Team Hitting Practice ????

[Bucketrider]

Even using stations of 2-3 girls, our batting practice seems to degenerate rather quickly (14U). And as mentioned above, are coaches are not hitting coaches.We have one coach I have told my dd to listen to, nod your head and then do as your hitting coach instructed. He does fine on 1b, but is amazing with what he tries to tell the girls to do in the batters box.

We occasionally have our pitchers pitch but they are at the mercy of the coach. Coach wants the pitcher to get a look at live batters, wants batters to see live pitching, should be a win-win right? Well, batter knows the pitchers, coach knows what the batter can't hit. Works to improve the batter, but doesn't want the batter to lose confidence, works to a 3-2, then fb down the middle.

The best scenario I have experienced is scrimmages, if you have enough for two teams or another local team. This gives the girls live pitching and a competitive edge. Everyone hits, pitchers rotate each inning, and they can practice situational hitting. Start the count out at 0-2, 2-0 full count, and make the girls understand different hitting and pitching scenarios. As added "Incentive" if the girl strikes out, batter does 10 pushups. If the batter gets a hit, pitcher does 10 pushups at the end of the inning for each hit! Not sure if this helps the pitchers confidence, but they can start to look like Lou Ferrigno!

 

[HerLivingRoomHero]

This season we've found a new hitting cage that uses a video trainer and have spent a few hours there. The trainer is set by age, and you can vary pitch location, speed, and type. We're 14U, so we do 15-16 pitch selection. The girls see FB, CU, CB, RB, and DB. Mostly FB and CU located solely on the inside or outside of the plate at different heights. In the fall we'll be taking advantage of this place every other week (before tournaments) for to hours each session. My kid also does tee work 6 days a week and gets anywhere from 100-150 swings in a day (all varying locations and heights). I agree that tons of tee work and toss helps, but seeing the different pitches and speed combined with spotting locations is invaluable. I think whatever it is you believe in/choose, there has to be a lot of it. We were a week hitting team this past season. In the fall, with a few changes to the roster and more dedication to hitting, I expect that to change tremendously.