HITTING: BATTING BEAM DRILL
Here's a drill you may find useful. Construct a batting beam with pieces of 2" x 4"s. The main piece should be about 4' long. Two cross pieces about 18" should be nailed about 16" from each end of main piece. Have player stand on this during soft toss. The player should remain on beam throughout swing.

The beam encourages the batter to be on the balls of the her feet and to maintain a balanced swing. It also helps the batter to take their timing step straight to the pitcher. The players don't like this beam at first, but it does help.

HITTING: BARRIER DRILL
Have the batter stand one bat length from a barrier (I prefer a net to prevent damage to the bat, but you can use a fence). Have her take her normal swing. If she hits the barrier, she is unlocking her elbows before her shoulders and getting wide on the swing.

Rear Barrier Drill: Place a barrier directly behind the batter and have her take her normal swing. If the bat hits the barrier, she is dropping her hands. You can use this barrier even when you are using a pitching machine or live pitching for instant feedback to the batter that she is dropping her hands.

HITTING: SOFT-TOSS DRILL
We rarely use a full size "bat" or a full size "ball" when doing soft-toss. This is done to intensify the drill and the skill being taught. Position your self to the batting side (right for right handed batters) and ahead of the batter. Toss the "ball" at the hip of the batter. You want them to impact the ball in front of their body. This is the "contact point". The toss is important!! You do not want an arching, ugly type of thing, unless you are playing the old man's game of "slo-pitch", if so, you are on the wrong home-page. The toss should be crisp, but not too fast and out in front of the batter. Practice this to get it correct.

We use soft-toss to teach and reinforce the proper mechanics of the swing.
Make sure your batters are:
1.) pivoting correctly and early enough.
2.) rotating their hips with an explosion toward the ball.
3.) unlocking their shoulders, elbows and wrists in sequence while throwing their hands straight to the ball (watch for hands dropping and correct this).
4.) Watching the ball all the way to the "bat" and continuing to watch the "contact point" after the "ball" has been hit.

The proper stance is essential. It should be a balanced stance with 60% of the weight on the back foot, eyes level, bat in launch position (not rapped behind the head), knees slightly bent, and door-knocking knuckles lined up. The stride should be a short, smooth lift and move type of stride. At impact with the ball and at follow-through, the body should be in a slightly curved position toward the ball (inward "c"), this insures that all the weight and power went in to impacting the ball.

We have used many things for "balls" and "bats". To increase concentration on the ball, try using tennis balls, practice whiffle golf balls, coffee can lids (plastic ones like frisbees), but my favorite (and the players favorite) is to use black-eyes peas or popcorn. We start hitting them with a full size bat, but quickly move to using a "thunder-stick" or a home-made "bat" I made which is about the same size as a "thunder-stick" but with less weight inserted in the end. I feel we are trying to teach muscle memory and too much weight teaches a slower swing, but others think differently.

One of my favorite drills is the "Two-Ball" drill with the practice golf balls. I hold 2 balls in my hand and toss them into the "contact zone" and call out either "one" or "two". The player must hit the corresponding ball.

If the batters start to "cheat" on soft-toss drills, I hold 1 ball in either hand and rotate them (like juggling) and toss one up. This way they do not know when the ball is coming. They all hate this, but it works!!

WRIST-ROLL DRILL
Purpose: To strengthen the player's hands, wrist and forearms.
Equipment: A horizontal bar with a weight suspended from a rope attached to the middle of the horizontal bar (a wooden dowel, rope and weights, varying from 2.5 lbs., 5, 10, 15, etc.)
Procedure: The player grips the bar with both hands, holding it a waist level, be sure that the weight does not touch the ground (be sure that the elbows are next to the body). The player curls her wrist up and down to raise the and lower the weight. The drill is down for a prescribed period of time or for a designated number of repetitions. To make the drill more challenging, have the players as their arms to shoulder level and extend them out in front.
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BAT-TWIRL
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The player extends her arms in front of her body with a slight bent at the elbow. She holds the bat in a vertical position and begins to rotate the bat in a tight circle clockwise, gradually increasing the speed of the bat head. After a designated period of time, the player twirls the bat in a counterclockwise direction. After a designated period of time, the player switches hands and repeats the drill.
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BACK AND FORTH DRILL
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The player extends her arms in front of her body with a slight bent at the elbow. She holds the bat in a vertical position and begins to rock the bat from left to right, stopping the downward arc of the bat at waist level. The player will gradually increase the speed of the bat. This is done for a designated period of time. After a designated period of time, the player switches hands and repeats the drill.
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WRIST FIGURE EIGHTS
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The player extends her arms in front of her body with a slight bent at the elbow. She holds the bat in a vertical position and creates an imaginary figure eight in the air, gradually increasing the speed of the bat. After a designated period of time or number of repetitions, the player reverses the direction of the bat. After a designated period of time, the player switches hands and repeats the drill.
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BOTH HAND WRIST SNAPS
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The drill begins with the player holding the bat in her back hand. She swings the bat, starting the swing just prior to the wrist roll. She snaps the wrist through and quickly returns the bat to the starting position. She repeats the process as quickly as possible until time has expired or a designated number of repetitions have been completed. The player then switches the bat to the lead hand and repeats the drill.
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TWO HAND WRIST SNAPS
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The drill begins with the player holding the bat with both hands, using her normal batting grip. She takes a swing, starting the swing just prior to the wrist snap. She snaps the wrist through and quickly returns the bat to the starting position. She repeats the process as quickly as possible, until time has expired or a designated number of repetitions have been completed.
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BAT ROLLS
Purpose: To increase bat control and to develop hand, wrist and foreman strength.
Equipment: A bat for each player.
Procedure: The player assumes a stance with her hips facing an imaginary pitcher, swings the bat, starting the swing just prior to the wrist roll. She rolls the bat forward and backward, completing a full swing by touching both shoulders with the bat. She should execute the swing using only the forearms and wrists. She repeats the process as quickly as possible, until time has expired or a designated number of repetitions have been completed. The drill can also be done with the player beginning in her normal batting stance.
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ONE KNEE - TOP HAND BOTTOM HAND
Purpose: To improve proper hitting mechanics To increase hand, wrist and forearm strength.
Equipment: A swift stick, whiffle balls and a batting tee
Procedure: The batting T is placed approximately 10 feet from the net. The player assumes a stance with he back knee on the ground and her front foot flat on the ground, creating approximately a 90-degree angle with her foot leg. A whiffle ball is place on the tee and the hitter grips the swift stick in her back hand and swings through the ball. This drill is repeated for a designated period of time and then the hitter switches the swift stick to her front hand and repeats the drill again. This drill can also be done with tennis balls. Once the player has the mechanics master, she can use a bat and softballs. This drill can also be done off a soft toss. This drill should be performed for a prescribed period of time or a designated number of repetitions.
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DOUBLE TEE (INSIDE/OUTSIDE) PITCH LOCATION DRILL
Purpose: To develop the proper mechanics necessary to hit a pitch in any location and to all fields.
Equipment: A bat, softballs, two batting tees (or a double tee) and a net.
Procedure: The batting tees are positioned with one high and inside and the other low and outside. The hitter assumes her normal batting stance at an appropriate distance from the first tee. On command, she executes the proper swing necessary to pull through the high-inside pitch and quickly returns to the ready position. As soon as she is ready, she hits the low-outside ball to the opposite field, adjusting her swing accordingly. The tee position can be altered at the coach's discretion (high-outside, inside-belt high, outside-belt high, etc.). This drill should be performed for a prescribed period of time or a designated number of repetitions.
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NO STRIDE DRILL
Purpose: To isolate and work on the hip rotation and upper body mechanics.
Equipment: A bat, balls, tee and a net
Procedure: The player steps to the stop where the front foot would be after the stride and starts in that position. She swings and concentrates on the pivot, hip rotation and movement of the upper body. She drives the front shoulder to the outside corner of the plate. She keeps the head down and looks inside the tee after contact. The goal is to hit a hard line drive off the tee. This drill should be performed for a prescribed period of time or a designated number of repetitions.
Variation: Put a target on a fence (a square of tape or a paper plate) for players to attempt to hit. They should avoid lifting their heads to watch the flight of the ball. They start 10 feet from the fence. As the players move further back, it becomes more difficult for them to hit the target because the degree of error has increased.
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