The following are Hitting Drills Every Youth Baseball Player Should Know. By practicing these drills regularly, players will improve their batting skills and increase their chances of scoring runs.
15 Hitting Drills Every Youth Baseball Player Should Know
1. The Tee Drill
This is the most basic hitting drill and is great for beginners. To perform this drill, place a tee in the ground and have the player hit the ball off the tee. This drill helps players learn how to make contact with the ball and develop good batting technique.
Hitting drills are an important part of training as a young athlete, but it can be difficult to run with large groups of kids who may not have much experience playing baseball. The Tee Drill is the perfect solution for teaching kids how to swing a bat while keeping things simple and fun.
The drill is done in the following fashion:
- First, a batting tee is set up just above the hitter’s head height.
- The hitter then stands square with his feet hip-width apart and toes facing forward.
- He takes an athletic stance by bending his right knee slightly.
- The player assumes a slight leg lift by straightening his left leg directly in front of him, and keeping his back straight.
- The hitter then takes a practice swing and makes contact with the ball on the batting tee.
After they’re able to make consistent contact off of a stationary object like a batting tee, you can begin having your players move the tee around and try to hit the ball in different directions. This will add an extra level of difficulty and help them work on their swinging mechanics.
2. The Soft Toss Drill
Drills like Soft Toss can be very beneficial for young hitters, as they allow players to focus on one specific aspect of their swing at a time. By taking the time to properly learn and drill these techniques, players will be sure to see improvements in their hitting when the game counts.
- Have players start with an open stance, facing away from home plate (if possible). This will allow them to see pitches much easier and analyze pitch types and locations much more accurately (whereas standing closed makes you rely on any feedback besides sight).
- Instruct players to take their lead foot off the ground and stride towards the pitcher as they would in a real game (taking into account their natural timing).
- Once they make contact with the ball, players should follow through with their swing until after they have passed home plate. Doing this will ensure that they are using their whole body to generate power behind their hit.
- Finally, remind players to keep their hands inside the ball as they make contact and to always stay down on their back leg. This will help them maintain balance throughout their swing.
This drill is also great for beginners. To perform this drill, have a teammate or parent stand about 10-15 feet away from the player and toss him a softball or tennis ball. This drill helps players develop hand-eye coordination and batting skills.
3. The Mirror Drill
This drill is a great way to improve batting accuracy. To perform this drill, have the player stand in front of a mirror and visualize hitting the ball into specific areas of the field. This drill helps players better visualize their swings and improve their accuracy.
The best part is that you can make up your own drills to help better focus on specific skills while visualizing. While it may be difficult for young kids to maintain focus, the drill itself is just as beneficial for older players who are looking to fine-tune their swings even more.
4. Front Toss
One of the most important hitting drills that every youth baseball player should know is called front toss. This drill helps players improve their hand-eye coordination as well as their batting skills.
To perform this drill:
- You will need a partner and a ball.
- The partner will stand in front of the hitter and toss the ball to him.
- The hitter should try to hit the ball with his bat.
- This drill can be performed at different speeds to challenge the hitter. It can also be performed using different types of pitches, such as fastballs and curves.
This drill is a great way for starting players to improve their batting skills. It helps them learn how to time their swings and how to hit different types of pitches.
5. The Around the World Drill
This drill is a great way to improve footwork and batting accuracy. To perform this drill, have the player hit the ball to different areas of the field, starting with home plate and working his way around the bases.
Basically, the Around the World Drill forces players to hit different spots on the field. To help batters get acclimated to the many different angles they’ll encounter in batting and to enhance their accuracy when moving and hitting the ball.
If using a pitching machine, make sure you’re confident enough in your speed and have had lots of practice before trying the drill because you might run the risk of being struck. And pitching machine can pitch at a speed of up to 100 mph. So, do be careful.
6. The In-Out Drill
This drill is designed to improve batting power. To perform this drill, have the player hit the ball towards an out-of-the-way area of the field, such as left field or right field.
This drill helps players learn how to hit the ball harder and farther. The drill is simple in nature and can be performed with a coach or a tee.
As the player swings, he is to visualize driving the ball deep into the outfield by keeping his hands inside of the ball. To ensure this backspin is executed correctly, it’s important that the batter keep his hands slightly above and in front of the ball when it is in contact with the bat.
During this drill, it’s important that the coach provide positive reinforcement and encouragement to keep up a solid practice routine.
Benefits of this Drill:
This drill is beneficial for several reasons.
- The In-Out Drill helps you to generate backspin on the ball, which will add height and distance to the ball as it’s hit.
- It also will help you develop better bat control and a quicker swing.
- This drill can help players progress from tee work to soft toss to hitting off of a pitching machine or pitcher.
7. Tire Batting
Tire Batting is a great way to practice your swing when you’re in the field. In order to do this drill, all you have to do is find an old tire and place it in the batting cages.
Now, take your stance as if you were at home plate and hit the tire with your bat. You can either hit it over to the side or straight ahead depending on where you are playing in the field.
Risk in this type of batting drill includes:
- If you swing the bat, it’s possible that the bat might rebound and hit you.
- If your grip on the bat slips, it might cause the bat to fly out of your hands and strike someone.
- If you swing so hard that your hands absorb the impact of the bat and might harm you.
8. Two-ball Soft Toss
This hitting drill is a great way to improve your batting skills. It helps you stay balanced and increase your bat speed. It’s the same concept as the Soft Toss but using two balls in which the batter can hit any of the two when tossed.
To do this 2-ball soft toss drill:
- The pitcher, on a kneel angled at forty-five degree, will prepare to toss two balls (like the standard soft toss)
- The pitcher will hand two baseballs underhand simultaneously. When the balls are approaching the batter, there should be a low ball and a high ball.
- Immediately right after the pitcher tosses the baseballs, he or she will shout out “low” or “high”.
- The batter will try to hit the baseball announced by the pitcher.
9. Soft Toss with Weighted Ball
One of the best hitting drills for young baseball players is soft toss with a weighted ball (like SKLZ Power-Thru Ball). This drill can be done with any type of weight, but it’s important to start with a light weight and gradually increase the weight as the player gets stronger.
With a heavy ball, perform the soft toss drill:
- Using a heavier ball, the pitcher will deliver the soft toss after the batter has been warmed and ready to swing.
- With the heavier ball, you’ll only need 5-10 swings.
- The pitcher then throws regular baseballs after using the heavier ball.
- With normal baseballs, the batter takes another 10-15 swings.
The weighted ball drill is a great way to improve bat speed and power. It also helps hitters stay inside the ball and makes them more consistent hitters.
10. Short Bat Batting Drill
This type of drill is frequently practiced by professionals (like Fernando Cortez) to assist them isolate their bottom and top hands. Excellent for resolving bottom-hand or top-hand issues while batting. This drill is used to help players manage the swing from both hands.
What you will need:
- A short bat – shorter than the normal bat used
- Batting Tee
- Baseball
Instructions:
- Hit the ball as you normally would, except place a batting tee in front of you.
- The only thing to remember is that you must swing with one hand, either the left or right.
- With each single hand swing, aim for a particular goal.
Why not use a regular bat in this type of drill?
Using a conventional bat while swinging one-handed will have a detrimental influence on the batter. The weight of the standard bat and its length make it tough to manage each swing with one hand, making it more likely to do harm than good.
11. Deep Batting Zone Drill
This drill aims to improve a batter’s swing and those who require assistance staying through the ball, as it forces their barrel to stay in the zone for an extended time. This drill was utilized by professionals to help them hit the ball deep into the barrel at the tip of the batters’ zone.
To do this:
- Move the tee way out front of the batter’s foot just enough for the strike zone of the batter.
- With a wider swing, drive the bat barrel far from the back and hit the ball.
12. The Wiffle Ball Drill
One of the most popular hitting drills for young baseball players is the Wiffle Ball drill. To perform this drill, you will need a Wiffle Ball and a batting tee. This drill will improve hand-eye coordination.
To start:
- Place the ball on the tee and have your child take a few swings.
Make sure they are taking a full swing and not just chopping at the ball.
- After a few swings, have them move back a few feet and take a few more swings. Keep moving back until they can no longer hit the ball solidly.
This drill teaches kids how to stay connected through the entire swing and makes sure they are using their whole body to hit the ball. It also helps them get used to hitting a moving target.
If you don’t have a Wiffle Ball, you can use a regular ball and just have your child hit it off a tee.
13. Two Tee Aim Drill
The Two Tee Aim Drill is a batting drill that helps players improve their accuracy and control when hitting the ball. Many new batters forget how to control the bat and hold their arms out wide as they attempt to hit the ball. This drill helps with both those issues and also prepares batters for hitting off-speed pitches.
You will need:
- Two Tees
- Two ball
- A regular bat
- A bucket
The hitting drill is easy to set up and takes only a few minutes.
- Put two tees in front of each other about 10-15 feet apart (for starters), and place a bucket below the other one on the ground (this will be the one being hit and the ball will eventually fall into the bucket).
- The batter will stand on the tee without the bucket and swing the bat hitting the ball and aiming directly to the other ball.
Rules:
- If the ball falls as a result of striking the tee, it is not considered.
- When the ball bounces off it before hitting the other ball still not considered.
- The only thing to remember: bat swings hitting the ball then hit the other ball.
At first, have your batters hit easy pitches since you can start the distance short making it easy to hit the other ball on the tee. With a successful hit ball to ball you can now increase the distance.
Also the difficulty increases with each successive hit. This drill is great for all ages, beginners to advance. As players progress they can attempt to hit the ball off the tee without it bouncing first.
14. Heavy Batting Drill
This batting drill is a good way to improve your power. This type of drill drastically improves the muscle memory of your swing.
You will need:
- A heavier bat
Note: Start with a weight that you can carry and swing. Over-exerting yourself or using the heaviest bat is not advised.
- A tee
- A baseball
To do this:
- Practice swinging the bat 1st until you can keep the momentum under control.
- For beginners, the ball may be placed on the tee with a lower settings (this will assist prevent muscle cramps from developing when swinging for the first
- You may change and alter the position of the tee as desired.
Although this is hard to do at first, it is important that you practice with both hands. You will develop more power and be able to hit the ball farther. This batting drill is a great way to improve your batting skills. And maybe you can make a home run just like Yunel Escobar.
15. Sweet Spot Hitting Drill
There’s no better way to improve your swing than hitting off a tee. Not only does it help you build muscle memory for your mechanics, but it also helps you find the “sweet spot” of your bat.
To do the sweet spot hitting drill
- Place the tee in the middle of the plate and hit the ball off the tee.
- As you get better, move the tee closer to the edge of the plate.
- This drill will help you create the perfect swing plane, which will allow you to hit balls at all different angles.
- You may also position the tee wherever you like on the plate. This will assist you in memorizing the ball and striking pattern inside of the plate’s strike zone.
Is it necessary to go right into hitting practice rather than playing the game straight away?
Absolutely convinced that you can do it. This game requires special abilities and only with the right techniques you will be able to excel at it. Practice makes perfect, so practice your hitting drills every chance you get!
The above mentioned are some of the best youth baseball drills for beginners. Not only are they easy but also valuable to all age groups starting from juniors to co-ed groups. It is always advised to start early so as to produce good results in future too.
Final thoughts on hitting drills
Every youth baseball player should know these hitting drills to improve their swing. It is important that they learn them at a young age to avoid bad habits from developing later on in life. These drills will help young players build muscle memory and control of their bodies, important aspects of improving your batting skills.
Thanks for reading this article! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns by commenting below. I really appreciate it! Good luck with practice!
