Youth Baseball hitting drills?
- Thread starter SMG
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Depends on the age. For the 7 year olds, I place a small lawn chair in front of them, and tell them to swing over the top of it. Good way to teach them level swings. Also, I make a point to hit every one of them at some point during BP so they realize that it's not painful (we use a soft baseball, and I don't throw it that hard. BTW some of those kids can really move.:smile
Depends on the age. For the 7 year olds, I place a small lawn chair in front of them, and tell them to swing over the top of it. Good way to teach them level swings. Also, I make a point to hit every one of them at some point during BP so they realize that it's not painful (we use a soft baseball, and I don't throw it that hard. BTW some of those kids can really move.:smile
While I don't recommend beaning kids. Tee work and soft toss drills are great for fundamentals of the swing.
I use a lot of soft toss, but I put a little variation on it. I have my guys start at home plate with bat in hand and shuffle towards first base. I stand on the mound and toss them softies to hit while they are shuffling their feet. Basically if they can learn to hit while they are moving there feet, it will be much easier for them to hit in the games when they are standing still in the box. I've had pretty good results with this method.
I would never teach hitting this way. It doesn't teach proper balance and shifting of the weight during the swing. All of this drill is doing it teaching to see the ball but it is not teaching them to actually drive the ball with power. I'm not sure it really helps seeing the ball either.
I would never teach hitting this way. It doesn't teach proper balance and shifting of the weight during the swing. All of this drill is doing it teaching to see the ball but it is not teaching them to actually drive the ball with power. I'm not sure it really helps seeing the ball either.
Kinda the same I'm thinking. You want their swings to be as quiet as possible.
Not to threadjack, but any tips for t-ball players? I've got a team of 4-7 year olds (mostly 4-5 y/o) and none can get decent bat-ball contact. All they hit is groundballs that might make it to an infielder (on good days), with a few decent hits scattered in. The teams we play are hitting pop-ups, line drives, grounders, everything.
Their attention span of 10 seconds doesn't help matters.
Catching and throwing is a whole different issue that I won't even begin to try to explain.
Their attention span of 10 seconds doesn't help matters.
Catching and throwing is a whole different issue that I won't even begin to try to explain.
I knew that was going to come across as very hard-assed, but it really is a positive thing. (It beats getting put in front of the garage door and dodging bullets from the old man.) I only plunk each kid once and its very lightly. Bottom line is I would rather they step in the bucket during BP, so we can work on getting them out of it, as opposed to a game.
My kid had a problem with moving his backfoot. I showed him "squish the bug" with the back foot and it helped him a ton. It makes them keep the back foot in place and turn the hips at the same time.
I would never teach hitting this way. It doesn't teach proper balance and shifting of the weight during the swing. All of this drill is doing it teaching to see the ball but it is not teaching them to actually drive the ball with power. I'm not sure it really helps seeing the ball either.
Hey I completely disagreed with Mr. Miyagi's coaching style with Daniel Larusso. To me the way the Cobra Kai's trained seemed right. Strict discipline, preaching no mercy, that is how you win at karate I thought. But what happened? Daniel wins the tourney and hotsteps all over the Cobra Kai method on his way to deflowering that Ali.
You may think my way is crazy but give it a try. My team was won back to back league titles and I ain't changing for no one!
I was mainly thinking 10 to 12 year kids. I bought a gadget called the insider bat last week. It has helped me see my son's flaws in his swing.
Do any of you guys own a high dollar bat for your kids? I never realized how much bats could cost until I started looking around.
Any opinions on the best brand of baseball batting tee?
SMG
Do any of you guys own a high dollar bat for your kids? I never realized how much bats could cost until I started looking around.
Any opinions on the best brand of baseball batting tee?
SMG
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If you really want to make them focus, get whiffle golf balls and a skinny bat (either a whiffle bat or a ThunderStick) and soft toss those.
I've got an Omaha and I can't remember what my other bat is (white bat with red design) bat along with a bunch of wooden bats...The wooden bats I bought the cheapest I could ($25-$30 each) and the aluminum bats were $150 each my junior year of HS.
Grab a bunch of old tube socks or baseball socks. Roll them up in a tight ball and secure with a couple pieces of heavy string or cord. Set up on a knee about 15 - 20 ft in front of the hitter and you can wear them out with as much bp as they can handle in the backyard.
Much better than using wiffle balls because it's closer to tracking the flight of a real ball. They are softer than the commercial "rag balls" so they don't end up down the block when you get all of it. You can work on specific pitch locations because the socks at that distance have a good trajectory. The pitcher can take one off the head or chest without risk of injury. The hitter gets instant feedback on learning to go with the pitch and hit with the sweet spot. Great drill for teaching a kid how to square up contact on the inside and outside pitches. If they learn to do it right, the socks jump off the bat and stay fair. If they don't execute right, the hits are either weak, sliced, or pulled foul. You have to have a kid willing to work, but the ease of repetition makes it possible to progress as a hitter.
Much better than using wiffle balls because it's closer to tracking the flight of a real ball. They are softer than the commercial "rag balls" so they don't end up down the block when you get all of it. You can work on specific pitch locations because the socks at that distance have a good trajectory. The pitcher can take one off the head or chest without risk of injury. The hitter gets instant feedback on learning to go with the pitch and hit with the sweet spot. Great drill for teaching a kid how to square up contact on the inside and outside pitches. If they learn to do it right, the socks jump off the bat and stay fair. If they don't execute right, the hits are either weak, sliced, or pulled foul. You have to have a kid willing to work, but the ease of repetition makes it possible to progress as a hitter.
Wow you won back to back little league titles...you are awesome. Nice reference to the Karate Kid too.
I will not try that drill with any kid at any level.
Back to back to back national championships don't lie my friend.I'd listen to the crime dog:
And buy Tom Emanski's tape:
I like to use these but they're only good indoors or outdoors on a windless day. If you don't want to buy them, start collecting your margarine lids...
Towny Townsends Hitting Disc
I read about them in a Sports Illustrated article on a youth coach from Virginia who turned out four big leaguers, including David Wright...
Towny Townsends Hitting Disc
I read about them in a Sports Illustrated article on a youth coach from Virginia who turned out four big leaguers, including David Wright...
My kids save their money and buy a new bat every 2 years or so. The most expensive bat that they bought so far is a Stealth. It's a popular bat and has a lot of pop. They also like their Voodoo bats but they're not as "cool" as the Stealth. When they hit the sweet spots on those bats, the baseballs really fly. We need to use flat tennis balls for bp at home to keep from breaking neighbors windows...and we have a 3 acre lot.
