Coach Kyle Nelson1.) Around the world front toss - Pitcher throws pitches in this order… 1.) Inside 2.) Middle 3.) Outside 4.) outside 5.) Middle 6.) Inside. The hitter hits all Inside pitches to the pull side, middle pitches up the middle and outside pitches to the opposite field.
Focus: Barrel control, timing, and depth of pitch.
Level: Junior Varsity and Above
Common Mistakes: Hitting the ball at inappropriate depth for the pitch location (outside pitch deep, middle pitch off front foot, inside pitch out in front)
2.) Step back drill tee -The hitter starts with the bat in the middle of their body and their feet together. They hop backward on their back foot (to where it would be if they were in their normal stance), plant their back foot, switch their momentum and swing.
Focus: Drive off back side, weight transfer, and load.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Extending up when shifting weight forward instead of out. Not posting up the front leg.
3.) Rocker tee drill - Start in post stride footwork. Have the hitter rock forward onto their front foot, then rock back onto their back foot. After rocking back they will swing. There is no stride in this drill.
Focus: Drive off back side, weight transfer, and load
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Extending up when shifting weight forward instead of out. Not posting up the front leg.
4.) 10 toes drill/10 toes exit velo - Start with feet with toes facing the pitcher. The hitter loads their bat into the regular position without moving their feet. This will create a stretch across their torso. They use their mid section to fire their hips and hands to the ball.
Focus: Using the core to develop bat speed. Getting on plane with the ball
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Swinging with the arms instead of from the ground up using the hips and core. Flat bat path.
5.) Post stride exit velo - Have the player stride and load. Then pause. When the coach or partner says “go” they fire their hips and drive the baseball off the tee. Use a radar gun to emphasize use of the mid-section.
Focus: Using the core to develop bat speed.
Level: Junior Varsity and Above
Common Mistakes: Swinging with the arms instead of from the ground up using the hips and core. Flat bat path.
6.) Load from various positions - Have the hitter start in awkward positions (example, right leg up, cap of the bat on the ground) and have them load into their foot strike (post stride) position with their hands back. Get creative with this one and challenge them.
Focus: Use for athletes who are scared of movement in their load and need more.
Level: Youth and above
7.) Oppo field velo tee - Set the tee up deep in the stance and toward the outside of the plate. Have the player drive to the opposite field. Start the radar gun slightly behind them angled toward the opposite field to measure exit velocity accurately.
Focus: Developing power to the opposite field and getting on plane.
Level: Junior Varsity and above.
8.) Launch angle long cage or off front toss 0, 10, 20, 30 - Have them hit 4 balls off the tee in the cage. One at a launch angle of 0 (directly off the middle of the L-screen) One at the top of the L screen, one over the top of the l screen and one off the top of the cage before the L screen
Focus: Adjustability and bat path.
Level: Junior Varsity and above
9.) Heavy bat pull side - Use your heavy weighted bat, front flip to the inside corner and have the hitters pull the ball.
Focus: Developing bat speed, getting barrel out front on inside pitches, adjustability
Level: Youth and above
10.) Light bat opposite field - Use your light or underweight bat, front flip to the outside corner and have the hitter hit the ball to the opposite field. This is more challenging if done directly after the heavy bat pull side.
Focus: Adjustability and bat path on outside pitches, bat speed
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Hitting the ball too far out in front of the plate. Flat bat path.
11.) Three plate - Set up three plates in the cage with the front and back plates about 2 or 3 feet from the middle plate. Throw each pitch at the same velocity. Have the hitter take two swings at the middle plate, two at the front plate, two at the back plate, then two in the middle again. The actual velocity will be the same, but the perceived velocity will be different.
Focus: Timing and adjustability.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Starting too soon on the back plate, or too late on the front plate.
12.) Inside/outside/take tee - Set up a tee on the inside corner out in front, one on the outside corner a bit deeper. On the hitter’s load, their partner will either say “Inside” “Outside” or “Take”.
Focus: Adjustability and reaction.
Level: Youth and above
13.) Take Tee - Set up a regular tee. Have the partner say “take” on random swings during the hitter’s load. When the partner says take, the hitter will stop in their load position. This gives a good chance to look at where they are in their loaded position.
Focus: Getting into a proper hitting position and loading correctly.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not being in a good hitting position on "take." Starting the swing with the upper half on "take" .
14.) Double Tee Line Drive - Set up a tee about mid thigh and another one about a foot in front of it and about 4 inches above it. Their goal is to hit the back ball off the front ball. This promotes a good swing path.
Focus: Bat path.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Flat bat path
15.) Hot spot - Before each pitch, the pitcher gives the hitter a “hot spot” (either outside or inside). The hitter only swings at pitches in that zone.
Focus: Pitch recognition, hitting the ball to all fields.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Improper location recognition.
16.) Hot pitch - Before each pitch the pitcher gives the hitter a “hot pitch” (either fastball or curveball). The hitter only swings at that pitch and only if it is in the strike zone.
Focus: Pitch recognition
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Improper pitch recognition.
17.) Three plate heavy, light bat The hitter will get 8 swings, all pitches from a 1-1 count. They get two swings from the front plate with a regular bat, two swings from the front plate with a heavy bat, two swings from the back plate with a light bat, and two more swings from the middle plate with their regular bat. ADVANCED: Throw inside pitches to pull to the front plate, outside pitches to go the opposite field with at the back plate, and mix locations in the middle.
Focus: Timing, adjustability, improved bat speed
Level: Junior varsity and above
18.) Three plate w/hot spot - Hitters will hit the ball where it is pitched in the middle play, they will hit only outside pitches on the back plate, and only inside pitches at the front plate. Take two swings each from the middle, then front, then back, then middle.
Focus: Timing, adjustability, pitch recognition.
Level: Junior Varsity and Above
19.) Three plate w/hot pitch - Run the “hot pitch drill #16” but give them two swings from the middle, back, front, then middle.
Focus: Timing, adjustability, pitch recognition.
Level: Junior Varsity and Above
20.) Three plate mix - See drill #11 or the there plate set up. Give players 2 swings each from the middle, back, front, then middle again. On the middle plate, hitters have a 1-1 count and you are mixing fastball and curveball. The front plate is all fastballs, and the back plate is all curveballs.
Focus: Timing, adjustability, pitch recognition.
Level: Varsity and above
21.) Three plate mix w/heavy, light bats - Combine drill #20 and drill #17 by having players swing from the front plate with a heavy bat, and the back plate with a light bat.
Focus: Timing, adjustability, pitch recognition.
Level: Varsity and above
22.) Velo vs. heavy bat - Use the pitch equivalency chart to set the velocity to the fastest your players will see. Then give them a slightly overweight bat and let them try to catch up to high velocity.
Focus: Bat speed and/or two strike approach.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistake: Just trying to make contact and not "swinging" the bat from the ground up.
23.) CB vs. light bat - Use a slightly underweight bat to hit curveballs.
Focus: Bat speed and/or two strike approach, adjustability.
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistake: Not absorbing the ground and having a slight hesitation on landing. Letting the hand fire at the same time they would with a regular bat against a fastball.
24.) Heavy bat plyo followed by PVC golf ball wife ball - Use a heavy bat to hit a plyo (heavy) ball, then switch to a PVC pipe and hit a golf ball wiffle ball. You could also do these as two stations side by side.
Focus: Bat speed adjustability
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistake: Not absorbing the ground and having a slight hesitation on landing. Letting the hand fire at the same time they would with a regular bat against a fastball.
25.) Pitcher leg kick - The hitter starts with a high leg kick. The pitchers job here is to mess with their timing, while the hitter learns to control their body into 50/50 at correct timing. Can be done from front toss or overhand front toss.
Focus: Forward momentum, posting against the front leg, load.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not stopping forward momentum, not loading the hands/scap.
26.) Babe ruth drill - Start with the feet together and the hands by the belly button. Stride out into 50/50 position emphasizing good load position. Add a take to make the drill more complex.
Focus: Forward momentum, posting against the front leg, load.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not stopping forward momentum, not loading the hands/scap, not being in a good hitting position on take.
27.) Fatigue drills - Have the player do an exercise… burpees, pushups, jump squats, wall sits, etc and then have them immediately grab a bat and hit. This can be done to start with tee work, then front toss, then overhand BP and then add a chaos drill to it.
Focus: Adaptability, timing, mental focus.
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Not controlling their breath, not making changes/adapting.
28.) Heavy and light bats vs. Plyo balls - Mix heavy bat and light bat against plyo balls. To add complexity, you can change the velocity of the plyo balls, or use a hot spot drill with the plyo balls.
Focus: Bat speed while maintaining proper plane
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not matching the plane of the ball.
29.) Curveball tee drill (hesitation) - As soon as the front foot hits the ground, the hitter “rides,” but does not stop their momentum then swings after a brief hesitation.
Focus: Adjustability, hitting curveballs
Level: Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Not posting up AFTER hesitation. Hands coming forward during the hesitation
30.) No take BP - This is obviously not a decision drill. There is no decision making. They are going to swing at every pitch, and the thrower should challenge them on the outsides of the zone. This makes them react to and adjust their swings to a variety of different velocities and locations.
ADVANCED: Add breaking balls and change ups.
Focus: Adjustability, being on plane to a variety of different pitches.
Level: Youth and above, use sparingly!!!
Common Mistakes: Not matching the plane of the ball, not hitting it where it is pitched.
31.) Two seam/four seam - Start this drill as an underhand toss drill. For each round, select either two or four seam fastballs and that is the one the hitters will swing at. For example if you select four seam, they will only swing at four pitch seam pitches, they will take two seam pitches.
ADVANCED: Before each toss tell your hitters either two or four seam and mix them up.
MORE ADVANCED: Switch from underhand toss to overhand BP.
MOST ADVANCED: Add game-like velocity to the overhand BP.
Focus: Mental Focus, pitch recognition
Level: Junior Varsity and above
32.) How many curveballs - Give each hitter 8 pitches and tell them they will only get 2 curveballs throughout the round. Before the 2 curveballs are thrown, they are in a 1-1 count. After the two curveballs have been thrown, they transfer to a 2-0 count.
Focus: Plan at the plate (starts 2 strike, then transfers to 0 strike). Pitch recognition
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not adjusting their plan AFTER the allotted amount of curveballs have been thrown.
33.) Match the plane - Using a hitting plyo ball, the coach will toss the ball underhand from the front behind an L-Screen at varying arcs. Because you are using a hitting plyo, if they don’t match the incoming angle, they will probably spin the ball and not hit it very far.
Focus: Swing plane
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not adjusting the swing plane to the ball plane.
34.) Off set front toss - One of the toughest things to do is to get on plane on an outside pitch. Turn home plate about 30 degrees to the hitter’s “pull side.” Using underhand front toss, toss the ball toward the outside corner of the plate. Their goal is hit the ball hard in the air to the top of the L-screen or above.
Focus: Opposite field hitting
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Hitting the ball too far out in front, not getting on plane early for outside pitches.
35.) Off set front toss with plyo balls - Using plyo balls in this drill will give hitters automatic feedback on if they are on plane and squaring the ball up.
Focus: Opposite field hitting
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Hitting the ball too far out in front, not getting on plane early for outside pitches.
36.) Off set front toss with match the plane drill - Vary the height of the toss so the player needs to vary the plane of their swing. This will also help with varying timing.
Focus: Opposite field hitting
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Hitting the ball too far out in front, not getting on plane early for outside pitches.
37.) Two seam/four seam offset front toss - Using offset front toss, perform drill #31 where you select two or four seam balls to swing at.
Focus: Pitch recognition, mental focus
Level: Junior Varsity and above
38.) Opposite field velocity test- Many hitter’s velocity drops to the opposite field. Set up an opposite field tee with tape on the line for the hitter’s toes (so they don’t step straight at the tee and close off). Set up the radar gun at the angle the ball flight should be.
Focus: Developing power to the opposite field and getting on plane.
Level: Junior Varsity and above.
Common Mistakes: Tee not set far enough back. Not getting on plane with outside pitch. "Guiding" the ball to the opposite field
39.) Pull side elevate - Generally hitters hit the ball the hardest to the pull side, but they also hit it at the lowest average launch angle. Learn to elevate appropriate pull side pitches starting on a tee, then progressing to front toss and overhand BP.
Focus: Learning to elevate the ball to the pull side while not sacrificing attack angle.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Steep bat path in an effort to be quick to the ball.
40.) Pull side elevate with hot spot - In this drill the only hot spot is inside, they are taking all breaking balls and all pitches away that they cannot/should not pull. A “success” in this drill is swinging at a pitch they should pull and elevating it to the pull side.
Focus: Learning to elevate the ball to the pull side while not sacrificing attack angle.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Steep bat path in an effort to be quick to the ball, not recognizing which pitches to pull.
41.) Around the world with weighted bats - Use a light bat for the outside, opposite field pitch, use the regular bat for the middle of the plate, middle of the field pitch, and the heavy bat for the inside pitch to be hit to the pull side.
Focus: Adjustability, timing, bat speed
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Not contacting the ball at proper depth, not adjusting start and foot down time to the pitch speed.
42.) 3 plate around the world - At the middle plate, the feeder throws the ball to the middle of the plate and the hitter uses the big part of the field. On the back plate, hitters would need to hit the ball to the opposite field and feeders would throw the ball to the outside of the plate. At the front plate, hitters will try to elevate inside pitches to the pull side.
Focus: Adjustability, timing, hitting to all fields.
Level: Junior Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Not contacting the ball at proper depth, not adjusting start and foot down time to the pitch speed.
43.) Contact depth challenge - Set three different plyocare balls at three different depths on the ground. Before each pitch call out a color. Their goal is to hit the plyo ball at that depth.
Focus: Adjustability, timing, bat speed
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not contacting the ball at proper depth
44.) Happy Gilmore Drill - Start back as far as they would like. Give the player latitude to move however they would like to, making sure they post up their front leg and rotate against it.
Focus: Forward momentum, posting against the front leg, load.
Level: Youth and above
Common Mistakes: Not stopping forward momentum, not loading the hands/scap, not being in a good hitting position on take.
45.) 10 toes with plyo balls - isolates upper half, promotes rotation, matches swing plane.
Focus: Using the core to develop bat speed. Getting on plane with the ball
Level: Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Swinging with the arms instead of from the ground up using the hips and core. Flat bat path.
46.) Hot pitch and hot spot combo - The pitcher will call a pitch (fastball or curveball) and a location (inside or outside) and the hitter will only swing at strikes that match the pitch AND location.
Focus: Adjustability, timing, hitting the ball to all fields.
Level: Varsity and above
Common Mistakes: Not properly recognizing the pitch/location combination. Hesitant swings.
47.) 0-2 to 2-0 hitting game. Start your hitters in a 2-0 count. If they have a "success" they stay in a 2-0 count. If you "fail" you move to an 0-2 count. If you succeed in an 0-2 count, you move to a 2-0 count until you "fail" there. Success and failure are only dictated by the intent of the swing at a correct pitch in a 2-0 count and not striking out in an 0-2 count.
Focus: Taking appropriate swings at appropriate pitches in various counts.
Level: Youth (this is a great drill for youth players!!) and above.
Common mistakes: Not having a noticeable difference in approach in each count.