One thing you hear coaches repeat over and over again is that practice makes perfect. In fact, Cal Ripken Sr is famously quoted for the phrase “it’s not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice that makes perfect.”
This famous quote from Cal Ripken Sr outlines just how important practice is, especially for youth ballplayers. And the first step to practicing hitting is knowing exactly which hitting drills to perfect.
It’s not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice that makes perfect.
Cal Ripken Sr
There are hundreds of different drills that youth baseball players could utilize to improve their hitting, but the drills below are the specific drills that I’ve done that have made a noticeable difference in my hitting.
7 Hitting Drills for Youth Baseball Players
Front Toss
The front toss is a simple, but effective drill that all youth baseball players should know. A big benefit of the front toss drill is that the pitcher is almost guaranteed to throw a strike, which means the batter will be able to swing at a lot of strikes in a short amount of time.
What is front toss in baseball? The front toss in baseball is a drill where the pitcher positions themselves behind a screen that is roughly 10 feet in front of the batter. The pitcher will use a similar arm motion for each throw and deliver the ball underhand into the strike zone.
This drill is effective because the batter knows that almost all of the pitches will be strikes, which means they will be able to focus more on their swing mechanics and less on wondering where the pitch will end up.
Performing the Front Toss Drill
Items needed for drill:
- Pitcher
- Screen (for the pitcher to stand behind)
- Baseballs
- Bat
How to perform the front toss:
- Position the screen about 10 feet in front of where the batter will be standing
- The pitcher takes their position behind the screen and waits for the batter to get ready
- The pitcher will then deliver the ball with a similar arm motion each time. If done correctly, almost all pitches will be strikes.
- The batter swings at strikes, while focusing on the mechanics of their swing
For a great example of the front toss drill, check out this quick video from XtraInningBaseball.
Off-Speed Practice with Tee
One of my favorite drills to practice hitting off-speed pitches is to combine the front toss drill with some tee work. This drill works very much like the traditional front toss drill, but we also add in the extra element of hitting off a tee whenever the pitcher doesn’t release the ball. Performing this drill will help with the mental aspect of noticing an off-speed pitch.
It can be tough for most players to practice hitting off-speed pitches in practice. Most pitchers will not throw multiple curveballs to a batter during practice. If you’re lucky enough to be hitting in a cage where the machine can throw curveballs, the machine usually has only one setting and it’s easy to get into the groove of seeing one type of pitch.
In order to get a batter into the correct mindset during a breaking pitch, the batter must have practice being caught off-guard by a breaking pitch.
This drill combines the element of seeing normal fastballs, but also develops your reaction time to off-speed pitches by helping you stay back when you recognize that off-speed pitch is coming.
To see this drill in action, check out this video where I start off by hitting a traditional front toss from the pitcher, but the very next pitch is where I need to recognize the pitch is a breaking ball.
Items needed for drill:
- Pitcher
- Screen (for the pitcher to stand behind)
- Baseballs
- Bat
- Tee
To perform the drill:
- The pitcher should be set up behind the screen and at about 10 feet in front of the batter
- Place the tee so the baseball is on the outside plate, but still within the strike zone
- The pitcher will begin throwing front toss, with a focus towards the inside part of the plate
- Every couple of pitches, without notice to the batter, the pitcher will fake the front toss. When the batter sees this, this should trigger them to pause for a moment and swing at the ball on the tee.
As mentioned above, this is easily one of my most favorite drills for hitting off-speed pitches. After the first time my coach introduced me to this drill, I was able to stay back on a curveball and get a base hit in my very next game. Right after I had made solid contact with that curveball I had flashbacks to this drill because I knew it had helped me get that base hit.
Soft Toss
Soft toss is one of the oldest drills in baseball and is a great drill to get kids to practice their swing. Soft toss does not use a lot of equipment and it allows the batter to hit more strikes than they normally would with other types of batting practices.
When swinging at a soft toss pitch, the idea is to focus on timing the pitch and hitting the ball with the sweet spot of the bat. The more you can hit off of the sweet spot of the bat, the further you can hit the ball.
Items needed for drill:
- Baseballs
- Bat
- Pitcher
To perform the soft toss drill:
- The pitcher who is tossing will need to be set up at about a 45-degree angle from the front of the batter, typically on one knee
- Using the underhand motion, the pitcher will first show the baseball to the batter then bring their arm back in an obvious, slow motion
- The pitcher will gently underhand the ball, aiming at the batter’s front knee
- The batter takes their normal swing and makes contact with the ball
Below is a great video that demonstrates the soft toss drill.
On a related note, because the person who is throwing soft toss is at that 45-degree angle this drill is also called the “side toss drill”. So don’t worry if you see others interchangeably using the words “soft toss” and “side toss”!
Two-ball Soft Toss
The two-ball soft toss drill is a step up from the traditional soft toss drill. This drill is exactly as it sounds – there are two baseballs coming at you instead of one. The good news is that you’ll only need to hit one of them.
The two-ball soft toss drill is when the pitcher tosses two baseballs, one high and one low, in an underhand motion towards the batter’s front knee. The pitcher will call out “high” or “low” and the batter will hit the ball the pitcher calls out.
The two-ball soft toss drill forces batters to focus on the delivered pitch and make contact with the ball they are aiming at.
Items needed for drill:
- Baseballs
- Bat
- Pitcher
To perform the two-ball soft toss drill:
- The pitcher will start off at a 45-degree angle on one knee (exactly like the traditional soft toss setup)
- The pitcher will take two baseballs and underhand both of the baseball at the same time. Ideally, there will be a high ball and a low ball while the baseballs are traveling towards the batter.
- Directly after the pitcher underhands the baseballs, the pitcher will yell out “high” or “low”
- The batter will hit whichever baseball the pitcher called out
Now, let’s check out an example of the two-ball soft toss from Sports Lessons for Kids.
Hip to Shoulder Separation Hitting Drill
If you’ve been around a hitting coach for more than a few minutes then you’ve heard them talk about how important hips are in your swing. Including hips in your swing is an especially important piece of hitting for youth ballplayers because the earlier you perfect your swing, the better your hitting will be in the long run.
This hip to shoulder separation batting drill is fairly straight-forward because it will allow you to feel your hips and shoulders being correctly engaged during your swing.
Before we jump into how to perform this drill, let’s take a quick look at an example from XtraInningBaseball.
Items needed for drill:
- Batting Tee
- Baseballs
- Two bats
To perform the hip to separation hitting drill:
- Start by placing the ball on the tee at about waist-high
- Take your normal batting stance
- Move your front foot out so you are in a very open batting stance
- Place a bat on the ground so it’s parallel with your feet
- While in your very open batting stance, swing at the ball
When performing this drill you should feel your hips firing forward while your shoulders are in a much better position to increase launch angle.
Practicing this drill will help youth ballplayers get the feel down for their hips driving through the ball as well as the feel for better launch angle of their swing.
Sweet Spot Hitting Drill
When making contact with the baseball, the best part of the bat to make contact with is the sweet spot of the bat. When players make contact with the sweet spot of the bat, not only do they hit it further, but they also get a lot of enjoyment from that feeling of hitting the ball perfectly.
The sweet spot hitting drill helps players of all ages focus on making contact with the sweet spot of their bat. This drill requires players to keep some separation in their hands while focusing on where the bat ends up while swinging.
Items needed for drill:
- Bat
- Baseballs
- Batting Tee
To perform the sweet spot hitting drill:
- Start off with the ball on the tee, roughly waist-high
- Place your bottom hand where you normally would on the bat
- Take your top hand and place it more towards the top of the handle, leaving a few inches of space between each hands
- Take your normal swing while focusing on the barrel of the bat making contact with the ball
As an example, Coach Ford demonstrates the sweet spot hitting drill in the video below.
Bottom Hand Hitting Drill
When gripping a bat, the top hand is typically the dominant hand. So if you’re a right-handed hitter, then your right hand is your top hand when gripping the bat.
Because most hitter’s top hand is the more dominant hand, youth ballplayers start to use their dominant hand a lot more during their swing than their non-dominant hand. When this happens, the wrists will roll-over during the swing and make it more difficult to make solid contact with the ball.
To fix this issue, the bottom hand hitting drill is a perfect drill for making sure the bottom hand stays engaged for the duration of the swing.
Items needed for drill:
- Baseballs
- Bat
- Batting Tee
To perform the bottom hand hitting drill:
- Place the ball on the tee at about waist-high
- Take your normal batting stance, but take the top hand from your batting grip and place it across your chest (leaving only your bottom hand on the bat)
- Swing away
The bottom hand hitting drill forces players to use their bottom hand for the entire swing. It also helps build up strength in that bottom hand so players can keep their bat speed all the way through their follow-through motion.
Below is a great visual example of the bottom hand hitting drill, courtesy of Silver Sluggers.
3 Youth Hitting Drills for Power
The drills above are all great drills for youth baseball players, but sometimes we just want to focus on hitting the baseball as hard as possible. Below are a few examples of safe drills that youth ballplayers can do to focus on hitting for power.
Put out the Fire
This drill, courtesy of The Hitting Vault, is a fun drill for youth ballplayers to try. It is all about rotational power so the focus is on the lower half of the body.
Items needed for drill:
- Bucket of baseballs
To perform the “put out the fire” drill:
- The player starts off by holding a bucket of baseballs with both hands – one hand supporting the bottom of the bucket and one hand holding the top of the bucket.
- To “put out the fire” the player will go through their regular hitting mechanics with the lower half of their body, but they will launch all the baseballs from the bucket (this will look similar to someone throwing a bucket of water onto a fire)
For a visualization of this drill, view this gif from The Hitting Vault.
Step Backs
The step back drill is great for youth players to get a better feel for the loading phase of their swing.
Items needed for drill:
- Batting Tee
- Baseballs
- Bat
To perform the step back drill:
- Start off in your normal batting stance
- To begin your swing, first take a step backwards with your back foot
- Bring your front knee up and in towards your chest
- Swing
Here’s a quick example of this drill from Baseball Rebellion.
Soft Toss with Weighted Ball
The soft toss drill is already a great drill for any player, but there can be an additional weight component added to this drill to allow youth ballplayers to focus on their power.
The only difference between the traditional soft toss and the soft toss with a heavier ball, is just the weight of the ball being used.
Items needed for drill:
- Baseballs
- Heavier ball (between 10-20 ounces)
- Bat
- Pitcher
To perform the soft toss drill with a heavy ball:
- Once the batter is warm and ready to swing, the pitcher will start by delivering the soft toss pitch with the heavier ball
- The batter will only need about 5-10 swings with the heavier ball
- After using the heavier ball, the pitcher tosses regular baseballs
- The batter takes another 10-15 swings with regular baseballs
In the example video below, the ball being used was a 17-ounce ball from SKLZ.
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