Basketball Drill
One good inexpensive idea that helped many of my players was to soft toss using a half flat mini (or full sized basketball) into the net of our batting cage during our batting practices.

This helped reinforce the idea of hitting\driving through the ball on contact as well as finishing the swing.

Doing this simple drill produced an almost immediate difference in the amount of power my players hit with turning the routine hit balls into hard hit laser shots  they were more difficult for our opponents to handle in the field.

Can You Hit This Drill
My 14 u team was struggling to see the  ball.  We began working with whiffle balls, then went to ping pong balls, then pinto beans, then navy bean and now lentils.

If ya player can see and hit a lentil he can hit a baseball.  Our batting average at the plate doubled after using this drill.

FBH Drill
I call this the FBH drill (Fake, Bunt and Hit Drill). This is not slapping. You stay in the box On the field with a machine or real pitcher. The batter gets points up to 10 pts +1 -1 depending on where he FBH the ball.

Here’s the trick (better to use the machine for accuracy of pitches and confidence building before a real pitcher throws to them).

Just before the machine pitches the ball the player shouts out where he is going to hit the ball. I.E. 3rd, 1st etc.
They get to 10 they win; if he calls 2nd and hits to 3rd -1 you get the idea.

You can also shorten it to 5 or any number you wish it makes it fun.

I suggest the machine for safety reasons. This way your pitcher can’t get injured, the infielders can stay back and the coach can control the ball feed to the batter behind a screen.

4 Watch the Bunt Play
Another thing that we work on is a play that I call 4 watch the bunt. The pitcher throws a pitch out to the catcher while the third baseman collapses toward home plate for the bunt.

Then the shortstop sneaks in behind the runner at third base for the throw back to third base for the out.

This has been very effective for us; we average at least a pick off every game or two. The nice thing is that it really can be a rally killer when you have a kid in scoring position and he is thrown out in this fashion.

Bunting Practice Drill
I throw bunting to each player on the team, from about 15 feet, as often as I can, working to mimic the velocity and various spins (fastball, curve / drop or change) of the high school pitchers my players are facing.  I also have them throw bunting to each other because sometimes we HAVE to have that bunt put down even if the pitch is not a strike.

For sacrifice bunts, our focus is on three things:
1. When the pitcher is going into his motion, square up and start by lining up the bat at the same angle as the front of the plate and then use the left hand (for right handed batters) for the “steering wheel” that will “drive” or push the ball down third or first depending upon whether the player pulls or pushes the end of the bat to him / away from him.
2. Have the angle of the bat at approximately 5 – 10% above  flat (we don’t teach 45 degree angled bat)
3. Most importantly, line up the oncoming ball, the bat and the batters eyes on the same plane.

If I get them to “look” the ball on to their bats, to get their face down there at the same level as the oncoming ball, they will consistently get the bat on the ball before it hits them in the face mask.  Next we work on bunting the top half of the ball.

Bunting is an important part of our game and we work on it every day.

Beach Ball Hitting Drill
Depending on the kids ability will determine how far to put the second tee in front of the main tee.
Take a second tee and place it a few feet in front of the main tee at home plate.
Set a beach ball or something similar on that second tee.
Kids have a great time trying to hit line drives to knock the beach ball off the tee.  You can move the tee around–further out or in.

Kids just love trying to knock beach ball off and at the same time it’s teaching them to concentrate driving the center of the baseball instead of dropping down to hit pop-ups.

Wooden Plank
There is another hitting drill that I use and it is pretty affective on stepping out. I made a wooden plank that sits off the ground 6 inches and the batter stands on it, so if he pulls out his front leg he will no hit because he falls off the plank.

Hit Stick “Warm Up” Drill
First, you need to set up your batting order on a board and make sure all the players know when they are up to bat when they come in from the field.

You need to have a hit stick. This is a long stick with a ball fixed to the end of it.  Available at most sporting goods stores.

You need to find a place where you can use the hit stick without risking anyone getting hit with a bat.  I usually find a spot behind the dugout away from spectators.

Let your players know that there is a warm-up station just before the “on deck” station.  That warm up station is where you are using the hit stick.  This means that the person third in line to hit should be warming up at the hit stick. (At the beginning of the innings you can “warm up” the first and second hitters with the hit stick while the other team is getting ready in the field).

I use the hit stick to help the batters loosen up, work on making contact with the ball, and even simulate pitches by pulling the hit stick past them as they hit it.  This helps a lot with reaction speed.  You should focus what you do with the hit stick on what each batter needs to work on.  Some batters may be working on just making contact while others are working on reaction speed or swinging at only good pitches.  I vary the level of drills with the hit stick to the hitter’s individual skill level.  After the “warm up” station the batters go to their normal on deck position and get ready to bat.

I have been using this “warm up drill” for over a year with the same team and noticed results in the first game I tried it!  I can’t tell you how important it is to give a hitter the chance to “hit 20 balls” just before they get up to bat in a game where they are very nervous.

I have found that so much of a younger player’s hitting success comes from not being nervous and muscle memory.  If they can loosen up with the hit stick the nerves are much better and the positive feedback of hitting the center of the ball gives them the “feel” of a good swing.

It is the single most important drill I use for hitting!

Using three tees, put one at home plate (Tee #1), one on the edge of the outfield grass (Tee #2), and one in the outfield (Tee #3).

Each batter will hit 5 balls from each tee to players in the field, concentrating on one concept or principle at each tee, i.e. proper hitting stance, posture, touch step, opposite field hitting, etc., and then rotate to the next tee.

After hitting 15 balls total, the hitter becomes a fielder.

Vary the height of each tee to simulate pitches in different spots in the strike zone.

Players in the field are to call for each ball they intend to field (grounders too) to improve communication while playing the field in games.

For younger fielders have them rotate where they are playing so they can experience fielding on the dirt in the infield as well as the grass in the outfield.

Eye on the Ball Drill
The emphasis of the drill is hitting a baseball.
He was able to catch sight of the ball as it left my hand, however he would either ” look away” or his eyes would track elsewhere.

I start by using a tennis ball, and after having the player take a batting stance, I would have him “track” the ball all the way through the hitting zone, and physically turn his head with the ball.  After several attempts, I then have him track the ball just before, but this time he would take his stride and hip turn, and using his back hand ( left in his case ) to try to ” catch ” the ball.

In most cases the ball simply hit his hand, however he very quickly was able to both  “track” the ball into the hitting zone, and move his hands to the ball regardless of where the ball passed through the zone.  From there, we worked on only “catching” balls which were in the strike zone, and “holding” on balls out of the zone.

After this drill, we switch back to a regular hitting drill, and in no time at all the reaction time, recognition of balls out of the strike zone, and proper bat positions on balls in different areas improve immediately.  I use this drill with my 7-8 year olds in coach pitch.

Tremendous fun for all involved and it adds a quick closing element of competition as a final drill of the day.

Candy Bar Drill
Players get 3 baseballs and their bat to take with them to home plate.
Coaches play four infield positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and shortstop).
Player must toss-up ball properly and use a proper quick swing to hit grounders in rapid fire sequence in an attempt to hit the ball past a coach. Foul balls, swing & miss, or fly balls count as one swing; each player is allowed only 3 swings.

If a player hits a ball by the coach, they are among the first to get “first choice” from a “grab-bag” of assorted goodies or novelty items (use your imagination!) — This is a big deal to most players!

Any player who cannot hit the ball past a coach still gets a choice from the bag for good effort and willingness to improve.

As a variation, this can be played in teams of four, hitting to players instead (but might not be as much fun as hitting the ball past a coach!)

Players also learn that hard hits get through more that just merely putting the ball in play.  They often learn to concentrate efforts on their favorite coach, before he can recover from the last batted ball!

Yearly returning players, especially as they grow and mature, beg for this drill several times a season just to show you how they’ve learned to do this. (It’s much tougher than it sounds, even for many players who are “good hitters” of pitched balls.)

Teaches players that coaches will make mistakes too, and that’s okay!

Going for the Points

• Put a full defense on the field
• 3 kids form a hitting group
• coach pitches
• Each hitter stays up until he either misses a pitch (strike), fouls a ball out of play (strike), or lets a strike go by.
• If you hit a fair ball you stay up.
• If you hit a base hit or if the fielders make an error that would have allowed the batter to reach base, you get a point.

Players in the field focus to make the fielding plays so as not to give away points and hitters concentrate on making contact and not letting good pitches go by.

Hitting group gets 3 rounds then they go out and play defense and a different group of 3 comes in. Assistant coach or team mom keeps track of their individual points or if the groups are even ( 4 groups of 3) we have group scores. Player or group with most points at end of drill gets a rousing cheer at end of practice and is excused from wind sprints.

They love it because it is competitive and they get to hit. coaches love it because they have to concentrate on defense and make the plays; they police themselves on lack of focus in the field and being ready to make plays.

Soft Toss Batting Practice
I have the tossers kneel about five feet away from the hitter while keeping back three feet behind the hitter.  In other words, for a right hand batter the tosser is at ’5 o’clock’ tossing the ball.  For a left hand batter, the tosser is 7 o’clock.

I tell the tossers to mix up his ‘pitches’ by tossing quick into the hands of the batters to simulate a fastball and sometimes a soft toss to simulate a curveball or changeup.

By having the tosser stay back at an angle, this forces the hitter to keep his front shoulder in.  In addition, the mixing up of the ‘pitches’ makes the batter keep his hands back as well as develop a compact swing to hit the ‘fastballs’.

I also will have the tossers positioned at 6 o’clock.  They will toss the ball up to a height that is above the hitter’s head and try to make it end up out in front of the plate.