A veteran entrepreneur and transportation industry executive, Perry Mandera founded The Custom Companies, Inc., a logistics firm he serves as its president. Beyond his work, Perry Mandera has coached various youth sports, including baseball. One of the most useful catching drills in baseball coaching is the relay drill.
To arrange the relay drill, create two teams of approximately equal catching ability and have them form two straight lines with a good distance between each player. Give the front player in each line a baseball and, on your signal, have the front player throw the baseball to the person next to them, with each subsequent player repeating the process with the player next in line until the ball reaches the last player. The drill should be completed as quickly as possible.
From there, the process is reversed until the front player has the ball again. The winning team is the first to complete the circuit. Upon successful completion of the drill, increase the distances between each team’s players to make the drill more challenging. This drill improves throwing speed and accuracy and catching ability under pressure.
