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Keywords: baseball, baseball hitting, hitting instruction, Little League, plate discipine
Skill
Moderate
Things You’ll Need
L-screen
20 or more baseballs
Bucket for baseballs
Batting helmets
Baseball bat
Home plate (portable)
Introduction
Chasing bad pitches is a mistake that even seasoned ballplayers can make. One way to instruct your child not to swing at bad pitches is to use a drill designed to narrow their focus onto pitches only within the strike zone. Swings at these pitches have a greater chance of being hit, hit harder and on a more consistent basis than swings at bad pitches.
Step 1
Place an L-screen approximately 15 to 25 feet from home plate, depending upon the child’s age and experience. The L-screen, a heavy mesh device designed to deflect batted balls and protect the pitcher, is square except for the absence of an upper right corner through which the pitcher throws. The screen can be reversed for a left-handed pitcher. Place the bucket of baseballs behind the L-screen.
Step 2
Direct the hitter to assume their normal batting stance at home plate. Tell the child you will pitch 10 baseballs, purposely scattering them in and out of the strike zone, both horizontally and vertically. Instruct the child to swing at every pitch regardless of location.
Step 3
Again direct the hitter to assume their normal batting stance at home plate. Tell the child you will pitch 10 more baseballs scattered in and out of the strike zone. Instruct the child to swing only at balls within the strike zone.
Step 4
Collect the baseballs and return them to the bucket behind the L-screen. Use this time to reinforce to the child the times they correctly identified a pitch as within the strike zone.
Step 5
Repeat the drill three to five times, depending upon the child’s age and stamina. As the child begins to learn not to chase pitches outside the strike zone, this drill can be used to zero in on areas within the strike zone that are best for them as a hitter.
Tips
As your child becomes more proficient at this drill, purposely throw bad pitches at their previous weak spots to reinforce their improved plate discipline.
Warnings
Throwing pitches for batting practice can be dangerous regardless of the child’s age and an L-screen is recommended protection for the pitcher.
Both hitter and pitcher should wear batting helmets.
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