Trainining with practice balls not real softballs

[fortheloveofsoftball12]

I do tee work everyday. I practice with those cheap softballs you get from walmart. They aren't as hollow and made of the same materials as real ones. Are they harder to hit farther than regular softballs? Also: does how far you hit the ball off a tee transfer to how far you will hit it in a live game? How do you tell the difference between a fly ball and a big pop up from off the tee? I have a lot of questions.

 

[jimginas]

I do tee work everyday. I practice with those cheap softballs you get from walmart. They aren't as hollow and made of the same materials as real ones. Are they harder to hit farther than regular softballs? Also: does how far you hit the ball off a tee transfer to how far you will hit it in a live game? How do you tell the difference between a fly ball and a big pop up from off the tee? I have a lot of questions.

Have to admit, I'm impressed with your desire to learn and the questions you are asking! Your work ethic and desire to be the best you can be is awsome!

Tee work works your mechanics, which is great and very necessary! Hitting front toss and pitched balls is also extremely important.
** In reference to your question for POP-UP question:
1) I can teach 12U players to catch a pop-up. Pop-ups to the outfielders and just outs. Don't be SATISFIED with POP-UPS, even when parents say - GOOD hit! I tell my players your parents are SUPPOSED to be SUPPORTIVE BUT again, Pop-ups are just outs. LINE DRIVES have better chances to become hits. (Solid contact)
2) The BEST DRILL I use to see your contact off a TEE: LONG TEE: if you hit a ball into a net with-in a few feet from the tee, you don't get as good feedback (and player's feedback/self teaching is CRITICAL as you get older).
hits into the net so quickly and you are worknig on your mechanics, you may not visualize your mechanical deficiencies.
***** Long Tee: Place a tee and a bucket of balls at least 20-30 feet from the net and your mistakes will be EVIDENT! on top of the ball=you'll see the ball bounce well before the net; Hips flying open too early or pulling off the ball= you'll see you really pulled the ball from away from the middle; hitting of the end of the bat=you'll miss the net opposite field; UNDER the ball (various reasons)=ball misses the net HIGH! So your goal is to hit LINE DRIVES up theh middle and this is a GREAT drill for INSTANT feedback that you can see yourself!

 

[fortheloveofsoftball12]

thanks so much. I just love softball.
I hit my ball into a fence that is about 100 feet away from my tee. It usually bounces once then smacks into the fence. I use this fence because I don't have a backstop yet.

 

[jimginas]

When you hit into the fence, as you get more confident to drive it back up the middle (to me that's between SS position and 2B player position depending which side of the plate the ball is pitched to.)
Work with cones or some type markers that you are trying to hit between directly in front of you to ensure you aren't over-rotating or hitting too far off the ball.


One of the hitting drills I do for 14U / 16U and Varsity at HS is front toss from in front of home plate and I want the batter to hit LINE DRIVES into the Outfield fence! I front toss behind a net and the batter works on her power to drive Line Drives.
I don't want the ball hitting the dirt, means they cannot ROLL their wrists! (If advanced, we put cones at SS and 2B player POSITIONS and batter tries to hit Line Drives that stay between the cones & up the middle!)

*** To hit the fence (or close) on line drives, the batter has to drive through contact.
I see my batters progressively hit much harder and what may have been weaker balls caught/stopped in the infield, can now get through. More balls to the fence, means more hits and doubles and more runs and actually, because we aren't TRYING to hit the ball OVER the fence, more homeruns because we just let them happen!

I've seen my batters hit with so much more power as the year progesses and hitting front toss is so much more beneficial then hitting a machine. (Hitting LIVE pitching is even better!)

 

[Coach Lia]

Practice on the tee will help you on your consistency make sure you place the tee out infront of you so you will know that you need to hit infront. Then make sure to move the tee around on all four corners of the strike zone. For your question if you can base the distance of the hit from the tee with the distance of your hit during games. You probably will if you play slow pitch. If you base it on science, it's suppose to go further for fast pitch because you will have to add the speed of the oncoming pitch to the power of your swing.

 

[softballphreak]

jimginas is right on. You can't go wrong there.

Only thing I might add is when hitting off the tee is to make sure your point of contact is correct. The ball on the tee should be located somewhere between the front foot and the center of your body for a down the middle pitch. Outside pitch the outside edge of the ball should be on the outside edge of the plate at or very near the back hip. On the inside pitch the outside edge of the ball should be located on the inside edge of the plate. You will need to experiment with the inside ball to find your point of contact. When you are able to stay inside the ball off the tee to consistently hit it back up the middle you have found the correct POC.

Practice to remember the POC so in the game it happens automatically. My opinion is to work the outside as much or more than the middle. Also, at various heights for all.

 

[jimginas]

........ My opinion is to work the outside as much or more than the middle. Also, at various heights for all.

Absolutely: ISSUE I see far too often is hitting off a tee with the ball in the SAME location and the few that do move inside/outside location don't ever change heights! Suzy thinks she hit a bucket of balls, maybe 5-7 outside and she is good-to-go!

Same as soft-toss! Pitch to INSIDE-LOW, OUTSIDE-HIGH, INSIDE-HIGH, OUTSIDE-LOW and MIX in Changeups throughout!, SAME as FRONT-TOSS!

** In-FACT I believe Front-Toss is a GREAT TOOL and you should RARELY pitch to the middle of the plate, hit the black and with low and high pitches! and changeups.........

 

[fortheloveofsoftball12]

This might be a dumb question but what is the strike zone according to your body. I was told it was from the knees to the letters on your jersey top.

 

[jimginas]

Its the TOP of your knees to your armpit. THAT SAID, MANY BLUES don't call high STRIKES. Many have been coaches themselves and some of my friends have told me pitchers have to learn to keep the ball down, so they don't call strikes much more then the waist. (I used to and sometimes still do, tell my pitchers/catchers to "Live LOW" most pitches we throw are below the waist. not all, most - I like coming in under the chin to try and make batters hit defensively if need be.)

NFHS Rulebook (National Federation of High School)
ART. 3 . . . Strike Zone (F.P.). The strike zone (F.P.) is the space over home plate which is between the batter's forward armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone in flight shall be considered a strike. The umpire shall determine the batter's strike zone according to the batter's usual stance

 

[fortheloveofsoftball12]

jimginas: Really?!! I've had a BALL called at my stomach! It was a little above my waist. I have noticed that many pitchers don't throw high balls they do "live" between the knees and the waist. Basically all the balls I have been pitched haven't risen above my lower thigh.