Softball Speed & Base Running Practice Plan for 11 and 12 Year Olds

Release jumps graded in steps, secondaries with real momentum, and the delayed steal built on purpose. Softball hands every runner the same green light; win the reaction.

A-skips, build-ups, line hops with quiet landings, then four first-five-steps starts chalk-chased, and two three-quarter home-to-firsts through the line. Warm launches before rehearsed launches.

Ten mimed windmill deliveries with honest variety (pauses, tempo changes, a fake pump): the runner breaks on true release only, crossover firing, five hard steps. Grade each jump in steps gained versus a break-on-rhythm guess, and call out any left-early (in games, an out or a send-back). The eyes stay on the hand passing the hip: the one part of a windmill that cannot lie.

Four full steal reps off the mimed release: break, crossover, sprint, controlled arrival past the bag (sliding stays a supervised team skill). Best time logged next to a standing-start sprint time: the gap IS the jump, made visible, and shrinking it is the month's game.

As the mimed pitch travels home, two or three hard walking shuffles toward second, momentum moving, landing balanced as the imaginary catcher receives. Alternate endings called late: "dirt ball!" (two hard steps toward second, then hold or go), "caught!" (hard return). Eight reps. The secondary is where singles become first-to-thirds and passed balls become free bases.

Softball's heist, built stepwise: normal secondary off the pitch, eyes on the catcher, and the GO fires the instant the catcher's return lob to the pitcher leaves casually (mimed with honest variety: crisp returns mean stay, lazy arcs mean steal). Six reps, half of them stays. The read is the skill: lazy lob plus an inattentive middle infield equals a free base, and 12U catchers lob lazily a dozen times a game.

Two timed first-to-third runs off the secondary: momentum drift, "go!", banana through second with the corner clipped, hard lean, through third. Logged. First-to-third is where team speed shows up in real box scores, and the corner craft is most of the time saved.

The day's numbers written: home-to-first, steal time and its standing-start gap, delay reads called correctly, first-to-third split. One three-quarter celebration lap, corners clipped. The log closes; the legs remember.

What to watch today: reads versus rhythm. Kids grab jumps by memorizing the miming tempo, which evaporates against a real pitcher who varies. Honest variety in the mimes (and praising the correctly-read STAY as loudly as the go) is what builds eyes that transfer to Saturday.