cgh 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2008 Any thoughts on batting drills for a house 12U team? We work in batting cages, do speed drills and coach pitching, but I seem to be missing something. Second thing is what percentage of the time does a team bunt?Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hollad6636 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2008 Chris,It appears that you are getting some significant hitting work done. I think that you can never go wrong hitting off the T.Please check out our drills database located at http://www.y-coach.com/CD/Coaching.htmFor hitting you can look specifically at the following drillsHip RotationQuick Hit DrillRocking DrillWrist Roll DrillAlso, I would like to introduce you to our newest product offering. The CoachDeck Baseball DrillsGood Luck with Your SeasonSchann Holladay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgh 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2008 Nice, I'll check them out, was thinking of using a batting T, heard good things.Thoughts on bunting?C Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hollad6636 0 Report post Posted March 18, 2008 It is definately an important part of the game especially as they get older. You may not have that many opportunities to bunt in game situations but we usually try to bunt with a runner on first and no outs just to get the runner in scoring position and avoid the double play situation. So it does present itself and you would like to have some confidence that your kids can put down the bunt when its necessary. The kids also need to have that confidence but without spend some time doing it in practice they are not going to have the confidence to do it successfully in game situations. So to answer your question, yes spend a good amount of time during batting practice having your kids bunt. Have them practice putting it down the third base and first base line and what situations they will need to either.IC,Schann Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgh 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2008 Good point, thanks! Watching my daughter's travel team infield practice they seem to be throwing down to SS with a steal by runner on 1st and 3d. Thinking it might be interesting to have the catcher shift the throwdown to second over to the ss and then to 2d if needed.C Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saugussoftball 0 Report post Posted April 5, 2008 HiI've coached for many years and at many levels. One thing I have always used is "soft toss". I take a big bucket of balls (all conditions), go BEHIND the backstop, and position myself about 4 ft away from the batter (who is facing me). Then just lob a ball to her and have her swing and hit into the backstop. The better the batter, the faster I lob until we get to rapid fire. I have found that this is a great way to quicken bat speed and it gives one on one attention to each girl. In my bucket I have some of the most pitiful balls (recovered from swampy fields) loose stitching and really deadballs. We name them (baldy, deadball, sticky steve etc) and at the year end banquet, I give them away to the most improved, best team spirit etc. along with a brand new ball inscribed with the team name and year. Have a great time with the girls! It's all about them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgh 0 Report post Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks I haven't really used the soft toss too much, but will give it a try...with a catcher's mask on.C Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
G2G 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 Tee work is something I use every practice. The stations I use at a normal batting practice is a tee station, soft toss station, Head on, and then a bunting station. The reason we work so hard on bunting is that we may not bunt every game but when the times comes to lay down a bunt it is normaly a close game and there is no room for error. I love any hitting drill that breaks the swing down into parts and makes each part work on its own. Coach Candrea videos does a great job in breaking this down. Scott Miller www.gaptogapsoftball.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgh 0 Report post Posted August 9, 2008 Well the advice worked! We took over a team in last place and eneded up in 4th. I attribute it to all the hard work they put in during batting practice but more importantly we worked on their throwing fundimentals. Girls who had trouble getting the ball from ss to 1st clicked and they where making snappy throws from everywhere. One of the girls even made a couple throws from the fence right to 2d for an out. This season was a statement on making sure they knew the fundimentals and practiced them.Thanks for all the advide it really helped. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Lia 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2009 You may add live pitching to the drills and conditioning drills specific to batting like core and leg workoutshttp://www.softballperformance.com/blog/7-...your-practices/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STATSSkipper 0 Report post Posted November 6, 2013 As for hitters, keeping the right stance is also important. Common problems such as long hooping or over-striding can be fixed to be able to deliver more power and speed in every swing. Skipper, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites