players Be Able to Do by Week 10?#
By the finale, a typical player should hit a 3-foot target from 45 feet on 6 of 10 throws, field 7 of 10 slow rollers cleanly, put 6 of 10 tee swings into line drives or hard grounders, call the correct play before the pitch, and make the right run-or-hold read on a force vs tag situation 7 times out of 10. Those are the numbers on the Week 10 combine clipboard — the same tests, scored the same way, as Weeks 2, 3, and 5.
The 10-Week Curriculum#
10 weeks · 2 practices per week · 90-minute sessions
Week 1
Throw First: Grip, Step, and Catch-Play Habits
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Week 1
Throw First: Grip, Step, and Catch-Play Habits
Goal
Every player throws with a four-seam grip and a step, landing 10 of 20 throws in the partner's chest-to-waist window from 30 feet, with no player exceeding 40 total throws in a session.
Practices
- Season Kickoff: Throwing, Catch, and First-Day Stations · 90 min
Run this 75-minute kickoff plan as written, then use your remaining 15 minutes for a parent meeting and equipment check while a second coach runs one extra hitting-station rotation. Its 15-foot starting catch distance is right for your 8-year-olds; let 11-12s begin at 25 feet.
- Four-Seam Grip and Target-Throwing Circuit · 90 min
Three throwing stations of 4-5 players: (1) knee throws into a fence square focusing on grip and follow-through, (2) partner catch at 20-30 feet counting chest-window hits out of 10, (3) shuffle-step throws to a coach. Rotate every 8 minutes; finish with the baserunning run-through-first cone from the kickoff practice.
Director note: assign your volunteer coaches to stations before Week 1, not at the field. Each coach owns one station all night and repeats the same two cues. Cap catch-play distance at 30 feet this week even if older kids want to back up — accuracy first, distance in Week 5.
Week 2
Ground Balls: Feet First, Glove Down
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Week 2
Ground Balls: Feet First, Glove Down
Goal
Players field 7 of 10 slow rollers cleanly (glove on the ground, ball secured to the belly) and follow with a throw that hits the coach's chest window from 40 feet on 5 of 10 attempts.
Practices
- Small-Sided Fielding Games to Coach-Pitch Mini Scrimmage · 90 min
This plan is written for 60 minutes; stretch it to 90 by opening with a 15-minute target-throwing warm-up using the Week 1 four-seam and chest-window cues, and by repeating the group's favorite fielding game for the final 15 minutes. Its small-sided format means no line ever has more than 4 kids.
- Ground-Ball Triangle Stations · 90 min
Three stations of 4-5 players: coach-rolled slow rollers with a 10-rep tracked score, a triangle drill (field, shuffle, throw to a partner 40 feet away, follow your throw), and backhand-free forehand-only reps for 8-9s while 10-12s add a shuffle-and-throw on the move. Close with 15 minutes of coach-pitch grounders live to first base.
Week 3
Hitting Ladder I: Tee to Soft Toss
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Week 3
Hitting Ladder I: Tee to Soft Toss
Goal
Every hitter takes at least 40 swings across tee and soft-toss stations per practice, holds a balanced finish for one second on 8 of 10 tee swings, and posts a baseline tee-test score (line drives or hard grounders out of 10) on a clipboard.
Practices
- Small-Sided Hitting and Baserunning Games to Mini Scrimmage · 90 min
Written for 60 minutes and 10-13 kids; extend to 90 by adding a fourth station (dry-swing balance holds) and running one extra full rotation, so each hitter's swing count clears 40. Keep the Week 1 run-through-first cone 10 feet past the bag during every baserunning game.
- Tee-to-Soft-Toss Ladder Benchmark · 90 min
Run the ladder as stations: 10 tee swings scored (line drive or hard grounder = 1 point), then side soft toss one ball at a time behind an L-screen, then a contact-point station with a coach checking the bat meets the ball out front. Record every player's tee score — Week 8 retests it. Non-hitting groups cycle the Week 2 ground-ball triangle.
Week 4
Where's Your Play? Force Outs and Game Sense
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Week 4
Where's Your Play? Force Outs and Game Sense
Goal
Before each pitch in small-sided games, defenders call their play ('one!' for the force at first) on 8 of 10 reps, and the defense records the force out on 6 of 10 clean grounders.
Practices
- Small-Sided Game-Sense Games to Mini Scrimmage · 90 min
This 60-minute plan teaches exactly this week's 'where's your play?' habit; get to 90 minutes by adding a 15-minute Week 2 ground-ball warm-up and a 15-minute extra inning on the closing coach-pitch scrimmage. The force-out games assume kids can already make the 40-foot throw you built in Week 2.
- Force-Out Reps at Two Bases · 90 min
Two half-diamonds running at once: 4v4 force plays at first on one, force plays at second (shortstop feed) on the other. Coaches roll grounders; runners are live so defenders feel real timing. Every defender must call the play out loud before the roll. Rotate offense/defense every 8 outs; finish with 20 minutes of situational coach-pitch scrimmage.
Week 5
Benchmark Week: Throwing Accuracy at Distance
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Week 5
Benchmark Week: Throwing Accuracy at Distance
Goal
Benchmark day: every player logs a 10-throw accuracy score at a 3-foot target square from 45 feet (team goal: 6 of 10 inside the square), and station wait time stays under 90 seconds even with one coach.
Practices
- Small-Sided Games for One Coach, Limited Space, and No Tee · 90 min
Built for a single coach in 60 minutes with self-running games; extend to 90 by running the throwing-accuracy benchmark first (30 minutes, one player throwing per target while the rest run a self-scored catch game). If you do have a second coach tonight, they own the clipboard.
- Accuracy Ladder and Long-Toss Intro · 90 min
Stations: (1) 10-throw target-square test from 45 feet for anyone who missed Practice 1, (2) accuracy ladder — hit the square twice in a row to move back 5 feet, starting at 30 and capping at 60 feet, (3) 5-minute arm-care band/towel routine every group performs before throwing. Total throws capped at 50 per player; finish with a hitting-station rotation from Week 3 so bats stay warm.
Director note: this is the week volunteer no-shows hurt most, so the linked plan is deliberately your one-coach fallback. Print a roster grid before practice — 10 boxes per player — and have a parent record the benchmark. Scores get retested in Week 10, so do not skip the clipboard.
Week 6
Live Reads I: Force vs Tag on the Bases
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Week 6
Live Reads I: Force vs Tag on the Bases
Goal
In live 3v3 baserunning games, runners make the correct run/hold decision on force vs tag situations 7 of 10 times, and every runner hits the run-through cone past first at full speed on every rep.
Practices
- Small-Sided Games to Scrimmage · 90 min
Use this 60-minute plan's controlled-scrimmage ending as your live-reads lab: extend to 90 by inserting a 25-minute force-vs-tag teaching block before the scrimmage and pausing the scrimmage after each baserunning decision to ask the runner what they saw. Written for 11-13 players, which matches a typical rec roster with absences.
- Force vs Tag Live Reads 3v3 · 90 min
Half-diamond 3v3: coach rolls or fungoes a grounder, runners on first (force — must run) or second only (tag — read the ball). Defenders call 'force' or 'tag' before the pitch, using the Week 4 call-your-play habit. Score a team point for each correct runner read; play to 10, rotate. Finish with 20 minutes of coach-pitch scrimmage keeping the same scoring.
Week 7
Pitching Intro: Bullpens With a Pitch Budget
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Week 7
Pitching Intro: Bullpens With a Pitch Budget
Goal
Each interested pitcher throws one 20-pitch bullpen (hard cap 25) from 40-46 feet and lands 8 or more in the strike-zone target; every player on the roster completes the 5-minute arm-care band routine at both practices.
Practices
- Beginner Pitching Fundamentals · 90 min
This 90-minute plan is written for middle schoolers, so scale it down: move the mound distance to 40 feet for ages 8-10 (46 for 11-12), cut every listed bullpen volume to a 20-pitch cap, and swap its PFP block for simple cover-home reps. Its arm-care opening becomes your standard warm-up for the rest of the season.
- Bullpens Behind a Live Defense · 90 min
Two pitchers at a time throw 20-pitch pens to a coach or geared-up catcher while the rest of the team runs Week 2 ground-ball triangles and Week 3 tee stations behind them. Rotate pitchers every 20 pitches; non-pitchers get a 10-throw accuracy-ladder turn instead so total throwing volume stays even across the roster.
Director note: publish the pitch budget to your coaches in writing — bullpens are 20 pitches, 25 max, once per week per kid, and a kid who pitches in a game that week skips the bullpen. Daily game caps under Pitch Smart are 50 (ages 7-8), 75 (9-10), and 85 (11-12); practice bullpens should never approach those numbers.
Week 8
Hitting Ladder II: Front Toss and Quality At-Bats
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Week 8
Hitting Ladder II: Front Toss and Quality At-Bats
Goal
Hitters record a quality at-bat (hard contact, a 6-plus-pitch battle, or a take on a clear ball) in 4 of 8 front-toss rounds, and the team's average on the Week 3 tee test improves by at least 2 points out of 10.
Practices
- Beginner Hitting Fundamentals · 90 min
A 90-minute middle-school plan that maps cleanly onto this week; adapt for ages 8-12 by moving front toss to 15 feet behind an L-screen, using softer training balls for your 8-9s, and shortening its pitch-ID talk to two cues: 'ball up = watch it, ball in the zone = attack.' Its tee and front-toss ladder is the same one your players started in Week 3.
- Front-Toss Quality At-Bat Games · 90 min
Retest the Week 3 tee benchmark (10 swings, scored), then run front-toss rounds of 8 'at-bats' where hitters earn a point for hard contact or a correct take; defense plays every ball live for Week 4 force-out reps. Losers of each round sprint through first past the cone — baserunning reps disguised as consequences.
Week 9
Team Defense: Feeds, Cutoffs, and Outs That Count
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Week 9
Team Defense: Feeds, Cutoffs, and Outs That Count
Goal
Infield groups record 6 of 10 outs at first on live fungoed grounders, each middle infielder completes 3 clean underhand feeds to second base, and outfielders hit the cutoff on 5 of 8 relay reps.
Practices
- Infield Defense Fundamentals · 90 min
This 90-minute middle-school plan runs at your exact session length; adapt down by keeping its ready-position, funnel-footwork, and feeds/picks blocks but replacing full double-play turns with feed-and-catch only (no pivot throw) for ages 8-10, and shortening every throw to 45-60 feet. Its funnel cue matches the glove-to-belly language from Week 2.
- Whole-Field Situations: Outs at First, Cutoffs, and Reads · 90 min
Split squad: infield takes live fungoes with runners (tracking the 6-of-10 outs goal and Week 4 play calls) while outfield works coach-thrown fly balls into a cutoff, then flip groups at 35 minutes. Final 20 minutes is a situational scrimmage where the coach announces the situation — runner on first, one out — before each pitch and defenders must call force or tag from Week 6.
Week 10
Combine Week: Retest, Scrimmage, Celebrate
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Week 10
Combine Week: Retest, Scrimmage, Celebrate
Goal
80% of the roster beats their Week 5 throwing-accuracy score by 2 or more points out of 10, every player logs a Week 3-vs-Week 10 tee-test comparison, and the finale scrimmage completes 4 innings in 50 minutes with every kid batting and playing the field.
Practices
- Skills Combine Retest Day · 90 min
Four scored stations, 4 groups rotating every 15 minutes: throwing-accuracy square from 45 feet (10 throws, versus Week 5), tee test (10 swings, versus Weeks 3 and 8), ground-ball triangle 10-rep score (versus Week 2), and home-to-first sprint time through the cone. Post the paired scores where players can see them; end with a 15-minute favorite-game vote.
- Season Finale Scrimmage · 90 min
Reuse this plan's small-sided warm-up games for 40 minutes, then replace its ending with a full 4-inning coach-pitch scrimmage (extending 60 to 90 minutes), capping half-innings at 5 runs or 3 outs. Require the Week 4 pre-pitch play call and Week 6 force/tag call every inning — the scrimmage is the final exam for both.
Director note: send each family a one-line progress note using the clipboard data — 'accuracy 4/10 to 7/10, tee test 3 to 6' means more to a parent than a trophy. Keep the finale scrimmage moving with a 5-run or 3-out half-inning cap and coaches pitching to their own team.
| Week | Theme & Goal | Practices |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Throw First: Grip, Step, and Catch-Play Habits Every player throws with a four-seam grip and a step, landing 10 of 20 throws in the partner's chest-to-waist window from 30 feet, with no player exceeding 40 total throws in a session. Throwing mechanicsCatch and receivePractice routines |
Director note: assign your volunteer coaches to stations before Week 1, not at the field. Each coach owns one station all night and repeats the same two cues. Cap catch-play distance at 30 feet this week even if older kids want to back up — accuracy first, distance in Week 5. |
| Week 2 | Ground Balls: Feet First, Glove Down Players field 7 of 10 slow rollers cleanly (glove on the ground, ball secured to the belly) and follow with a throw that hits the coach's chest window from 40 feet on 5 of 10 attempts. Fielding footworkGlove-to-hand transferThrowing after the catch |
|
| Week 3 | Hitting Ladder I: Tee to Soft Toss Every hitter takes at least 40 swings across tee and soft-toss stations per practice, holds a balanced finish for one second on 8 of 10 tee swings, and posts a baseline tee-test score (line drives or hard grounders out of 10) on a clipboard. Tee workSoft tossBaserunning through first |
|
| Week 4 | Where's Your Play? Force Outs and Game Sense Before each pitch in small-sided games, defenders call their play ('one!' for the force at first) on 8 of 10 reps, and the defense records the force out on 6 of 10 clean grounders. Force outsDefensive positioningPre-pitch communication |
|
| Week 5 | Benchmark Week: Throwing Accuracy at Distance Benchmark day: every player logs a 10-throw accuracy score at a 3-foot target square from 45 feet (team goal: 6 of 10 inside the square), and station wait time stays under 90 seconds even with one coach. Throwing accuracyArm careOne-coach station management |
Director note: this is the week volunteer no-shows hurt most, so the linked plan is deliberately your one-coach fallback. Print a roster grid before practice — 10 boxes per player — and have a parent record the benchmark. Scores get retested in Week 10, so do not skip the clipboard. |
| Week 6 | Live Reads I: Force vs Tag on the Bases In live 3v3 baserunning games, runners make the correct run/hold decision on force vs tag situations 7 of 10 times, and every runner hits the run-through cone past first at full speed on every rep. Baserunning readsForce vs tagControlled scrimmage |
|
| Week 7 | Pitching Intro: Bullpens With a Pitch Budget Each interested pitcher throws one 20-pitch bullpen (hard cap 25) from 40-46 feet and lands 8 or more in the strike-zone target; every player on the roster completes the 5-minute arm-care band routine at both practices. Pitching mechanicsArm careCatcher basics |
Director note: publish the pitch budget to your coaches in writing — bullpens are 20 pitches, 25 max, once per week per kid, and a kid who pitches in a game that week skips the bullpen. Daily game caps under Pitch Smart are 50 (ages 7-8), 75 (9-10), and 85 (11-12); practice bullpens should never approach those numbers. |
| Week 8 | Hitting Ladder II: Front Toss and Quality At-Bats Hitters record a quality at-bat (hard contact, a 6-plus-pitch battle, or a take on a clear ball) in 4 of 8 front-toss rounds, and the team's average on the Week 3 tee test improves by at least 2 points out of 10. Front tossPitch recognitionQuality at-bats |
|
| Week 9 | Team Defense: Feeds, Cutoffs, and Outs That Count Infield groups record 6 of 10 outs at first on live fungoed grounders, each middle infielder completes 3 clean underhand feeds to second base, and outfielders hit the cutoff on 5 of 8 relay reps. Infield feedsCutoffsLive team defense |
|
| Week 10 | Combine Week: Retest, Scrimmage, Celebrate 80% of the roster beats their Week 5 throwing-accuracy score by 2 or more points out of 10, every player logs a Week 3-vs-Week 10 tee-test comparison, and the finale scrimmage completes 4 innings in 50 minutes with every kid batting and playing the field. Skills retestFull scrimmageSeason review |
Director note: send each family a one-line progress note using the clipboard data — 'accuracy 4/10 to 7/10, tee test 3 to 6' means more to a parent than a trophy. Keep the finale scrimmage moving with a 5-run or 3-out half-inning cap and coaches pitching to their own team. |
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What You'll Need#
- Baseballs (3 dozen) plus 1 dozen soft training balls for ages 8-9
- Batting tees (3)
- L-screen (1) for soft toss and front toss
- Batting helmets (6-8 shared) and team bats (6-8 shared)
- Throw-down bases (full set) plus 2 extra for split-diamond stations
- Cones or flat discs (12) for station borders and the run-through-first marker
- 3-foot target squares (2) — painted plywood, hung netting, or taped fence squares — for the Week 5 and Week 10 accuracy tests
- Resistance bands (4-6) for the arm-care routine from Week 5 on
- Catcher's gear (1 set, youth size) for Week 7 bullpens
- Clipboard, roster grid printouts, and a stopwatch for benchmark tracking
- Ball buckets (3) and a coach fungo bat
How Do You Run Stations With Volunteer Coaches?#
Assign each volunteer one station for the whole night and give them exactly two cues to repeat — for example, at the tee: 'eyes on the ball' and 'finish balanced.' Rotations run on a timer (8-15 minutes depending on the block), and the head coach floats rather than owning a station. Waiting kids always have a job: ball captain, tee setter, or score-keeper on the clipboard. If a volunteer no-shows, fall back to the Week 5 one-coach plan format — self-running games with self-kept scores — rather than turning a station into a line of 8.
How Do You Manage Throwing Volume and Arm Care?#
Cap total throws at 40 per player in Weeks 1-4 and 50 from Week 5 on, counting warm-up. Bullpens are 20 pitches with a hard cap of 25, once per week per pitcher, and never in the same week a kid pitched in a game. Keep league game limits posted for coaches: Pitch Smart daily caps are 50 pitches at ages 7-8, 75 at 9-10, and 85 at 11-12, with required rest days that a practice bullpen must respect too. The 5-minute band-and-towel routine debuts in Week 5's companion session, is reinforced by the arm-care opening of Week 7's linked pitching plan, and stays the mandatory pre-throwing warm-up for the rest of the season.
How Do You Track Benchmarks Without Slowing Practice Down?#
One clipboard, one parent. Print a roster grid with a column per test — Week 2 grounders, Week 3 tee, Week 5 accuracy, Week 10 retests — and hand it to the same parent each benchmark night. Tests run inside a normal station rotation (one group tests while three groups play), so no benchmark ever costs more than 30 minutes of practice. The payoff comes in Week 10, when every family gets a before-and-after number.
What If You Lose a Week to Weather?#
Cut companion sessions before linked ones, and never cut a benchmark week (5, 8, 10). If you lose two practices, merge Weeks 6 and 9 into one live-situations week — the force/tag reads and team-defense blocks combine cleanly — and keep the pitching intro in Week 7 where it sits, since bullpen scheduling has rest-day consequences the other blocks don't.
Frequently Asked Questions#
How many pitches should an 8-12 year old throw in a practice?
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Bullpens in this plan are 20 pitches with a hard cap of 25, once per week per pitcher. Pitch Smart daily game limits are 50 pitches for ages 7-8, 75 for ages 9-10, and 85 for ages 11-12, and a kid who pitched in a game that week skips the practice bullpen entirely. Total throws of any kind are capped at 40-50 per player per practice.
What if only one coach shows up to practice?
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Run the Week 5 linked plan (built for exactly one coach, limited space, no tee) in any week. Its games are self-running with self-kept scores, and the format keeps groups of 4-5 moving without an adult at every station. Recruit one parent for the clipboard and one to shag balls — those are the only two jobs that need no baseball knowledge.
How do we run the throwing-accuracy benchmark?
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Hang or tape a 3-foot square at chest height, mark a line 45 feet away, and give each player 10 throws; a throw inside the square scores 1. Test one group of 4-5 at a time inside a normal rotation so it costs about 30 minutes total. Record scores in Week 5 and retest in Week 10 — the team goal is 6 of 10, and 80% of players beating their baseline by 2+ points.
What counts as a quality at-bat at this age?
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Three things score: hard contact (a line drive or hard ground ball, even at a fielder), a battle of 6 or more pitches, or a correct take on a clearly bad ball. The Week 8 target is 4 quality at-bats in 8 front-toss rounds. Strikeouts and weak contact aren't punished — they just don't score — so kids stay aggressive.
Can we run this curriculum with only one practice per week?
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Yes — stretch it to 16-20 weeks by alternating each week's linked practice and companion session, keeping the order intact. Never skip the benchmark sessions (Weeks 3, 5, 8, 10 in the two-practice layout), because the before-and-after scores are what make the season measurable. The pitching intro should still land roughly two-thirds of the way through the season.
When should kids move from coach pitch to live kid pitching?
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In this plan, all live hitting is coach-pitch or front toss through Week 6, first bullpens come in Week 7 at 40-46 feet, and if your league plays kid-pitch you can add one short live inning (one time through 3-4 batters, within the 25-pitch cap) to the Week 9 or Week 10 scrimmage. Eight-year-olds in coach-pitch leagues simply keep the Week 7 bullpens as a skill station.
How do we handle an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old on the same roster?
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Adjust distance and ball type inside the same station, not with separate drills: 8-9s throw from 20-30 feet with soft training balls while 11-12s work at 40-60 feet; front toss sits at 15 feet for everyone but younger kids hit the softer ball. Pair a calm older player with a newer one in catch play and give the older kid one job — throw easy strikes to the chest.
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