top 3 training aids to use with tee/soft toss

[SoCalASABlue]

Hitter;

Perhaps this is the wrong thread for this question, but what do you use to convince hitters to let the ball get deep? DD has no problem with inside pitches but seems to have a problem letting middle to outside pitches get deep.

Just curious...thanks.

 

[Mark H]

I use a window of about 12.5 inches to hit the ball in over the plate and this reduces it in my opinion.

Thanks Howard

Yes, if you hit the inside pitch way out front like some teach you just compound your timing problem between the inside fast pitch and the outside off speed handing more advantage to the pitcher. Can't say I ever figured it down to the half inch though.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Here is the drill we teach them to hit the outside pitch and let it get deeper in the box.

In and out drill

If you have a multi position tee set up one tee forward and as low as possible for an inside pitch. Set the tee so it is 5 inches inside and forward of home plate. Set another tee off the outside back corner and 5 inches off the home plate and as high as it will go. If you do not have the multi position tee use two different tees. Place a ball on both tees and the hitter sets up to hit off the back corner of the plate. When the hitter loads a person calls in or out and the hitter must adjust and hit the ball called out. We want the hitter to be thinking in, in, in and adjust away. Look for the hitters head position and what they do with their eyes. In the beginning they will guess or anticipate which ball you will call and you will see their eyes shifting out to in or in to out and back in again.

Look for where they are driving the ball and is their wrist release proper. Are they rotating as needed or over rotating? Where is the belly button pointing on the outside pitch and where is it pointing on the inside pitch?

 

[Hitter]

Yes, if you hit the inside pitch way out front like some teach you just compound your timing problem between the inside fast pitch and the outside off speed handing more advantage to the pitcher. Can't say I ever figured it down to the half inch though.

Mark I use a Schutt multi position tee and had to put additional hole in it to serve my purposes. It has decals of 5 softballs and 7 hard balls to indicate where the ball could be and still be termed a strike. Then outside the plate I covered with gray duct tape as the hitters ALWAYS struggle with should I hit that one and the answer is yes.

When we do tee work or soft toss the hitters measure off from the back corner of the plate and there is a red line there. Four inches in front of the red line is the back of our window of opportunity to hit in and that extends 12.5 inches forward and then there is another blue line and 4 inches forward a green line and 4 inches forward a yellow line.

We un scientifically placed a tee on the tee and hit the ball until it went foul or stayed fair and came up with the 12.5 inch window and it serves to give the hitter a gauge visually when hitting. If you have been to the WhipHit web site the boy hitting is in my garage and the tee is shown and a tennis racket I designed to bounce balls off of. I do another drill where I take a Schutt Shorty tee that is 14 inches high and place it at the forward blue line and then try to get the hitter to hit the ball as close to the ball being over the tee as possible when I bounce it off the tennis racket. They look through the net and when they see my hand move they begin their load and as I start to release the ball to the racket they step and track the ball and keep their head down during the swing. I can change the height or speed of the ball by where I place it on the tennis racket. The tee acts as a visual of where the ball is in the window of the blue lines and they see what happens if they are ahead, even being over the tee or behind the tee as the net is marked.

Thanks Howard

 

[Hitter]

Hitter;

Perhaps this is the wrong thread for this question, but what do you use to convince hitters to let the ball get deep? DD has no problem with inside pitches but seems to have a problem letting middle to outside pitches get deep.

Just curious...thanks.

We start with bat control...by measuring off the back corner of home plate and them being consistent as to stride we should be able to put a tee in the middle of home plate 2 to 3 inches forward of the front edge of home plate and she should be able to hit the ball exactly up the middle. We mark our nets with three line, 51 inches from the ground and 39 inches from the ground is our hitting zone and a line in the middle. If it goes above or below they are under/ over the ball and left or right I have to determine and a case by case hitter.

Once she can hit up the middle move the tee to the outside corner to start and adjust forwarded as required. We say rotate as needed and demonstrate this by standing belly button to belly button. I take the bat and place the barrel of the bat in her belly button as if I were at contact and then hold my hand position. The I say watch as I will not move my hands ONLY my hips and of course my belly button is the indicator of my movement. She sees the bat pull away from her and gains a visual of I am over rotating. Then we repeat and I have her hold up her left arm. I am right handed and I repeat doing a load and step and separate and this time I point out I will rotate as needed and my hands are being directed to the inside of my HUMAN ball which is her and I touch her rib cage and drive her away! And I repeat and place the bat in her rib cage again and over rotate and it looks as if I am slicing her in half with a Samurai sword. I then take a ball and place it on the bat and pull the bat away away quickly to show how the spins/ slides off the bat and why the foul balls hook.

Try it and let me know how it goes as anybody can pull a ball however do you have enough bat control to hit up the middle and outside?

Thanks Howard