Whether you are playing in a weekend softball league or coaching your child's little league team, everyone wants a hitter. Hitting the ball is the only way to score points, and while it is true that defense wins games, nothing is more enjoyable than knowing that you can put the bat on the ball and send the defensive team toward the fence.

There are three components of hitting that you should keep in mind.

• The first is drills you can do at home. Sure, if you are in a weekend pick up league you may feel silly practicing in the backyard, but it is fun and it counts as exercise, which we all need more of, right?
• Another key component of good hitting is mental attitude. This plays a huge role in your success at the plate; don't underestimate it.

  The final skill to work on is your technique during the game, this is when you put everything together and see how it works.

Fortunately,with baseball and softball it becomes apparent very quickly if your program is working—you either hit or you don't. We'll get started with some drills to try at home.

Drills Requiring More Than One Person

There are two basic types of hitting drills. The first are drills that require more than one person. If you are coaching a team, these are easy, move quick, and are effective. If you are trying to improve you own hitting, try to find someone who is willing to help, like your spouse or maybe another teammate.

• Soft Toss Drill:

  This is a basic batting drill. Stand on the plate in batting position. Have your helper stand about ten feet away and at your side. The helper tosses the balls toward you and you hit. This is a great drill because you get the benefit of taking lots of swings without having to find someone who can pitch to you.

  A variation on this is the reverse soft toss. The set-up is the same, except your helper stands behind you and lobs the ball over your head. This is a terrific exercise to increase your reaction time and bat speed. If you are consistently behind the ball with your swing, this is a great exercise to use.

  If you do not have someone willing to help you improve your swing, or you want to set up batting stations for a group of kids and are short of helpers, there are a variety of solo batting drills that you can use.

• Tee Ball:

  Hitting off of a tee is a great warm up exercise because it rewards the perfect swing. If you want to be really lazy, not to mention economical, buy a bag of plastic whiffle balls to hit off the tee. They are cheap, and no matter how hard they are hit, they don't go anywhere. You can hit a dozen, gather them up, and hit again. This is a great practice and takes less time than it takes to brush your teeth.

• Marshmallow Ball:

  The name of this is a little misleading. You do not have to use marshmallows, you can use ping pong balls, plastic golf balls, or any other small ball, but marshmallows can be fun too.

  Use the marshmallow (or balls) as your ball and a broomstick but cut to the length of your bat, 32 inches or so. Toss the "ball" in the air, holding your "bat" in one hand. While the "ball" is in the air, get in your correct batting stance and swing away. The first few times you do this you are going to be pretty disgusted with yourself, but don't get discouraged. After a few at-bats you will be shocked by how your hand-eye coordination has improved, and by the next game you will be surprised at how big the ball and slow the ball looks as it comes across the plate.

Drills You Can Do Alone

Baseball, and of course softball, are mental games as much as they are physical. The game stripped to its most basic is a stand off between the batter and the pitcher. The pitcher does have an advantage, he knows what pitch he plans to throw and has eight other players to back him up. There are, however, a variety of mental tricks that the batter can use to tip the balance in his favor.

• Visualization: This is a pretty common mental activity, used for everything from pain management to test taking. Basically you take some time to sit quietly and picture the perfect swing. Although this sounds too simplistic to work, Give it a try. You will be shocked at how difficult it is to imagine yourself striding up to the plate, getting into your batting stance, and swinging away at the perfect fastball. What normally happens is that your mind takes over and you strike out, get hit with the pitch, or some other tragedy ensues. The key to successful visualization is to have the perfect at-bat in your mind. It is the most effective way to overcome any demons that you face on the field.

  For children, encouraging visualization can be a challenge. One way is to have them practice together, at practice. Have them shut their eyes and you describe the perfect scenario to them. Do this after each practice and encourage the kids to do the same before bed. Once games start, when one of your kids has a great hit, tell them to re-live that hit, how it felt, everything about it, every evening.

• Relaxation:

  This is helpful for the batter who has a tendency to over think his hitting. Before you are up to bat take a few minutes and breath in and out as slowly and deeply as you can, shake your shoulders loose, basically go into your own little world. Your goal is to bat like you are out there alone, you against the pitcher, no coaches, spectators or first basemen ready to put you away. Just be ready to swing the bat and let everything else take care of itself. This can be a difficult concept for children to grasp, but if you are coaching you can help by providing them with the tools, encouraging the physical behavior, such as deep breathing, and the mental aspect will catch up.

• Positive Self Talk:

  This one is tough. Although it seems easy enough to be positive, there is a difference between making a positive statement and effectively using positive self talk. No one is ever perfect, and if you want to improve you have to be realistic about what you did right and what you did wrong. The trick, whether you are talking to yourself or to a group of kids, is to point out what went wrong, shake it off, and re-live what went right.

You're Up

The last area to work on when improving your swing is when you are actually at bat. Every professional ball player seems to have a unique stroke, but for the average weekend warrior, or someone learning the fundamentals, you should stick with the basics. A nice square stance, bat level and ready, and you are good to go. Some things to keep in mind about batting:

• No time to be tentative. Statistically, you are likely to strike out. Knowing that, make the most of your at-bat, be ready to go down swinging.
• Be a student of the game. If you hit a ball down the first base line and are tagged out at first, yes, you may be out, but did you advance a runner? That counts too.
• Watch the front shoulder of the pitcher. Follow his hand as he releases the ball, and then follow the ball with your eyes until you are ready to swing.
• Expect the fast ball and be ready to adjust down, otherwise you will be behind in your swing.

Now go out there, practice these skills and be ready to swing for the fences next weekend.