Purpose
To improve bat speed, hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
Set Up
- For younger teams, assign a coach or parent to each player, who will act as the tosser. Older players can partner up and toss to each other.
- The tosser kneels at a 45 degree angle and 8-10 feet from the hitter, holding one ball in her throwing hand and four balls close by.
- The hitter sets up at a plate in her normal batting stance.
Instructions
- The tosser lobs the first ball into the strike zone.
- As soon as the hitter has made contact and begun to reload her swing, the tosser lobs in the second ball.
- Continue until all five balls have been used.
Coaching Tips
- The hitter should quickly realize that the fastest path to the ball and into her load position is as close to the body as possible.
The more the hands extend out over the plate, the slower the swing. - Increase the difficulty of this drill be changing the location and speed of the pitches – high, low, inside, outside, fast, slow
- Make it harder: Mix up the speed of the pitch to test the hitter’s reaction time
- Make it easier: Start by tossing from 6-8 feet in front of the hitter. Then take a step back after each successful hit.