Two Tee drill

[obbay]

DD's coach just pulled this one out and I thought it was maybe not a good drill.
batter hits the ball off one tee into the ball on the tee in front of it. I thought that was along the lines of trying to make them "swing level" and "don't drop the back shoulder".

any comments? Is this drill valid (U18 team) or is it based on an old wives tale?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

The drill as you describe it basically has someone hitting a line-drive off of one tee with the goal of the ball striking another ball.

I've done that as a extra drill at times. Drill has multiple benefits. Believe it or not ... but the mental image of "placement" is powerful.

 

[redhotcoach]

It's on one of UF's dvds. Walton said it is one of their favs.

 

[gatorcoach]

Been to several college camps where this drill is done.

 

[Coach Fastpitch]

We do this drill as part of our program. Just to be clear the second tee is spaced about 5 ft in front and the ball is about 4-6 inches higher than the tee with the ball being hit by the batter. We only hit middle/middles with this drill.

The purpose is to reinforce proper complete swing technique and receive immediate feedback on how well you are squaring the ball. Every part of the swing process has to be correct to knock that 2nd ball off of the tee. I have kids on my 12u team that can hit 8-10 out of a bucket of 20. I also have kids that can't hit one out 60 swings. But it gives both groups good general feedback on their swing.

 

[softballphreak]

DD's coach just pulled this one out and I thought it was maybe not a good drill.
batter hits the ball off one tee into the ball on the tee in front of it. I thought that was along the lines of trying to make them "swing level" and "don't drop the back shoulder".

any comments? Is this drill valid (U18 team) or is it based on an old wives tale?

Many people, including some coaches, don't understand that a line drive is very possible when swinging with the proper tilt. Just because the shoulders aren't level doesn't mean the ball can't be driven on a line.

 

[SBFAMILY]

We use this drill with more advanced students. It's critical you set up the T's correctly. second T's is 18 inches in front and two inches higher than back T. Not only can you practice hitting thru the first ball, but you can do situational hitting. Setting up the T's to hit outside and inside pitches.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

We do this drill as part of our program. Just to be clear the second tee is spaced about 5 ft in front and the ball is about 4-6 inches higher than the tee with the ball being hit by the batter.

We use this drill with more advanced students. It's critical you set up the T's correctly. second T's is 18 inches in front and two inches higher than back T. Not only can you practice hitting thru the first ball, but you can do situational hitting. Setting up the T's to hit outside and inside pitches.

Quite a difference in setups here.

 

[tjintx]

Quite a difference in setups here.

The 2 setups would result in a very similar trajectory wouldn't you say???
18 inches out/2 inches up is farely equal to 60 inches out/ 6 inches up in terms of trajectory.
I agree that 60 inches out/ 4 inches up definitely brings the trajectory lower.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Quite a difference in setups here.

Do the math ... if you set the tee further away, and assume a line-drive at a particular angle, then it stands to reason that the height of the ball resting on the tee will need to be higher. 2" height at 18" away isn't that much different in terms of a line-drive angle than would be 6.7" in height at 5-ft away.