Two Lesson Plans

Title: Fielding Mechanics

Overall Goal: For student-athletes to learn and work on proper fielding mechanics.

By developing sound fielding mechanics, student-athletes will be less apt to making

errors and have a higher fielding percentage thus making themselves more

appealing to College and Professional recruiters.

Lesson:

Student-athletes will be given ten minutes to head to the turf infield and

warm their arms up my playing catch with one another. Once they are loose enough

to make throws across the diamond, they will take their gloves off and toss them

onto the edge of the outfield turf right behind them. They will then get on their

knees even with bases. An instructor will hit baseballs lightly with a baseball bat to

random fielders, fielders will be forced to use “soft hands” when accepting the

baseball. Glove-less fielding exercise should take ten minutes.

Student-athletes will then get up and put their gloves on. The instructor will

take approximately five minutes to demonstrate how to round the baseball upon

fielding it to align the throw to the desired base. Instructor will then hit baseballs

and will be constantly improving or complimenting the technique of the fielders.

This is an open format, players are encouraged to ask questions and an allotted

fifteen minutes will be given for these drills.

The last twenty minutes of this drill will be given to instructional games.

Fielders will compete on their knees without gloves and then with gloves at their

positions and on their feet. If a player makes an error or uses bad technique to

complete the play, that individual is out of the game. The last player in, the survivor,

wins the game. This activity will demonstrate to athletes that by using proper

technique, ground balls are in fact easier to handle. The last five minutes of this

exercise will be given for instructor/player time. They will huddle up and any

concerns or question that haven’t been covered can be asked. The instructor will

also be encouraged to assess his team performance in the drills.

Checklist for Fielding Mechanics

___ Players arms are loose as so they can make throws across the turf diamond.

___ Players use “soft hands” fielding groundballs on their knees without the use of a glove.

___ Instructor demonstrates how to round the baseball as to align for the throw to the desired base.

___ Players demonstrate understanding of how to round the baseball and how to align their body and feet for the throw.

___ Instructional games are played.

___ Time is left for review of drills.

Title: Self-Assessment

Overall Goal: For student-athletes to honestly evaluate their athletic and scholastic

performances and to conclude a plan of action to improve in lacking aspects.

Furthermore, the self-assessment should give me insight to the strengths and

weaknesses of my student-athlete on the diamond and in the classroom.

Lesson:

Each applicant of the academy must complete a self-assessment before

placed on a team. As an instructional facility that not only wants to improve student-

athletes athletic performances, we want to enhance their scholastic performances.

We believe athletes should excel both on the diamond and in the classroom.

Student-Athletes will state what they believe their strengths are as an athlete and as

a student. Student-Athletes will then state what they believe their weaknesses are as

an athlete and then as a student.

Students will, however, focus on their admitted weaknesses at first. They will

be asked to come up with a plan of action of which they will be realistically able to

implement to help their weakness turn into a strength. For example, if a student

struggles in math, they may want to see a tutor twice a week. Or if a student

struggles hitting baseballs to the opposite field, they may want to commit to lessons

with an instructor who specializes in the swing or commit to doing tee work twice a

week. Students will then focus on their strengths. They will be asked to offer advice

to student-athletes who may struggle in that particular area and give ideas as to

how they can continue to improve even in a “strong” area.

I will expect students to present their findings on the Smart Board located in

the student room through PowerPoint one at a time. This assignment will not only

show students that I care both about their athletic and academic performances, it

will demonstrate that the focus of this academy is development both on and off the

field. I will then be given time to understand and learn about players and how best I

can help them. I will also use this opportunity to give student-athletes tips on how to

use our facility to maximize their needs.

Checklist for Self-Assessment

___ Student-Athlete list scholastic weaknesses and strengths

___ Student-Athlete list athletic weaknesses and strengths

___ Student-Athlete constructed a plan of action to turn weaknesses into strengths both from an athletic and academic standpoint.

___ Student-Athlete offered advice to other student-athletes who may be struggling

in an area they consider themselves to be sufficient.

___ Student-Athlete gave ideas on how they could improve in already “strong” areas of academic and athletics.

___ Student-Athlete created a PowerPoint presentation.

___ Student-Athlete presented PowerPoint on Smart Board.