8U Softball Practice Plan: 60 Minutes You Can Use Tonight

It's 5 PM. Practice is at 6. You need a plan. Not a theory about coaching philosophy. Not a 40 page PDF from a college program. You need something you can read in 5 minutes and run tonight with a group of 7 and 8 year olds who are equal parts excited and chaotic.

Here it is. Sixty minutes. Five blocks. Exact times. Let's go.

The Quick Overview

• 0:00 to 0:10 Warm up and throwing (10 min)
• 0:10 to 0:25 Fielding stations (15 min)
• 0:25 to 0:40 Hitting rotation (15 min)
• 0:40 to 0:50 Baserunning (10 min)
• 0:50 to 1:00 Scrimmage (10 min)

That's the skeleton. Now let's fill it in.

Block 1: Warm Up and Throwing (10 minutes)

Minutes 0 to 3: Dynamic Warm Up

Line the kids up on the foul line. Run through these quickly. No long pauses. Keep the energy up.

• Jog to the outfield fence and back
• High knees across the infield
• Butt kicks back
• Arm circles (10 forward, 10 backward)

Three minutes. That's it. They're warm. Don't overthink this part.

Minutes 3 to 10: Partner Throwing

Pair them up. Every kid gets a partner. Start at 15 feet apart and back up to 30 feet over the seven minutes.

• First 2 minutes: easy tosses at 15 feet. Focus on stepping toward their partner.
• Next 2 minutes: back up to 20 feet. Remind them to follow through. "Point at your partner after you throw."
• Last 3 minutes: back up to 25 to 30 feet. Let them air it out a little. This is where you walk around and give individual tips.

Block 2: Fielding Stations (15 minutes)

Split the team into three groups. Set up three stations. Rotate every 5 minutes. You need at least one helper for this. Two is better.

Station A: Ground Ball Alley

You (or a parent) roll ground balls to players one at a time. The line moves fast because they field, throw back to you, and go to the end of the line.

• Roll the ball firmly but not too hard. Right at them.
• Coaching cue: "Get your butt down, glove on the dirt, bare hand on top."
• Each kid gets 4 to 5 reps per 5 minute rotation.

Station B: Pop Fly Practice

A helper tosses easy pop ups. Not sky high. Just enough arc that the kid has to look up, move under it, and catch it above their head.

• Start with very easy tosses almost straight up, a few feet away.
• Coaching cue: "Call it! Say 'I got it!' every time."
• If a kid is struggling, toss it even softer. Build confidence before difficulty.

Station C: Throw to First

Set up a cone at shortstop. A helper stands at the cone and rolls a ball toward a player. The player fields it and throws to first base where another helper (or a bucket) is the target.

• This is the most "game like" station. Field the ball, look up, throw to first.
• Coaching cue: "Field it clean, then look at first before you throw."
• Don't worry about accuracy yet. Celebrate the effort of looking before throwing.

Rotate every 5 minutes. Blow a whistle or yell "ROTATE" and point where each group goes next. Keep the transitions fast. Dead time is chaos time.

Block 3: Hitting Rotation (15 minutes)

Split the team in half. One group hits. The other group fields. Swap at the 7 or 8 minute mark.

Hitting Group

Set up two stations if you can. If you only have one tee or one soft toss helper, that's okay. Just keep the line short.

• Tee station: Each hitter gets 5 swings off the tee. Focus on one thing: "Watch the ball, hit the ball." Tee height at belt level. Hit into a net or fence if possible.
• Soft toss station: A helper kneels to the side and tosses a ball into the hitting zone. The kid swings. This is more advanced than the tee, so put your more experienced hitters here.

Five swings and rotate. Keep the line moving. If a kid is waiting more than a minute, you're going too slow.

Fielding Group

The kids not hitting should be spread out in the field, catching the hit balls. Put a helper with this group to keep them engaged and toss them extra grounders between hits.

Swap the groups at the halfway point. Everyone hits, everyone fields. No one sits.

Block 4: Baserunning (10 minutes)

Baserunning is one of the most overlooked skills at 8U. And it's also one of the easiest to practice because the kids think it's just racing. Let them think that.

Minutes 40 to 45: Home to First Drill

• Line them up at home plate.
• You stand near first base with a stopwatch (or just your phone).
• "When I say go, you run through first base as fast as you can. Don't slow down until you're past the base."
• Time each kid. They love hearing their time. "4.2 seconds! Can you beat that next time?"

The key coaching point here: run THROUGH the base, not TO the base. Most 8U players slow down before they get to first. Teach them to hit the front edge and keep sprinting past it.

Minutes 45 to 50: Situational Baserunning

• Put a runner on first. Coach says "ground ball" and the runner goes to second.
• Put a runner on second. Coach says "fly ball" and the runner holds. Coach says "base hit" and the runner scores.
• Teach them the simple rule: "On a ground ball, you run. On a fly ball, you wait."

Don't go deeper than that at 8U. Ground ball, run. Fly ball, wait. That's enough for the whole season.

Block 5: Scrimmage (10 minutes)

This is the payoff. Everything they practiced today, they get to try in a game.

Keep it simple. Coach pitches (underhand, nice and easy). Three outs or five runs per inning, whichever comes first. If nobody can hit the pitch, put the ball on a tee. No strikeouts. Every kid hits.

• Play real positions but rotate every inning. Nobody plays the same spot twice.
• Encourage what you worked on. "Great job getting in front of that grounder!" "Nice run through first!"
• Don't keep score. Or if you do, conveniently lose track. The point is reps, not results.

End the scrimmage with a quick huddle. Tell them one thing the TEAM did well. "You guys were fielding grounders with two hands today. That's how real softball players do it." Send them off feeling good.

Making It Your Own

This plan works as written. But the beauty of coaching is making it fit YOUR team. Here are a few ways to adjust.

• Short on helpers? Drop to two fielding stations instead of three. Run 7 minute rotations.
• Team is brand new? Cut the scrimmage and add more throwing time. Fundamentals first.
• Team is more advanced? Replace the tee station with live soft toss for everyone. Add a relay throw drill to the fielding block.
• Only have 45 minutes? Cut the baserunning block. Work it into the scrimmage instead.

The structure stays the same. Warm up, fielding, hitting, baserunning, game. That's the rhythm of a solid 8U practice. What you put inside each block can change every week.

One More Thing

Remember the drill cap rule. No single activity longer than 8 minutes for this age group. The second you see their energy drop, pivot. Move to the next thing. A fast, energized practice with simple drills will always beat a slow, detailed practice with advanced concepts.

Keep it moving. Keep it fun. Keep them coming back.

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