Tee drill recommendations

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obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
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Boston, MA
Reading in the other thread about Bustos working the cage with 155 swings off a tee got me thinking- what kind of drills is she doing?

I would like to work with my DD's ( 9 and 14) on hitting and would love some recommendations for tee work. The older one has more discipline and understands the value of the exercises, the younger one doesn't understand yet.

I figured I would start the older one with some of the Englishbey one-handed drills, but I'm curious as to what you all do?
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
We have many T and soft toss drills we work on. The best T to use is the mutli position Schutt T's. T work is good only if you are teaching a part of the swing, not just hitting off a T. First issue most do wrong is they use the one position T and hit off of it. You should use a home plate and then a T in front of that plate. Example hitting and inside pitch , place the T out in front of the plate , if it is an outside pitch, then you put the T in the position you hit an outside pitch, which is about 1/2 way into the plate.
1. One hand drills hitting tennis balls with PVC pipe. Never use one hand drills with a Bat. We build these weighted with 3 oz of lead shot that moves inside the PVC with 12 " of dowell rod in the handle area, screwed in. At the age you are talking this is where you need to start.
2. We use the Whiphit. These is a tool that Bastian has under Thewhiphit.com.
It is probably the best tool on the market to teach a correct swing.
3. Set up two T's one for an inside pitch low and 5 " in front of the plate. The other as high as the T will go and outside and in the middle of the plate. When she loads you call the pitch and she must adjust her hand path to hit the pitch you call.
4. Take two T in line. One 2" higher and 18" in front of the first. Have her hit the back ball thru the front ball. Next have her hit the back ball over the first ball.
5. T Stacker drill. So they learn not to hit down but thru the ball. Take the top ball off without hitting the next.
We have many more, but this should at least get you started.

PM me if you have any questions are need more info. I will explain the Bonds drill in the cage, since we don't just go into a cage in hit balls, that to me is worthless.
 
May 12, 2008
2,214
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SB,

Given different hitters stand in different places in the box I'd suggest specifying tee position in relation to the hitter rather than the plate.

OB,

I'd suggest an understanding of the goal in terms of how a bat is swung is a priority ahead of drill picking. Once you understand your goal, picking the drill or creating the drill is easy. Without the understanding, any drill can be perverted. To me, drills are like medicine. Some are used to fix a problem. Some are taken as maintenance doses. But they should be individual to a hitter rather than one size fits all just as you wouldn't give the same medicine to all. I'd further suggest anytime you can think in terms of using constraints to train and teach, that's probably a better idea than drills. The whiphit would be an example of a constraint (still hate the way they demo it on the website though I like the product).
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
Mark H we do not have hitters standing in different places in the box. We teach a neutral stance..
We lay the bat across home plate so the tip of the bat head is on the outside corner of the plate and the knob of the bat extends towards the player. We position our lead foot toe so it touches the knob of the bat. We can cover any pitch that is 5 inches out of the strike zone in or out and up or down.

This is a neutral position and pitchers and coaches calling pitches find it difficult to pitch to our hitters as we are not giving up a perceived weakness by being in on the plate or away from the plate. Now the pitcher or coach must try and find what we can hit or not hit and while experimenting to find a weakness and we are hitting the ball!

Bustos who is advanced, will step up toward home plate to bait a pitcher and we teach this to our advanced students. Then as the pitcher is in the K position we change out stance and play mind games.
Actually Bustos told me she will actually swing in miss to have the pitcher throw her that pitch again , as she hit the high inside rise ball over left field fence last year. She baited and got the pitcher to throw her the pitch she was looking for.
 
Dec 10, 2008
82
0
SB,can explain what the whiphit exactly does.I have watched what little video there is.

As a father of 3 DD'ers I am trying to take in all I can on the hitting and learn how to correct problems.I understand the process of the swing from start to finish(I hope).

Does this correct problems or does it teach the correct path.If you could clue me in exactly I would appreciate it.
 
Jan 15, 2009
585
0
for tee drills used as a way to get in repetitions and build muscle memory i would suggest the following.

Hit 30 balls off a tee in the following manner
10 to opposite field - ball placed outside relative to batter and lined up with the middle of their body.
10 to center field - ball placed middle of the plate distance away from batter and lined up with their front foot
10 to pull field - ball placed inside relative to batter and 1 foot forward of thier front foot

Repeat at different tee heights

If they have bad mechanics this is going to make those bad mechanics permanent so I wouldn't do repetition for the sake of repetition until the swing is sound. Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent and if you practice a bad swing you'll get a consistantly bad swing. The best progress I ever had with my DD was in the offseason when my daughter was working with a professional batting coach 1 day a week and practicing with me in the basement 3-4 times in between lessons with a tee and softtoss.

The other thing I've noted that if you can get 2 kids to work out together they will work longer and with more intensity. When I take either my son or daughter down to work alone I get about 15 minutes before they're bored. When I take them both down they will alternate for 45 minutes and push each other. Our latest ritual is to alternate soft toss and Guitar Hero. It's funny how little barbs from each other do more to motivate them than anything I can say.
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
Snocatzdad good post, couldn't have said it better.
Whiphit:
1. If you roll your wrist early, back slapper, it will punish you. Instant feedback.
2. If you cast your hands, you cannot hit the ball off the T. The rope hits the ball.
3. If you pull out on the front side, you miss the Ball..
It teachs a good first move, because you must be able to hit the ball with the sweet spot of the bat to use the whiphit.
We use it to demo, what happens when you get your back elbow to close to your body. If I hold the ball you cannot pull me thru. Same as when you cast you hands. It helps the hitter to see and feel the correct swing path. It is my #1 teaching tool. I like to have kids see and feel what I'm teaching. I tell them if I cannot show you and have you feel it, then why would you believe what I'm telling you.
We progress from T work to soft toss with it. Bastian has a winner with this device. I made my own, since I make many of my own training devices.
 
May 12, 2008
2,214
0
Mark H we do not have hitters standing in different places in the box.

That's fine but keep in mind you are speaking to an audience here who may not stand in the same place in the box you teach. They need to understand contact point in relation to their body. This of course would work with them as well as your kids.
 
May 12, 2008
2,214
0
Snocatzdad good post, couldn't have said it better.
Whiphit:
1. If you roll your wrist early, back slapper, it will punish you. Instant feedback.
2. If you cast your hands, you cannot hit the ball off the T. The rope hits the ball.
3. If you pull out on the front side, you miss the Ball..
It teachs a good first move, because you must be able to hit the ball with the sweet spot of the bat to use the whiphit.
We use it to demo, what happens when you get your back elbow to close to your body. If I hold the ball you cannot pull me thru. Same as when you cast you hands. It helps the hitter to see and feel the correct swing path. It is my #1 teaching tool. I like to have kids see and feel what I'm teaching. I tell them if I cannot show you and have you feel it, then why would you believe what I'm telling you.
We progress from T work to soft toss with it. Bastian has a winner with this device. I made my own, since I make many of my own training devices.

I don't see the utility of this device as teaching sweet spot accuracy. I see the value of the whiphit as teaching a connected swing a la Adair's rock on a rope analogy. Push the bat, leave it behind as you start rotate or any other manner of disconnection and the ball on the end of the rope will flop instead of swing. As to sweet spot accuracy, I believe it teaches accuracy with the whiphit. I just don't believe that transfers to accuracy with the sweet spot of different bats with different lengths, materials and manufacuring techniques.
 

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