Tee Placement

[softballphreak]

We had some discussion recently on tee placement for practicing inside, middle, and outside pitches. The discussion has made me curious for other opinions on the subject in my quest to learn more.

Where do you place the tee for various positions? Why?

Specifically, I'm talking about long tee. From home plate, hitting to the field. Not short tee into a net.

 

[starsnuffer]

You put the tee where you want the batter to make contact with the ball for whatever drill you are doing at the time. You already know that inside pitches are hit further out in front of the batter and outside pitches are hit deeper. It's also useful to put the T in awkward positions so the batter has to "make it work" then simply expect them to time every hit perfectly.

What you need to be aware of is that the girls will want to shift their position to what is comfortable for them. Don't let them do this, make sure they keep their feet where you want them to.

-W

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I agree. I sit the tee out in front of home plate and sometimes the girls will move it, so that it is on the plate. They see their coaches doing that and they think that is where it goes. For down the middle, I guess the ball is about 6 inches in front of the plate. The outside pitch is closer and the inside pitch is further from the plate.

 

[softballphreak]

I agree. I sit the tee out in front of home plate and sometimes the girls will move it, so that it is on the plate. They see their coaches doing that and they think that is where it goes. For down the middle, I guess the ball is about 6 inches in front of the plate. The outside pitch is closer and the inside pitch is further from the plate.

Where is the batter standing? Is she standing so that the center of her body is about even with the center of the plate? With her stride where is her POC in reference to her front foot? In front of the foot towards the pitcher, even with her foot, or deeper towards centerline of her body?

My point is that the batter could be anywhere in the box. So referencing the plate isn't necessarily the best way to teach POC.

So do we place the tee outside the foot, inside the foot, how far out, how deep in, for a middle, inside or outside pitch?

 

[PEPPERS]

Let’s take for example my daughter and her best friend who I worked with a lot. My daughter is 601 with long arms and long legs, her friend is 502 with short arms and short legs. I start with the tee for the inside pitch slightly in front of the front foot where it lands, remembering that a hitter needs to get the hands inside the ball. Pitches down the middle I start with the tee even with where the front foot lands and the outside pitch I start with the tee in the middle of their body after the foot lands. This is for the ball in three different height locations, at the knee, mid section and at the chest.

Then when they get comfortable hitting at these locations we adjust the tee by trial and error to the best location for each hitter. At each location we may move slightly forward or slightly back until the hitter is making the more consistent solid contact and hitting the ball the hardest. The hitter is told when they find their sweet spot to remember it and place the tee where the ball will consistently be in that location, and not let anyone place a tee in a different. I also tell them to have the narrow seams of the ball facing where the backstop is or would be and to aim for the center of the inside seam, reference for keeping the hands inside the ball.

My daughter asked me yesterday with the ball moving at 60 plus how do you make sure you hit the inside pitch in front of the front foot, outside pitch between the legs and etc. I told her how will you ever do it if you don’t practice it. If you can’t do it with a ball sitting on a tee how can you do it with a ball moving? I told her if you practice enough so you can get it right just once per bat then you are in business.

We also do soft toss, side toss, drop and front toss to these pitches at these different locations.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

We are practically even up, in the box. Place the bat across the plate, at the back corners. The end of the bat should reach the black of the outside of the plate. Then, the front foot goes where the knob of the bat is.

At my last lesson, I was telling the mom that DD needed a tee and a plate. She said "Our tee has one on it." I had to explain what an awful product that is and we don't hit the ball when it is on top of the plate.

I do not teach moving around (up and back) in the box for different pitchers. So, our contact point is always the same.

Always put down a plate and a batters box, when practicing at home or at lessons. I use white strips of lawn chair repair kits. They come in 10 foot strips and I secure them into the ground with a nail.

 

[starsnuffer]

Observe this photo:

Now assume the front tee is for an inside pitch, move this back a peg or two for correct placement.

-W

Assume the back tee is for an outside pitch. Move this back a peg or two for correct placement.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

We are practically even up, in the box. Place the bat across the plate, at the back corners. The end of the bat should reach the black of the outside of the plate. Then, the front foot goes where the knob of the bat is.

At my last lesson, I was telling the mom that DD needed a tee and a plate. She said "Our tee has one on it." I had to explain what an awful product that is and we don't hit the ball when it is on top of the plate.

I do not teach moving around (up and back) in the box for different pitchers. So, our contact point is always the same.

Always put down a plate and a batters box, when practicing at home or at lessons. I use white strips of lawn chair repair kits. They come in 10 foot strips and I secure them into the ground with a nail.

Regarding the 'bold' above .... here is a clip of Josh Bell measuring out his distance from the plate during an at-bat.

 

[softballphreak]

Observe this photo:

Now assume the front tee is for an inside pitch, move this back a peg or two for correct placement.

-W

Assume the back tee is for an outside pitch. Move this back a peg or two for correct placement.

I like that contraption.

Notice how extended his arms are and the ball is inside the front foot. I like the ball to be more towards the center line of the body for initial contact. That way the arms/hands are still unextended and able to extend through the ball. Contacting the ball right at the end of the swing will have more bat speed for sure and this is ok for a ball sitting on a tee but hitting a moving ball there does not leave much room for error.

One thing that seems to happen when a player practices hitting out front is they have trouble letting the ball get into the zone on offspeed pitches.

Not a camera person but one of the best shots I ever got was of a batter contacting the ball dead center line of her body and driving it over the center field fence during State Games.

I wish they made one of those tees pictured with Tanner tees on it.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It is the Schutt Swing Right. I hear from Hitter, that he has added a few more holes to his. Maybe you could add the Tanner Tee to it, but you might not need to.