On a balmy week in early December 2021, the MLB youth development team came together with MOJO, the award-winning youth sports startup, for a multi-day video shoot at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida. Dozens of young baseball and softball players had come from all over Central Florida to play more than 100 games and drills that comprise the baseball and softball curriculum that MLB and MOJO developed together.

At the end of a long day of video production, where a particular group of kids 8 and under had patiently run through beginner drills over and over again as the cameras rolled, it was finally time for everyone’s favorite part -- to play. 

And not just any game: Water Balloon Derby.

The purpose of the MLB and MOJO partnership, and the baseball and softball curriculum itself, is to bring new energy -- new fun -- to baseball and softball practice. In the MOJO app, that means a fun, often scrimmage-like game at the end of every practice, where kids can show off the skills they’ve been working on. 

Like hitting as many water balloons as the coach has in their bucket.

“How can you not have fun?” says Bennett Shields, senior manager, Baseball & Softball Development at Major League Baseball, who was on set.

But it’s more than fun and games. In Water Balloon Derby, players still need to have great mechanics. Their hands need to go through the zone to get the biggest splash. Technique still matters.

“In all of the drills we developed, what we want to accomplish is to reinforce certain skills and be fundamentally fun for the kids,” says Shields. “Water Balloon Derby completely encapsulates that. Quite frankly, when you swing to try to explode the water balloon, you need to swing properly in order to have the maximum amount of fun.”

To see more of the baseball and softball curriculum from MLB, download the MOJO app.

Team MOJO takes youth sports coaching seriously -- but not too seriously. Follow them on YouTube @yougotmojo.