When we practice our hitting we want it to be a fun but also helpful experience. Especially for younger players but for more experienced players as well. We want young kids to continue playing and learning the game. We also want to give older more experienced players the ability to mix things up and have fun while doing so. Today we are going to talk about some fun baseball hitting drills that you can do to improve your swing and your game.
1. The Soccer Ball Drill
This is a fun baseball hitting drill that we have talked about in my previous post on Power Hitting Drills. This drill is fun for kids as well as experienced players. For this fun baseball hitting drill, you’ll need a flat soccer ball (or basketball) to put on top of your tee. If it is hard to balance the ball on the tee, take a (clean!) standard bathroom plunger and place it stick-down into the tee to create a larger tee holder. Then, you can take normal swings at the soccer ball or combine it with one of the power hitting drills above. Try to hit line drives and pull the soccer ball.
What this does is help train you to swing all the way through contact which will increase your power. Many players slow down their swing or even stop on contact which hurts power. If you do this when hitting the soccer ball, it will squib on the ground or you will hit it the opposite way. If you are swinging all the way through, you should have no problem pulling it or hitting straight line drives.
2. Simulated Game Practice
This was my favorite and still is my favorite form of hitting drill. Basically, you can do this on your own or you can do this in a team setting. My favorite was to do it as a team. You get all the fielders in to their position and basically play a live game. This drill helps everyone, including the fielders and the pitchers and catchers get their work in as well. You can rotate the fielders from fielding to hitting and make sure everyone has equal opportunity to bat and field. This is also the time to work on situational hitting and what to do in certain situations. Like, hitting with a runner at second and less than 2 outs or hitting with a runner at third and less than 2 outs. Also, pitchers can practice their hitting and bunting during this time. This is also a great time to work on defensive positioning as well.
You can do this on your own as well. You will just need a pitcher or a pitching machine to help out. You can work on your situational hitting during this time as well. You can practice hitting to the opposite field, hitting with 2 outs or most importantly hitting the ball hard somewhere. That is our main goal.
3. Hitting to all Fields Drill
OK, in this drill we need a pitcher or a pitching machine. It can be done as a team or on your own. We are going to be working on hitting the baseball to all fields. First we will start with hitting the ball to left field, then to center field, then to right field. We want to hit ten in a row to each field. For each time in a row you hit to the correct field, you will receive points. But, for each time that you don’t you will be subtracted points. The player at the end with the most points will win the game. You will receive one point for each hit in a row to the correct field and minus one point for each hit to the incorrect field. If you are on your own you can still keep up with your points to know how you are improving. This game/drill will help you learn the importance of hitting to all fields.
4. In the Pool Drill
Here we are going to be taking dry swings under water in a pool. We will be focusing on getting through the baseball and working on strengthening the muscles throughout the swing. This will be fun for players of all ages and if it is a hot summer day, you get some pool time. Taking swings under water will help strengthen the small muscles of the hands, wrists, legs, ankles, and abs in the rotational movement of the swing. Take about 3 sets of 10 and work upwards according to your skill level from there.
5. Relay Races Around the Bases
This really isn’t a hitting drill but can be incorporated as one if you play with a hitter hitting and then running the relay around the bases. The goal is to continue running the bases until you are out. Split your team in half and then start the drill. There will be defensive players at each position that will be trying to get the batter out. The hitter will continue running the bases until he is made out by the defensive players. For each run scored, the teams will receive a point. You can play to ten or until a number you see fit. This game is fun for teams of all ages and will help the hitters with running the bases which is an integral part of the game. This game will also develop your players endurance as a running drill.
Conclusion
There are so many fun ways to practice hitting. These are just some of the many drills you can do. The most important thing is to make sure you are having fun. We don’t want to get into a state of boredom with our drills. So, we need to change things up and keep things different to continue getting better. For kids just learning or getting into the game, these fun baseball hitting drills will keep them engaged and interested in the game. Always remember this game is fun, so, make it that way.