Hitting front toss with deflated volleyballs

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Dec 11, 2010
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Ok- I’ll admit this sounded like a bad idea to me. And I have heard the horror stories about hitting basketballs off tees. Might have changed my mind for certain situations. Want to know what you think of this in the exact situation I am going to describe:

DD went to a prospect camp at a large school awhile back. So: we are talking mostly strong kids kids that can hit. One station is front toss behind a screen and front tossed volleyballs were the prey. I was seated close to that cage so I was watching several stations, but I saw a lot of that station and lots of hitters. I was not very impressed or interested in this station until I heard both players and the hc explain the purpose, (and they explained it to all campers.)

Stated purpose was to stay back and drive the ball up the middle. Explanation was that the ball looks huge and hitters tend to swing too soon, get out on front foot and either hit a pop up or grounder. Which was pretty much EXACTLY what happened to most until they adjusted. Some couldn’t adjust. Some drove the ball on a laser trajectory early and often. HC made a point to say that you could tell a lot about the process of the swing in this case by looking at the result. I liked that because I have heard her talk about a process driven approach to mechanics several times and I think she’s right.

I was interested enough that I bought a cheap yellow playground ball and tried it. It took adjustment by the hitters but it happened. I asked the hitters if they had any pain or if there was anything they didn’t like about it and no problems. Again: these were all pretty strong hitters. One said it was like hitting a total control ball, just not as heavy. (And for what it’s worth, I don’t care for TCB’s, I sold all of mine a couple years ago.)

I can’t come up with any detriment to this as an OCCAISIONAL fun drill for certain older kids who already have solid mechanics. I think the plus is creating a situation where an adjustment has to occur. The ball booms like thunder too, which is kinda cool. Thoughts?
 
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Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
When I was a kid in gym class we were playing t-ball using a playground ball. I took a huge swing, the bat bounced off the ball and hit me square in the forehead and I was off to the doctor for stitches. Suffice it to say DD didn’t get any of her softball skills from me.
 
Mar 19, 2009
946
93
Southern California
[video]https://j.gifs.com/nrGGxD.gif[/video]

We have used basketballs and just started using volleyballs. The kids prefer the volleyballs. They can swing harder without fear of hurting their wrist. We can also set them on a tee and drive them to the outfield for distance. They swing harder with the volleyballs off the tee. Good luck. Mike
 
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Dec 14, 2017
23
0
In my opinion hitting heavy balls and weighted balls or bigger balls , though well intentioned do the exact opposite of what its intended.

I see in slow motion how the impact of the bat comes to a dead stop and causes the hitter to push through. I do not like how this looks when slowed down.

The younger kids 12 and under have no need for weighted balls!
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
DD#1 was bigger than DD#2. DD#1 benefitted from hitting deflated soccer balls, IMHO, while DD#2 did not.. she learned to use her whole body from the feet up and focus her power into the ball. she was a power hitter. DD#2 did not like hitting the deflated soccer balls, said it hurt her wrists. she was a very good hitter who didn't show signs of power until HS when she was getting excellent instruction in the off-season. both were good hitters but both had a different experience from the same drill.
FWIW- I came to find that players of slighter-build tended to complain more that it hurt their wrists. initially i (wrongly) attributed it to bad mechanics. Typicaly I found the bigger or more solidly built players seemed to enjoy it more and demonstrated positive results.
 
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Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
Westwind,

Alternatively, you may consider the opportunity to simply weight up the bat a couple oz for training sessions. Regular softballs. You're vision stays the same, and it's a challenging workout. As long as your maintaining mechanics, my experience would indicate little affect on live game reaction timing. Of course, there certainly is that chance as with any training drill, but ultimately it typically just boils down to an athletic adjustment.

As kids get older and physically stronger, they'll typically move up in weight anyway. If your young athlete is borderline on bat weight, I'd generally suggest to try and perhaps embrace the heavier of the two. Ultimately, she'll determine which is most comfortable. :cool:

Chris
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
Westwind, without trying it it does seem to make some sense as you describe it....if the contact point is way out front with the volleyball results aren't likely to be great, letting it get deep and working middle/oppo would result in a better result and the hitter might be able to feel something new/different. (PS, I agree about TCB balls one way to get a good result out of hitting them is a clear push swing -- a results-driven drill where the mechanic burned in is actually the opposite of what you'd want).
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Why not just mix in some off-speed pitches in the front toss...serves the same pupose while being more realistic...no???
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
RichK- yes. The whole point seemed to be the ball looking huge and closer than it is so it would simulate an at bat where you are having to hit a pitch hard that you don’t normally hit. Making that adjustment to something unusual.

We used to hit yellow baseballs, all kinds of odd stuff. More and more I believe if you want to hit soft ball size balls well, practice hitting softball size objects at various speeds. I think the size of the ball affects the perception of speed. Small cars LOOK like they are going faster on the interstate sometimes than a big pickup truck going the same speed. It’s just a perception of speed, not the actual speed.

We used a yellow playground ball. I’ll have to weigh it. I’ll bet it doesn’t weigh much more than a regular soft ball.

Chris Delorit- we use a Pro-Cut knob weight pretty regularly for tee work, think it’s 5 ounces. Also use wood bb bats. For moving balls I think this works opposite concept- for heavier bats you work slow and early, you can’t get to the pitch on time without more planning. Think that leans toward faster pitching than you are used to... I think with the big ball the perception is that it’s closer than it really is....you do the same thing but have to adjust to waiting waiting waiting to Go if that makes sense. If you are early you get the pop up/grounder.

DD did well, adjusting earlier, I believe because she works on hitting change ups and off speed regularly.
 

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