Bunting Drills: Drag, Dash And Beat The Clock Drill

Focus To determine the running time from home to first base for every player on the team.

Setup Form a box with four bases 90 feet apart.

Procedure Same as the Drag and Dash drill. Four bunters are at the bases; four pitchers are in the center of the diamond, kneeling down. Each pitcher has several balls at his side. A third group of four are catchers and stand about 10 feet behind their base to retrieve balls that get away. In this drill, players run 30 yards instead of 15 yards, as in the Drag and Dash. Use four stopwatches to time each bunter on his bunt and dash to first base. Emphasize good bunting form, a quick start out of the box, a glance at the location of the bunt, and tagging the front of first base with the head down. We use the expressions “nod the bag” (with the head) and “break the tape” (with the chest). After players are past first base, they quickly check foul territory to see if the ball got away from the first baseman; if so, the runner advances to second base.

Coaching Points Football players are known for their 40-yard dash time. We want our players to know their 30-yard dash time, which of course is the distance from home to first. There are two ways a player can gain running speed. The first is to beat another player in a dash; the other is to beat the clock and improve running time. No baseball coach should be without his stopwatch. The stopwatch aids in all facets of the game, especially the short game of bunting and running. If you time your players frequently on the drag bunt and 30-yard dash, you’ll see excellent improvement in speed.

Related posts:

1. Bunting Drills: Drag And Dash Drill Focus To practice bunting techniques, including getting out of the...
2. Bunting Drills: Drag On The Chalk Drill Focus To bunt the ball about 20 to 25 feet,...
3. Bunting Drills: Drag One Hit And Run Drill Focus To drag bunt down one foul line, push bunt...
4. Bunting Drills: Sacrifice And Break From The Box Drill Focus To bunt the ball into fair territory, 3 to...
5. Bunting Drills: Suicide Bunt Drill Focus To make contact with the ball on the bunt;...