We are a player development focused program: Dugout Development is weekly training that focuses on the individual aspect of the game, and is the perfect addition to your travel ball, little league, or rec ball season.

With practice sessions available 2 days each week, you can easily work our training into your team's schedule.

Dugout Development is a great resource for travel ball families looking for additional training opportunities during the week. Even if you're not playing travel ball, our training will be an added benefit to your rec ball/little league season!

We work with coaches and instructors across the country to utilize the latest training methods and drills. With our players, we focus on the techniques and strategies used at the collegiate and professional level.

What we use

What to expect

Dugout Development

Players on our travel team rosters will get 3 days of Dugout Development training each week, geared towards both team drills and individual training. Rostered players can add on additional nights of training to focus on individual specialization and training. The goal is to stick with the training and develop your skills. There is not overnight success.

Hitting:

Much of hitting is focused on hitting mechanics and finding the right baseball hitting drills for those mechanics. However, there is more to hitting than just finding the right drills. At Prospect Dugout, we structure our coaching around the ‘Big 3’: Bat speed, Bat-to-ball skills, and swing decisions or approach. Much like a college or professional team, we set long-term and short-term goals with our players.

We focus on making movement changes with players for two reasons: to swing the bat harder and to make more contact. We avoid making changes because of looks. Every hitter is different, and comfort plays a factor. We want to make sure any mechanical changes result in better performance. We do that by utilizing data and timing to develop a strategy to improve performance.

• Approach

  • By developing a solid approach, hitters can self-evaluate in real time

• Setup

  • Being able to feel comfortable and confident in the batter’s box is just as important as Approach

• Mechanics

  • Spending time breaking down various parts of the swing to get a better understanding of what it’s supposed to feel like and how it’s supposed to work

• Action

  • We use our training and instincts to make adjustments game by game, at-bat by at-bat, and pitch by pitch

Defense:

From backing up bases to individual mechanics, we teach our players to take pride in their defense. During practice we teach proper footwork and positioning and in games we focus on preparation and decision making. The foundation of consistent in-game fielding ability is your ability to expect the baseball and anticipate the play. Errors happen but we can control our pre-pitch routine and setup.

Team Defense - players will learn college and professional level team defense, from first and third plays to rundowns and PFPs. We instill confidence to be athletic and make the play, rather than require players to stay inside a mechanical box.

Individual defense - whether position specific or for overall skill development, we dedicate time each week to refine our fundamentals and mechanics. From double play footwork to retrieving a ball against the outfield fence, we cover aspects of the game that help increase overall baseball IQ.

Pitching:

The essential foundation to a pitching rotation or pitching in general, is a throwing program. Each of our players will throw consistently and maintain performance with bullpens and live ABs outside of gameplay. We work with pitchers to improve their mechanics and throwing ability, plus we teach them how to pitch: pitch selection, holding runners, fielding their position, etc. Game strategy and mental focus are huge factors on the mound. We work with our pitchers to develop a pitcher's mindset, much like that of a college or professional pitcher.

Fielding the position - We routinely practice our pick plays, bunt coverages, and PFPs to complete the position.

Holding runners - Especially at the youth levels, the stolen base and wild pitch situation can be overwhelming. Much of that can be eliminated by properly holding runners. We utilize professional guidelines to help our pitchers mix up their holds and pickoffs to keep runners close.

We are focused on teaching players how to play the game while effectively improving their physical and mental skills.

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