This is my daughters first year of hitting off a machine. We will be progressing to live pitching in a couple weeks. My daughter sees the ball very well. Made contact on all the balls she saw last night. She just dips her shoulder a bit and hits the bottom of the ball.
What are the best drills for beginning batters?
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Well you might get tons of answers to this but I have some opinions. How old is she?
OK maybe you won't get a ton of answers 
I've coached 6U and 8U and tried a lot of different things. First I would say parents and coaches need to temper their expectations. For 6U batters, if you can get them up their in a decent stance, with a decent grip, have a basic understanding of the strike zone, etc., you're doing OK. Sure some of the kids will be advanced and be able to handle more.
In 8U I really like drills that concentrate on using their body to swing. Will kids make more contact and get more hits with much less work using a linear approach? I think absolutely yes and I also think that's absolutely not the way to go.
I posted a couple of tee drills on the drills page that I think do a good job of getting girls to start loading their hips and transferring their weight.
I like the rotational hitting video from the Hitting Videos on this site. Maybe use that hit the ball with the bat against your hips drill. Even though some of the kids in the video extend their arms prematurely, and some other small mechanical problems I love that they use kids in this video and it gives a pretty good baseline of what can be accomplished with young beginning hitters. You can see these kids taking full fast swings, transferring weight and following through. IMO at 8U that's not a bad place to get to even if, again, there are some minor problems. You can start perfecting from there.
Sounds like your DD already is making contact. That's probably an indication of talent and coordination. In general, coaches parents and girls focus way too much on contact in the beginning. The idea of contact needs to be separated from mechanics to a degree. Mechanics can affect the success rate for contact but in the beginning it's often just a mental and coordination thing.
Never underestimate bunting as a great hitting drill for beginners. It's a great skill to learn early on. But again, contact is initially just about the brain processing the path of the ball affected by gravity, and coordinating where your bat is. Bunting is a great help in this regard. It can boost confidence for kids that have swung tons of times without making much contact.
I've coached 6U and 8U and tried a lot of different things. First I would say parents and coaches need to temper their expectations. For 6U batters, if you can get them up their in a decent stance, with a decent grip, have a basic understanding of the strike zone, etc., you're doing OK. Sure some of the kids will be advanced and be able to handle more.
In 8U I really like drills that concentrate on using their body to swing. Will kids make more contact and get more hits with much less work using a linear approach? I think absolutely yes and I also think that's absolutely not the way to go.
I posted a couple of tee drills on the drills page that I think do a good job of getting girls to start loading their hips and transferring their weight.
I like the rotational hitting video from the Hitting Videos on this site. Maybe use that hit the ball with the bat against your hips drill. Even though some of the kids in the video extend their arms prematurely, and some other small mechanical problems I love that they use kids in this video and it gives a pretty good baseline of what can be accomplished with young beginning hitters. You can see these kids taking full fast swings, transferring weight and following through. IMO at 8U that's not a bad place to get to even if, again, there are some minor problems. You can start perfecting from there.
Sounds like your DD already is making contact. That's probably an indication of talent and coordination. In general, coaches parents and girls focus way too much on contact in the beginning. The idea of contact needs to be separated from mechanics to a degree. Mechanics can affect the success rate for contact but in the beginning it's often just a mental and coordination thing.
Never underestimate bunting as a great hitting drill for beginners. It's a great skill to learn early on. But again, contact is initially just about the brain processing the path of the ball affected by gravity, and coordinating where your bat is. Bunting is a great help in this regard. It can boost confidence for kids that have swung tons of times without making much contact.
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- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
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Start talking to them about the mind-body-bat connection, because so many young players focus only on getting their bat to the ball instead of focusing on punishing the ball with all their might, which they can only do when the stronger parts of their body are involved.
It may seem too abstract to discuss with kids, but if you don't talk about it, then many will never learn what it means to crush a ball, because they cannot relate to the feeling. My players are all 8-10 and are learning 'load...and explode'.
It may seem too abstract to discuss with kids, but if you don't talk about it, then many will never learn what it means to crush a ball, because they cannot relate to the feeling. My players are all 8-10 and are learning 'load...and explode'.
Don't know of any drills, but here's a good machine for young kids to work on their hitting. Beebe Sports Inc.
If you adjust it so the ball tosses high enough for them to load and be ready to swing as it comes back down, then it will help them develop good hand-eye coordination and gets them use to hitting a moving ball. They can operate this machine by themselves.
After they get use to the machine and develop a good swing, then you can adjust it so the ball tosses to a lower height, then they will have to learn to get around quick and hit the ball before it starts back down towards the machine. Helps develop quick swing and bat speed.
If you adjust it so the ball tosses high enough for them to load and be ready to swing as it comes back down, then it will help them develop good hand-eye coordination and gets them use to hitting a moving ball. They can operate this machine by themselves.
After they get use to the machine and develop a good swing, then you can adjust it so the ball tosses to a lower height, then they will have to learn to get around quick and hit the ball before it starts back down towards the machine. Helps develop quick swing and bat speed.
obbay
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The tool I use a lot is just the basic hittin' stick. I've used it with kids from 7 to 16/17 but I use it differently depending on age and skill level of the batter.
It allows both the coach and batter to feel contact and know whether it was good or not. I also find that it translates directly to live pitching. I'm not talking about swinging it at the batter like a pitch, just hold it out there and let them hit it - but make sure they slow down and get set between swings.
Another effective use is to have them close their eyes, you say "open", they open their eyes, see the ball and swing at it.
Last night I was using it indoors with 10-11's doing the drill (that is usually done with a Tee) where the batter starts at the back of the box, takes a couple steps and hits it. It demonstrated to everyone the importance of weight shift and gave the lefties the beginning steps toward slapping.
It's easy to use correctly, easy to incorporate into practice and I have found regular use of this increases the hitting performance of younger kids noticeably.
It allows both the coach and batter to feel contact and know whether it was good or not. I also find that it translates directly to live pitching. I'm not talking about swinging it at the batter like a pitch, just hold it out there and let them hit it - but make sure they slow down and get set between swings.
Another effective use is to have them close their eyes, you say "open", they open their eyes, see the ball and swing at it.
Last night I was using it indoors with 10-11's doing the drill (that is usually done with a Tee) where the batter starts at the back of the box, takes a couple steps and hits it. It demonstrated to everyone the importance of weight shift and gave the lefties the beginning steps toward slapping.
It's easy to use correctly, easy to incorporate into practice and I have found regular use of this increases the hitting performance of younger kids noticeably.
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best drills to start with are throwing drills. a good source for this is basebal;l pitching material (overhand throw is same) from Ron Wolforth at pitchingcentral.com/athleticpitcher.com. include "backward shaping" drills here (learning throw from end/release back to befginning wind-up).
if you can throw, you can hit.
other good but hard to get resources are Nyman setpro throwing for dummies ebook and jeff Hodge "biomechanicbaseball". FFS and/or aimhigh may still have a link to online files of the latter which has a good "forward shaping/forward chaining" (beginning to end) set of drills..
if you can throw, you can hit.
other good but hard to get resources are Nyman setpro throwing for dummies ebook and jeff Hodge "biomechanicbaseball". FFS and/or aimhigh may still have a link to online files of the latter which has a good "forward shaping/forward chaining" (beginning to end) set of drills..
- Jun 3, 2010
- 171
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I would sugget the Ball in the Bucket Drill. Put a five gallon bucket in front of your Tee, place balls on the Tee and have the batter go through a swing in slow motion, stop the bat just a fraction of an inch from the ball, then push the ball into the bucket. This will help with not opening up the front shoulder and keeping the "hands inside the ball". Plus it builds muscle memory.
Second drill is what we call the long Tee drill. set up two tees,one in front of the other about a foot apart. Pace a ball on the second Tee,but set up like you are hitting off the first Tee. Hitting the ball off the second Tee helps with staying on the ball and not pulling that front shoulder out.
Second drill is what we call the long Tee drill. set up two tees,one in front of the other about a foot apart. Pace a ball on the second Tee,but set up like you are hitting off the first Tee. Hitting the ball off the second Tee helps with staying on the ball and not pulling that front shoulder out.
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