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.