BATTING DRILL
December 2008
By: Daniel Granger
The following drill is a drill I just started using to coach 7- and 8-year-olds.
Items needed:
3 plastic bats (wiffle-ball bats)
3 square targets (I use rubber bases.)
1 backstop or wall
Purpose: To teach children how to swing the bat correctly and to fix some common problems
like rolling the wrist over, uppercutting or chopping.
The Drill:
- Hang targets on the backstop—one in the center and one of each, on the left and on the right.
- Have a coach and a player on each side of the backstop.
- Have a batter take a normal stance, about 15 feet in front of the targets.
- Have the player swing correctly and release the bat at the target that the coach calls out.
- Have each player retrieve his own bat.
The intent is to make sure the player is swinging the bat correctly—without buying hundreds of dollars worth
of training aids. He will not be able to consistently hit your target if he is uppercutting, chopping or rolling the wrist over.
As a player gets better, you can call the target in the middle of the swing and see if he can react quickly
enough. Or, use this game where each kid gets three swings and one point for each target hit.
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