by Coach Slack
(Mays Landing, N.J.)
As we all know, there is no drill more important than soft toss. As a coach, I have had great success with my 13 year prep team with this following drill I like to call “Advanced Soft Toss”.
This baseball hitting drill is great for vision, balance, as well as quick hands. You take a tee and adjust the height just below the batter’s natural swing zone. Then once adjusted, place a ball onto the tee. Have your batter take his normal stance at the plate as he would for soft toss. You (the coach) are to soft toss to the player aiming your toss just above the set ball on the tee. The batter must:
- Recognize the pitch’s path, loading as the coach’s hand moves backward, keeping his weight and head on and over his back leg.
- Have self-discipline making sure that he is balanced, staying back and “shining the light”, meaning bringing the knob of the bat to the the ball making sure that his hands are the last thing to move through the zone.
- Driving the ball, with hip rotation, through his natural zone making contact with the tossed ball, leaving the set ball on the tee.
This drills forces batters to compensate for a number of things all at the same time, most importantly, bat path. It will help your player self police his swing in regards to under and over swinging the ball. My players have benefited from this drill immensely. Not only does advanced soft toss drill help improve your players overall swing, it also brings a different (advanced) prospective to a timeless drill.
For more good baseball drills, be sure to check out MYB’s baseball practice drills page.
colin99
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