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10U Goals – 11U Goals – 12U Goals – 13U Goals – 14U Goals – 15U Goals – 16U Goals

8U-10U Goals
  1. Mastery of all positional back-ups, having an understanding that there is never a play where a defensive player is not involved.
  2. Know the grips of all different types of fastball (2-seamer, 4 seamer, no-seamer), and how each pitch moves.
  3. Establish a consistent arm slot … every pitcher’s will be different
  4. Know how to execute a relay/cut-off effectively.
  5. Master the sacrifice bunt and appropriate mechanics.
  6. Catchers must have good habits of receiving the baseball correctly, leaving a strike a strike and realizing that jerking pitches is harmful.
  7. Catchers must begin mastery of blocking the baseball to both sides.
  8. Catchers must be able to clear runners to make throws.
  9. Hitters must master “Think Swing” approach.
  10. Hitters must become comfortable in maxing out their swings, “Swing as hard as you can without pulling off the baseball or changing your mechanics”.
  11. Players must know the basics of communication, “MINE”, “Four, Four”, “Runner”, “Going”, “Move up”, “Me and you, were working together”.
  12. Pitchers must master the footwork of all jump turn pick-offs.
  13. Players must have the basic foot-first slide and the head-first dive back into a base mastered.
  14. Baserunners must know the crossover step, how to read pitchers, watching heels (righties) and knees (lefties), and secondary leads based on personal speed and agility.
  15. Pitchers must master the entire backwards-chaining throwing routine, being able to do so without coach guidance.
  16. Hitters must master all drill work, including soft-toss, tee work, backwards chaining, and over-load/underload training.
  17. Fielders must grasp the mechanics of all flips (underhand, side, glove, thumb-up), especially in turning the double play.
  18. Outfielders must realize the angle necessary on gappers(back before over).
  19. 1st Basemen must know proper scooping mechanics, moving into the baseball as he catches it.
  20. Infielders must know how to execute the open-hand pick-off at second base, and know how to cover bases for pick-offs, throw-behinds and tag plays.

11U Goals

  1. Master the grip of the change-up, either a box, circle, three- or four-finger change.
  2. Begin to change finger placement and thumb placement to add movement to the fastball, and know when and for what reason to change grips and move fingers.
  3. Be able to correctly communicate a relay throw, and know when and how to communicate whether the ball should be cut.
  4. Execute and perform a correct run-down with proper communication (i.e. BALL).
  5. Master the suicide squeeze bunt and know how it is different from the sacrifice.
  6. Catchers must be adept at blocking the baseball, and know when to expect to have to block the baseball(when they call for the change-up and when a pitcher has tendency to work down).
  7. Catchers must master communication skills, calling “inside” or outside on all plays where they throw to first.
  8. Infielders must master proper footwork in turning the double play.
  9. Hitters must develop hot areas at the plate and begin to be more selective at the plate especially with 0 strikes. They must know what pitches they handle and what pitches they need to take with less that 2 strikes even if they are in the zone.
  10. Hitters must develop a 2-strike approach at the plate getting wide, shortening the load, and waiting a little longer, and look fastball adjust off-speed.
  11. Teams must have at least 3 options ready for 1/3 situation, with ALL players understanding ALL options and responsibilities.
  12. Pitchers must master all secondary pick-offs, i.e. 3 to 1 move, inside move, lefty short move to first, balk moves etc…
  13. Middle Infielders must establish open-mouth/closed-mouth to determine who has the base on a pick off and who has hold responsibilities.
  14. Outfielders must be able to get behind the baseball to get momentum into the throw in throwing situations.
  15. Baserunners must learn appropriate leads at all bases, especially looping leads at second and oval leads at third.
  16. Infielders must learn to attack the baseball especially when runners are present to get the interference call and/or a better look at the baseball.
  17. Infielders/catchers must know that when the ball is bobbled, juggled, or dropped that the double play is out of order and communicate “One”!
  18. Pitchers must master all Pitcher’s Fielding Practice (PFP), especially covering first, 1-6-3 DP’s, and Bunts to third.
  19. 1st baseman must be able to use the whole base and wait for the baseball straddled, and then attack with the foot on the correct side of the base depending on where the baseball is thrown.
  20. Middle Infielders must be able to mess with runners at second base, keeping them close using multiple tactics, such as fake-picks, dirt, communication, glove slaps etc.

12U Goals

  1. Begin mastery of the palm ball, baseball’s forgotten pitch.
  2. Hitters must be able to recognize and adjust to breaking pitches, by recognizing them in four ways: spin, fingers, hump(upward angle), and tipping the pitch.
  3. Be able to read a defense and place a bunt for a base hit when the sign is given.
  4. Catchers must improve posture and flexibility to allow for more deception when throwing behind runners.
  5. Catchers must mesh the catch and footwork into staying low and rising up out of the stance to throw.
  6. Hitters must have a well-developed approach based on the number of strikes.
  7. Players must develop a mental routine wherein they picture all AB’s, pitches thrown, and plays made before they happen.
  8. Players must master higher-level communication i.e. … “No tag”, “Step off”, “its down”, “Fence”.
  9. Pitchers must master the turn-step to keep runners close at first and maximize their velocity at the same time.
  10. Pitchers must learn to change eye levels on the fastball, being able to elevate it especially for the strikeout.
  11. Hitters must master the 1-strike approach at the plate, being able to know their strengths and weaknesses, and pick one side of the plate to attack with one strike.
  12. Players and coaches must master the art of winning games correctly, still playing with abandon but with compassion, employing merciful strategies. No curveballs (at all), no bunting (when way ahead), no stealing (in a blow-out).
  13. Players must learn the fundamentals of the diving and sliding catch.
  14. Base-runners must master the one-way lead (against a lefty and when doing a hit & run).
  15. Base-runners must learn to shadow the baseball in appropriate situations, so as to cause an error.
  16. Infielders must read opposing base-runners and communicate with catchers and pitchers when a pick-offs are necessary by using pick of the chest or hand behind the back.
  17. Infielders must adjust footwork on the double play based on where the ball is hit and know when the short-stop must take it himself.
  18. Hitters must execute the hit & run, knowing the proper adjustments such as higher hands, wait longer, and hit the top half of the baseball, swinging at anything the catcher can catch.
  19. First basemen must peek at runners and know whether he has time to leave the base and return for the touch or tag.
  20. Players must have knowledge of rudimentary trick plays such as the dive, jump, and frustration plays.
13U Goals
  1. Hitters must know and understand the slug-bunt, and how it is useful with the steal.
  2. Infielders must develop the ability to throw on the run because they must begin to play extremely deep in the infield, eliminating the aluminum bat hit.
  3. Outfielders must begin to adjust on their own, knowing hitters tendencies, and how the count and game situation affects their positioning.
  4. Teams must have a full arsenal of 1/3 plays, including multiple fakes, and every player must know their back-up responsibilities.
  5. Catchers must have the ability to peek down to third in a 1/3 situation to ensure that the runner does not have too much.
  6. Infielders must begin to mesh the catch and the throw on the double play, flowing from one to the other without standing up first. They must also be able to lower slots on the DP and know the tail of the baseball when the slot is lowered.
  7. Teams must have all daylight plays and bunt defenses mastered, with multiple pick-off options in all bunt situations.
  8. Pitchers must master changing height of leg lifts to deceive runners at 1st and 2nd base.
  9. Hitters must master the concept of a fluid approach depending on many game-particular situations: how much velocity the pitcher has, what type of off-speed stuff he has, how you are seeing the ball presently, where you have gotten beat lately, which direction the wind is blowing etc…
  10. Outfielders must know the difference between a blocking and a throwing situation and adjust accordingly.
  11. Players must be comfortable with fences and know proper techniques when approaching a fence on a fly ball.
  12. Catchers must master the technique to catch the foul pop straight back.
  13. Base runners must master the bluff-steal, knowing when to use it, and how not to over-use it.
  14. Hitters must be able to focus on specific location or pitch weakness in drill work.
  15. Infielders must be comfortable bare-handing the baseball on nearly dead balls.
  16. 1st basemen must be able to half-hold runners and know when it is appropriate.

14U Goals

  1. Get accustomed to the big field, playing a majority of games on the 60/90 diamond and learn the proper mechanics necessary to be effective on the elevated mound.
  2. Be able to bunt for a base hit when the defense is vulnerable and without a signal from the coach.
  3. Catchers must be able to call pitch-outs and pick-offs effectively and be able to read when another team has stolen their signs.
  4. Catchers must be able to call 1/3 situations on their own, and must be able to adjust on the spot to what other teams do, even changing the given sign after a foul ball.
  5. Pitchers must be totally unpredictable when they pitch the baseball, changing counts, looks, and lifts to all bases.
  6. Teams must know how to manage a baseball game based on the score and how cautious or aggressive we must be on the bases.
  7. Batteries must develop a second set of signs with a runner on 2nd.
  8. Teams must look into opposing teams’ signs and have a covert system of sending these messages to hitters if they are not using multiple signs.
  9. Outfielders must know who has momentum and better angles on outfield balls and who should field and throw tweeners.
  10. Hitters must begin to realize the 1-strike counts are the look counts, and really the only count you should look off-speed.
  11. Infielders must be able to create a hop and eliminate all in-between hops, knowing how much time he has for the play.
  12. Base runners must understand when the game dictates that they take the extra base, when they steal third, when they attempt to score on a passed ball, and when they move up on a passed ball.
  13. Base-runners must know how to get out of a run-down by getting hit or running into someone, and know how to break a double-play, knowing whether to straight into the base or take fielders out with a hard slide, based on the rules of the game.
  14. 1st basemen must master the timing of the start-behind pick-off play.
15U Goals
  1. Practice and hone the curveball, approaching 10 % of your pitches as deuces.
  2. Utilize decoys in the outfield, fool baserunners into tagging or not tagging.
  3. Catchers must be able to set-up very late, as the pitcher is starting his motion so as to allow the opposition to give location.
  4. Batteries must realize that hitting locations is essential to a majority of hitters at this level as all others have quit playing(those who cannot handle a fastball in the middle of the plate).
  5. Fielders must know the distance they have to any fence, sprinting it off at the beginning of a game.
  6. Base runners must be able to execute the delayed steal and be able to read infielders as to when it would work.
  7. Pitchers must know when to relentlessly pick-off and when to trust his catcher’s cannon.
  8. Batteries must be on the same page as to what pitches the hurler is “on” with on a certain day and attack hitters accordingly.
  9. Hitters must be the boss of at-bats, doing little things to gain an edge, such as calling time, reading the slide-step, looking down after pick-offs to see if you can get location etc.
  10. Players must commence an intense off-season training program if collegiate baseball is part of the player’s future goals, minimum of 4 days per week.
  11. Base runners must know when to tag on easily caught fly balls and when to go half-way, and how to draw a throw in no-advance situations.
  12. Base runners must be able to force a throw, rather than permitting a tag in an imminent double play situation.

16U Goals

  1. Be able to throw the curveball for strikes early in the count, and develop a strikeout hammer and a contact hammer.
  2. Catchers must learn how to work hitters based on the tendencies of the other team’s running game, using both fastballs in running counts and pitch-outs.
  3. Base runners must be able to read breaking ball counts, and be able to steal second on their own if the coach has given the green light.
  4. Pitchers will experiment with changing arm slots on both fastballs and breaking balls.
  5. Catchers must be able to double-set to stop the cheating hitter who peeks at locations.
  6. Batteries must know which hitters to pitch backwards to and which hitters to pitch predictably to.
  7. Players must engage in baseball training 11 months out of the season, engage in a maintenance in-season program to maintain strength, speed, agility, power, and flexibility, often staying at the diamond more than an hour after the coach has left.
  8. Teams must have an advanced post-game routine involving lactic acid flush and flexibility work.
  9. Hitters must establish what type of hitter they are and focus on maximizing at-bats based on whether they are a slap-type, contact hitter or a power guy.
  10. Base runners must be able to recognize when they should hook slide, and when they should go head-first at first when a first-baseman leaves the base for a tag.
  11. Base-runners must be able to stay in a run-down by reading communication to allow other runners to advance specially in 1/3 situations.
  12. Middle-Infielders must establish communication to the remainder of infielders so that they know when off-speed is coming to make weight-shift and positional adjustments.