I received this [tag]softball drill[/tag] from Mike, one of my subscribers. Give these [tag]free softball coaching tips[/tag] a try with your team and let me know how it works for you.
From Mike…
Here is my [tag]softball hitting drill[/tag] that worked wonders for my team.
My 7th grade girls had a bad problem not focusing on the balls as they were pitched. They were basically just swinging blind at strikes, not watching the bat hit the ball, nor adjusting the swing height to match the pitch height.
I took 3 [tag]softball[/tag]s, put 4 red dots on one, 4 green dots on the next, and 4 black dots on the last. The last ball in the pile had no dots on it.
I split the girls into 2 teams-one batting, the other fielding. I randomly selected a ball and pitched it to the batter. If she swung and missed, she was out. If she hit a fair ball and could tell me the color, her team got a point. If the pitch was a ball and she could tell me the color, she got another pitch. If she hit foul and could tell me the color, she got another pitch. If at any time, she could not tell me the color, she was out. 6 outs per side per inning. The losing team ran one lap around the bases for each run the were down.
Hitting productivity has greatly improved, as the girls do a MUCH better job of focusing on the ball.