"If you can't hit your own self tossed ball with same swing as in game, then...

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Aug 26, 2011
1,285
0
Houston, Texas
how can we expect you to hit live pitching?!!" This from the mouth of HS coach during a drill where groups of 3 had one girl self tossing a ball, hitting said ball with both hands on bat, and must be hit directly to the person fielding. DD was so frustrated and they called her out on it saying she was holding the line up. Needless to say, it set a precedent for the rest of practice, and she came home quite upset...more upset than I have ever seen her. :( The coaches seemed to have targeted her throughout the entire practice (of course through her eyes...I get that).

Anyway, I just told her to control what she can control, let what happened slide like water down her back...HS ball doesn't count in grand scheme of things, but to just do the best she can. Sigh.

It's just irritating because there is nothing she or I can do about it. Good thing is...after she got it all out, she was better. :)
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
how can we expect you to hit live pitching?!!" This from the mouth of HS coach during a drill where groups of 3 had one girl self tossing a ball, hitting said ball with both hands on bat, and must be hit directly to the person fielding. DD was so frustrated and they called her out on it saying she was holding the line up. Needless to say, it set a precedent for the rest of practice, and she came home quite upset...more upset than I have ever seen her. :( The coaches seemed to have targeted her throughout the entire practice (of course through her eyes...I get that).

Anyway, I just told her to control what she can control, let what happened slide like water down her back...HS ball doesn't count in grand scheme of things, but to just do the best she can. Sigh.

It's just irritating because there is nothing she or I can do about it. Good thing is...after she got it all out, she was better. :)

And how many HS coaches do you see being able to have a fielders glove on one hand, catch the throw in from the OFer, toss the ball up in the air from the glove and hit it one handed to a specific point in the OF? The coach is an idiot.

Edit to Add: How many pitches in a HS FP softball game drop in straight down from the sky? Yes it might help with a little bit of timing but little is the key word. It might also help with "quick hands" but I usually find that "slow hands" are more a fault of improper mechanics which can't be fixed with this drill until the fault itself is fixed.
 
Last edited:
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
All I hear from the "HS Softball is all about building memories" crowd is these are times your DD will cherish in the future. Be sure to let us know how that works out. :)
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I like the self toss drill - but Hitter has told me that he doesn't. I am not into embarrassing anyone, though. How many of us learned to hit, by picking up a rock and knocking it through a neighbor's window?
 
Jun 24, 2013
1,059
36
It is a trick. DD can hit the ball thrown up with either hand or swinging with either hand or both. She can also hit the ball pitched behind her. Why I do not know or care.

It is fun by the way we do it it practice sometimes.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
I am actually surprised at the number of good hitters that can't toss the ball up and hit it solid.

I never made the correlation between that and hitting live pitching though.
 
Dec 12, 2013
90
8
B.C. Canada
It's a great drill for understanding what it "feels" like to hit to a particular field. This is a hitting station for us.
It's the beginning of learning to hit opposite field.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
It's a great drill for understanding what it "feels" like to hit to a particular field. This is a hitting station for us.
It's the beginning of learning to hit opposite field.

Usually we work on this with side toss first, inside and outside then move to front toss doing both.

Edit to Add: I'm still trying to understand how this translates. The "feel" of hitting the ball, whether inside or outside is the same or more effective IMO in side toss or front toss as it is trying to hit the ball with a self toss. As Gunner said, I know many great hitters that can't do this drill. Not only that, but please explain to me the justification in an adult coach belittling a player that can't do this drill.
 
Last edited:
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
I like the self toss drill - but Hitter has told me that he doesn't. I am not into embarrassing anyone, though. How many of us learned to hit, by picking up a rock and knocking it through a neighbor's window?

Like Amy, when I was young, I couldnt wait to go to grand maws because she had a long gravel driveway. I probably hit 10,000 rocks out into the pasture. Whether with a friend/family member/or alone, games were made up who could hit the furthest, highest, spots on field ( pasture ), we'd even see who could hit tree trunks the most times from a certain distance.

Obviously the time wasn't good enough to get me into MLB, but I'm sure it had some value of hand-eye coordination. As a reference, my friends who couldn't hit those self tossed rocks very good..............couldn't hit a baseball very good either. Coincidence?
 

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