This is actually more like batting practice than an actual drill, and it is focused on developing a player’s approach to the plate. It starts with the pitcher close enough to the batter to have better control over the direction of the ball. The ball will be thrown 10 times for each player, with the number of strikes before stepping to the plate being announced beforehand. Each batter will have to adjust their approach depending on this strike count.

If 0 strikes are announced, the batter will hold the bat out, showing the pitcher where they would like to have the ball thrown. The number of swings that a batter has left will be determined by whether or not he swings at the ball inside or outside his hitting zone.

If only 1 strike is announced, the player’s cut is reduced by 1 each time he or she swings at a strike. If the batter swings at a pitch that goes outside the strike zone, he or she gets a penalty pitch.

If 2 strikes are announced, the batter gets a pitch penalty for every miss that falls out of the strike zone. A borderline pitch that is missed results in yet another pitch penalty. Failing to hit a strike will end the batter’s turn.

For this drill, you will need a bat, a helmet, any type of protective screen for the pitcher, two practice cones, and a bit of colored tape. This drill can be performed during training, and it may be done as individual or group competitions between players.

The drill begins with both cones being placed on the edge of the outfield grass, with on of them right behind where the shortstop would normally be, and the other behind second base. This effectively splits up the playing field into 3 distinct areas. You then use the tape to mark out 3 equal sections on the home plate. Position the pitcher behind the screen in a spot where he can maintain proper control over the direction of the pitch.

With each pitch that is thrown, the batter should call out the direction the ball is going to, immediately before the swing. The pitcher will be in the best position to see if the batter is conscious of where the strike zone is, and whether the right calls where made prior to the hit. The tape on the home plate will help the pitcher judge the accuracy of the batter’s hit.

The drill begins with each player going into the proper stance. With the designated pitcher winding up and throwing an imaginary ball, the coach yells out whether the pitch is inside or outside. The batters then go through the coil, stride, and swing movements.

Throughout this drill, the coach should makes sure that the players shoulders swivel along a level line of motion and that the bat is led by the player’s hands. The drill can be repeated as many times as the coach feels is necessary.

The drill requires the setting up of a batting tee on top of the home plate, positioned so that the batter can hit the ball into a fence. The coach may have to enlist the assistance of another player to help move the tees and place balls. If you have the equipment necessary, you may want to set up 3 different batting stations in a group situation; otherwise, you will have to make do with a single station.

The drill is comprised of 3 parts, with the first part requiring the player to adjust the tee to the pitch that they are most comfortable with. The player then takes a few swings and the tee is moved slightly towards them but not too far towards the inside of the plate. The tee is moved closer and closer until the player’s comfort zone limit is reached. The tee is then moved back to the starting position and then moved incrementally towards the outside of the plate. When the outer limit of the player’s comfort range has likewise been reached, the same adjustments are made to the height of the tee, finding the range that the player is most comfortable with.

The second part of the drill involves moving the tee’s placement and height outside the player’s hitting zone and having him or her take a few swings at each location.

The drill ends with the player swinging at pitches that do not qualify as strikes, but are close enough to avoid the 2-strike count. This part of the drill should be done with short, fast swings, with the bat right on the ball. This part of the drill will help players determine their optimal plate positioning and how far they should stand from it.

The drill begins with the batter placing the ball in the center of the plate, about 2 or 3 feet high. The batter will then take a few swings at the ball. After that, the coach should move the batting tee towards the inside and forward to the plate, in a location that approximates an inside pitch, with the batter taking a few more swings.

The tee is then move towards the outside and to the back of the plate, in order to approximate an outside pitch, with the batter again taking a few more swings. With each position of the tee, the height of the ball should be varied in order to approximate pitches that are thrown high and low. The tee can also be moved to positions other than the batter’s box position in order to approximate a wider range of pitches.

It is important for the batter to always keep his or her eyes focused on where the pitcher would normally be standing.

When a hitter notices that a pitcher is keeping the ball down consistently, he can look for a low pitch and angle his bat up (point the knob toward his feet and the barrel toward the sky). If the pitcher is throwing high, the bat can be flattened a bit prior to the swing. Changing the angle will keep the bat head in the hitting zone longer when in fact it corresponds to the height of the pitch. Generally, looking for a high or low pitch should take place when there is some consistency on the part of the pitcher and when the hitter has less than two strikes. With two strikes, the hitter needs to be ready for all pitches in or near the strike zone.

If the hands stop at the point of snapping the bat head around, the bat will enter and exit the hitting zone too quickly (although such “rotational” swinging is taught by some people). Instead, the hands should continue in a forward direction toward the pitcher and the arms should fully extend forward after contact. The wrists should then roll and the follow-through should be high (above the shoulder for those following through with both hands on the bat).

Lack of proper forward extension can also occur when striding too late and beginning the swing before the front foot is planted. Swinging prematurely leads to landing on a stride foot that is pointed straight at the pitcher (instead of being closed or half closed). The hips open up before the front leg is firm. This tends to result in full forward extension to the left of the pitcher (for RH batters). Often the symptom of pulling the front shoulder out is observed when this occurs, but this isn’t the problem that needs to be corrected (try telling kids to keep their shoulder in there and it doesn’t work because their shoulders are following their hips). Rather, the stride must begin and end earlier and the hitter should be conscious of fully extending his arms toward the pitcher after hitting the ball.

It is difficult to diagnose this problem with the aid of a video camera. Filming directly behind a hitter can show where the bat is pointing at full extension or if full extension even occurs. A side view of the hitter can show if the stride is completed before the swing starts. An easy way of determining this, is to compare the strides when hitting the ball and taking the pitch. If the front foot stays close when taking the pitch yet pointed straight when swinging, the swing is premature.