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• Place the Instructo-Swing/Tee on the front edge of Home Plate.
• Have the player(s) line up to home plate in their normal stance.
• Have the player(s) hit balls off the tee into the net.
• There should be 2 players at each Instructo-Swing/Tee. One feeding balls and the other one hitting.

Tip: Coach may want to start the player(s) off at half speed to work on their hitting mechanics. Use commands such as: stance, short stride, trigger, hands to the ball, etc. Tee work is essential for improving hitting mechanics, confidence, consistency, etc.
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B. One Arm Drill
One arm drills are used to isolate each arm and teach the hitter how each arm is suppose to feel. This drill can also be used with soft toss from the side or plastic golf balls from the front.

Equipment Needed: 1 Instructo-Swing/Tee, 1 home plate, 1 catch net, 1 one arm bat or light bat, and 10 balls.

Drill Procedure:

• Place the Instructo-Swing/Tee on the front edge of Home Plate.
• Have the player(s) line up to home plate in their normal stance.
• Have the player(s) hit balls off the Instructo-Swing/Tee into the net using one arm only. It is important to make sure the hitter is using a light enough bat to accomplish the drill. There are also one arm bats available on the market that are made for one arm drills.

Tip: Coach may want to start the player(s) off at half speed to work on their hitting mechanics. Use commands such as: stance, short stride, trigger, top hand or bottom hand to the ball, etc. Emphasize keeping the barrel of the bat above their hands until contact. Coach needs to also look for the front shoulder pulling out too soon.
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C. Knock Down Drill
This drill is used to teach a hitter how to be hit by a pitch safely.

Equipment Needed: 1 bat, 1 home plate, 1 batting helmet, and whiffle balls, tennis balls, or safety balls.

Drill Procedure:

• Have the player(s) line up to home plate in their normal stance.
• Coach throws a ball from approximately 30 feet away at the hitter in the batter’s box.
• The hitter should turn their back toward the ball and should duck their head out of the way of the pitch. On low pitches, the hitter should jump out of the way or step out of the way of the pitch.

Tip: Coach should vary the location of the pitch and should mix in some strikes occasionally to keep the hitter honest. The coach should also emphasize keeping the bat out of the way of the pitch.
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D. Soft Toss Drill
This drill can be use for pitches down the middle, inside, and outside. Make sure to line up the hitter with home plate properly. It is important for the person flipping the ball to hit the spot where they are throwing. Make sure that you emphasize this to the players. e.g. On out side pitches, the flipper should be flipping the ball in line with the back hip of the hitter on the back edge of home plate. For advanced players, this drill can be done using the Instructo-Swing.

Equipment Needed: 1 home plate, 1 catch net, 1 bat, and 10 balls.

Drill Procedure:

• Have the player(s) line up to home plate in their normal stance.
• Place a player(s) to flip the ball on one knee approximately 5 ft. across from the hitter.
• Have the flipper softly toss the ball to the location of choice. Make sure that they are hitting the target that they are tossing to.
• The hitter should wait for the ball to get in the zone before swinging. Once the ball is in the zone, they should hit the ball in to the net.

Tip: Coach may want to start the player(s) off at half speed to work on their hitting mechanics. Use commands such as: stance, short stride, trigger, hands to the ball, etc. Coach should emphasize keeping balanced and waiting on the ball to arrive. On pitches down the middle, the flipper should toss the ball to the front hip of the hitter toward the front edge of the plate; on inside pitches, the flipper should toss the ball in front of the plate approximately 1 ft. in front of the hitter; on outside pitches, the flipper should toss the ball to the back hip of the hitter deep in the strike zone.
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E. Pepper Drill
This drill is used for eye hand coordination and teaches the hitter to make contact with the ball swinging down. It can also be used as an infield drill. Drill can be done effectively with up to 8 players.

Equipment Needed: 1 bat, 1 ball, 1 home plate, and fielding gloves.

Drill Procedure:

• Have the players line up in a straight line and spread out approximately 3 feet away from each other.
• Coach then chooses a player to hit. The player hitting should be approximately 15 feet away from the rest of the players.
• Have the hitter line up to home plate in their normal stance. The other players should be in their fielding position ready to field the ball.
• Coach throws a ball to one of the players fielding to pitch to the hitter.
• The fielder throws the pitch and the hitter hits the ball on the ground toward the other players.
• The hitter’s job is to hit all of the pitches on the ground. If they pop it up and the ball is caught, they no longer get to hit.
• The player who catches a ball on a fly goes in to hit or if the hitter misses 3 pitches, the player on the end goes in to hit.

Tip: This is a fun drill that they players can do on their own. If you are the only coach on the team, this drill can be used when you need some time with some of the other players.
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F. Fence Drill
This drill is to train the hitter to stay inside the baseball and to use hip rotation when they swing. If the bat hits the fence, the hitter is either casting their front arm out or is not rotating their hips.

Equipment Needed: 1 fence, 1 home plate, and 1 old bat.

Drill Procedure:

• Have the player(s) line up to home plate in their normal stance approximately 2 feet away from a fence. (home plate(s) should be approximately 1 foot away from the fence)
• Place the hitter in their stance and have them take dry swings without hitting the fence.
• Have the player do this until they are confident they will not hit the fence.

Tip: Coach may want to start the player(s) off at half speed to work on their hitting mechanics. Coach should emphasize keeping balanced, rotating their back foot and taking their hands directly to the contact zone. Note- If a player is really struggling at this drill, have them start the drill with their back foot already rotated! This will show the hitter that hip rotation is the key to getting through the drill.
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G. Basketball Drill
This drill trains the hitter how to throw their hands toward the ball.

Equipment Needed: 1 basketball, 2 home plates, and a location to bounce a ball.

Drill Procedure:

• Have 2 players stand across from each other lined up to home plate in their stance.
• Give a basketball to one of the players and have them hold it like they are holding a bat. (the other player should be in an athletic position ready to catch the ball)
• The player with the ball should then bounce pass the basketball like they are swing a bat. (repeat back and forth until the player is confident they are doing the drill correctly)

Tip: Coach should make sure that the top hand is higher on the ball than the bottom hand. They should also make sure that the bounce passes are hard and accurate. If the ball is not bounced in the direction of the other player, the coach should make a adjustment with the player’s stance or mechanics.
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H. Bunting Drill
The bunting drill should be used to teach a hitter how to bunt and how to bunt with accuracy.

Equipment Needed: 1 bat, 1 home plate, and 8 cones.

Drill Procedure:

• Place 4 cones in the shape of a square on each base line approximately 15 feet from home plate.
• Coach throws 4 pitches and the player bunts 2 pitches to the 1st base side and 2 pitches to the 3rd base side.
• If the player gets all 4 balls in the area of the cones, they get to skip a baserunning drill or another drill that is used for conditioning.

Tip: Coach should make sure that the top hand finds the balance point on the bat and the fingers are pinching the bat from behind instead being exposed to the pitch. Coach should also look for the bottom hand to direct the ball to the area they are trying to bunt to. The player should flex their knees to raise and lower the body not raise and lower the bat to the location of the ball.
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I. No-Stride Drill
This drill is used when a hitter is continuously off balance and/or reachin for the ball. This drill can be used in conjunction with any other hitting drill.

Equipment Needed: 1 bat, 1 home plate, and balls.

Drill Procedure:

• Have the hitter line up to home plate in their normal stance. Now have them spread their feet out to a little more than shoulder width.
• The hitter should then flex their knees until they can not see their shoes and should not stride when they swing.
• The hitter should then take normal batting practice without striding. They should concentrate on letting the ball come to them instead of them going to the ball.

Tip: Coach should emphasize staying balanced throughout the swing and should mix up the pitch speeds to try to throw them off balance. Coach should also look for the back foot pivoting.
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J. Golf Ball Drill
This drill is used to create eye/hand, create balance, teach the hitter to wait for the ball, etc. This drill can be done pitching from the front as discussed below or as a soft toss drill.

Equipment Needed: 2 home plates, 1 chair, 2 bats, and 40 plastic golf balls.

Drill Procedure:

• Set 2 home plates up approximately 6 ft. apart from each other.
• Have 2 players line up to the home plates in their normal stance.
• Coach sits in a chair approximately 10 ft. away in the middle of the 2 home plates.
• Coach pitches plastic golf ball to one player then the other. Pitch back in forth in rapid fire mode occasionally mixing up the speed of the pitches to check the hitter’s balance and keeping their hands back.

Tip: Coach should emphasize keeping balanced and waiting on the ball to arrive. Have 2 players on deck working on their swings and 4 other players fielding in the outfield to keep everyone busy. Coach should have a clip board or some other form of protection.
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K. Timing Drill
This drill is used for timing and to teach the hitter to load and take a short stride. It can also be used to teach the hitter to rotate their hips at the correct time.

Equipment Needed: home plates for all of participants and 1 ball.

Drill Procedure:

• Set up home plates up approximately 3 ft. apart from each other in a straight line down one of the chalk lines.
• Have the players line up to home plate in their normal stance without bats.
• Coach rolls the ball down the chalk line.
• As the ball approaches each player, have them trigger and take a short-stride. For another drill, you can also have them rotate their hips as the ball approaches them.

Tip: Coach should emphasize keeping balanced and waiting on the ball to arrive before starting their trigger and taking their stride. This drill can also be done with bats when working on timing. Have the players rotate their hips and point the knob of the bat toward the ball as it passes. Make sure the player’s hands do not move when pointing the knob of the bat. The hip rotation alone should accomplish that!

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