Front Toss Batting Practice

[FiveFrameSwing]

What does the term "Long-tee" mean?

An example would be hitting off of tee into a 'long' distance ... often Mike has his hitters hit from one end of the cage, to the back wall on the other end of the cage ... ... ... this as opposed to hitting into a nearby net.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

SBF - All FFS was trying to illustrate was that there are many softball/baseball programs and hitting instructors who advocate "front toss" as another drill that can be incorporated into a players hitting regimen. For example, I have witnessed in person the UCLA players taking batting practice numerous times using among other things, front toss, to work on swing mechanics and their timing. My DD has been fortunate enough to use these same facilities and one of her intructors is a former player of their program and they incorporate front toss into every one of her hitting lessons. I have had an open mind with this hitting drill and have even used it with my team with very good success. Instead of dismissing front toss as useless, try to educate yourself and determine if it makes sense for your players. The way I look at it is it's just another hitting drill to help your players become better at the plate.

Thank you SoCalSoftballdad. Head-on Soft-toss is a common hitting drill for both Baseball and Softball.

It isn't just the UCLA players that use the drill ... many talented hitters work on developing their skills via head-on soft-toss. And as an FYI ... I include Bustos in that list, as I consider her a skilled hitter and someone that I have seen first-hand hit off head-on soft-toss.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I dont think it matters if you use front toss , side toss , tee work or whatever as long as you are teaching your hitters things that will give them a better chance to succeed. Therevare many theories on hitting out there , there are tons of video clips of various hitters. The key is figuing out to apply whatever you see/believe to your particular hitters. For me , I come to this site to come up with new ideas on how to communicate with and Teach my hitters in a way that they can understand

IMO there is significant value in hitting a ball coming at your from in front.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

IMO there is significant value in hitting a ball coming at your from in front.

I didnt say that there wasnt value. I also agree that it is a good tool. But , IMO so is side toss , tee work , live pitching , dry swings. All of these things can be useful. I just dont understand why some think that their way of doing things and beliefs are the only way to get things done successfully.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I didnt say that there wasnt value. I also agree that it is a good tool. But , IMO so is side toss , tee work , live pitching , dry swings. All of these things can be useful. I just dont understand why some think that their way of doing things and beliefs are the only way to get things done successfully.

Let me try this again.

You wrote "I dont think it matters if you use front toss , side toss "

There is a significant difference between "front toss" and "side toss" ... and it extends well beyond vision, ... including the loading pattern, proper use of stretch without inhibition of counter rotation, creation of game-like body torque, etc.. You can tell a kid to keep their eyes directed forward towards an imaginary pitcher ... and while many succeed in doing that off of tee-work, they often fail to do a good job with that from side-toss ... and any failure here is a negative in terms of the loading pattern.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Let ME try this again.

I never said that there werent differences. I just believe that there are MANY methods that can be used effectively.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Let ME try this again.

I never said that there werent differences. I just believe that there are MANY methods that can be used effectively.

That is much better IMO ... MUCH better than you stating that it doesn't matter.

Some approaches are more effective than others ... which I hope is why we are having this discussion.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

That is much better IMO ... MUCH better than you stating that it doesn't matter.

Some approaches are more effective than others ... which I hope is why we are having this discussion.

I think the approach just depends on your hitter and what there needs are. I dont think it matters which method you use as long as you are improving the hitter. For some , it might be side toss , for others it may be front toss. For me , I try and use a combination of all the things I continue to learn.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I think the approach just depends on your hitter and what there needs are. I dont think it matters which method you use as long as you are improving the hitter. For some , it might be side toss , for others it may be front toss. For me , I try and use a combination of all the things I continue to learn.

Well ... I hit side-toss during my warm-ups twice last week ... but only because the feeder was 'green' and refused to feed the ball from in front. So there are times I will use side-toss ... but when head-on toss is available, that is my preference.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Well ... I hit side-toss during my warm-ups twice last week ... but only because the feeder was 'green' and refused to feed the ball from in front. So there are times I will use side-toss ... but when head-on toss is available, that is my preference.

Absolutely nothing wrong with your preference. I just dont believe that it would be wrong for another coach/teacher/hitter to do it a different way.