Baseball Bat Store :: Basic Baseball Drills Articles
Basic Baseball Drills Articles
It is Spring time now and the days are getting longer. And you know what that means, Little League Baseball Season is on it's way. If you are a parent or grandparent and have kids that will be playing Little League Baseball this summer you may want to start playing catch with them now. You know the saying practice makes perfect, well that's obviously the truth. For Little League Baseball, Youth League, and T-Ball Baseball I strongly recommend using a tee for training. You can get tee's very inexpensive and they are a great tool for training athletes of all ages.
Soft toss is also a great drill to teach your Little League, Youth League, or Senior League Baseball player to get that Barry Bonds or Mark McGuire Home-Run Swing. The soft- toss exercise should be performed in front of some type of net. You won't need anymore than three balls and the athletes favorite Baseball Bat(insert bat link here). This drill is great for great for generating baseball bat speed and getting a lot of cuts in in a short amount of time.
-There are three ways to perform the soft-toss drill:
-PREPARING FOR THE INSIDE PITCH- Have the Baseball Player stand at a 45 degree angle with the front foot away from the tosser. Have the person toss the ball at different heights. Also to make sure you are preparing for the inside pitch have the tosser toss the baseball towards his front leg. The goal of this drill is to have the Baseball player pull the toss or get out in front of it.
-PREPARING FOR THE PITCH DOWN THE MIDDLE- (As a baseball player this is definitely the pitch that you want to swing on so definitely be prepared for this pitch. Have the Baseball player stand shoulder width apart parallel to the person tossing the ball. The tosser will want to put the ball on the inside part of the front leg and also work this to the inside part of the back leg and work the crotch area as well.
-PREPARING FOR THE OUTSIDE PITCH- This is the pitch that the baseball player will want to take the other way. Meaning drive the pitch to the opposite side of the field. This drill is designed to teach the batter how to be patient and keep his hands back and drive the ball to the opposite side of the field. Have the baseball player stand at a reverse 45 degree angle away from the tosser (front foot forward and back foot behind). The tosser will want to pitch to the back leg. Have the batter concentrate on keeping his hand back and waiting on the toss and drive the ball the other way.
Single handed soft toss is a great way to train the batter to keep his stance and swing closed. This drill helps the batter to focus and keep his arms from flying open mid swing.
Strengthening your Arm
There are many arguments about the best way to build up your arm strength. However most coaches say that there is no doubt in their mind that long toss is the best way to strengthen ones arm. Long toss is definitely the best way to strengthen your arm. Long toss will help with your arm endurance, the distance you can throw the ball, additional power, and the speed at which you throw the ball. With a partner start throwing at a normal distance until your arm starts to feel loose. Once your arm starts to feel loose begin taking a step backwards after each throw so the distance between you and your partner starts becoming greater. Long toss is a great way to strengthen your arm if done correctly, be carful not to over do it as this can be done easily. Use good technique and try to throw the ball on a line, after some time at performing this drill you will begin to see drastic improvements in your overall accuracy and velocity at which you are able to throw the ball. This drill will also substantially increase your endurance and over a period of time you will be able to toss longer than before.
