Skill Set: Hitting

Difficulty Level: Medium

Number of Athletes and Coaches: 1-2 athletes and 1 coach, or 2 athletes as partners

Average Time to Complete: 10 minutes

Equipment Required: Bat, helmet, home plate, and a bucket of baseballs

Goal: Focus on driving the ball up the middle by hitting the inside of the ball

Description of the Drill:

• Hitter sets up even with the plate
• Coach sets up to the opposite side of the hitter at an angle, about 10 feet away from the hitter
• Coach should make sure to be at a far enough angle to not get hit by the ball
• Coach underhand tosses the ball across the middle of the plate
• Hitter tries to hit the ball back up the middle, working on timing with the coach’s pitches and being sure not to rush through the drill
• Focus should be hitting the ball back up the middle, staying inside the baseball
• Partners switch after 10 swings

Add Difficulty:

• To add a degree of difficulty, coaches can throw pitches inside and outside
• Hitters should try to hit outside pitches to the opposite field (or opposite side in a cage)
• Hitters should try to hit inside pitches back up the middle or a little to the pull side of the middle