Coaching Youth Baseball-Free Drills and Youth baseball Tips for Parents and Coaches - New Drill Gets Players into The Right Swing

By Terry Scheele

Hitting a baseball is one of the toughest skills to learn, particularly for young, developing players. It takes practice, practice, practice to develop into a better hitter, so it’s really important that players get maximum benefits from every batting practice session.

I call it Quick Toss, and it’s proven to be a excellent training and teaching drill that can be used virtually anywhere from the ball park to the backyard. Unlike soft toss that's a slow arching toss from the side, Quick Toss suspends the ball directly over the plate and in the "proper hitting zone".

Most baseball parents are familiar with traditional "soft toss"- an all-time favorite hitting drill. But it can also be a difficult drill for beginning players to execute because it requires them to locate the ball coming in from the side - then have to hit it in a completely different direction.

In talking with parents and fellow coaches, I have devised a far better method for soft toss. It’s one that is particularly helpful for players at the youth baseball level who need to learn the basic swing fundamentals that are essential for sound development.

Quick Toss creates the same effect as swinging at the perfect pitch, which conditions players to react more effectively to the ball and develop better timing and mechanics. This drill also promotes a more compact, consistent swing that develops "naturally" and gives the player a solid foundation on which to build their hitting skills upon.

Quick Toss is one of the few hitting drills with the use of a batting trainer-aid that can effectively re-create the same effect of actually being in the batter’s box. The others we tried were all one-dimensional and only offered one way to swing at the ball. Even with traditional soft toss, the ball is tossed at the batter from the side, and may lead to improper mechanics like over-striding, casting, or the big wind-up.

So I began the Quick Toss experiment with my kids. And believe me, if practice develops the perfect swing, then this could be the perfect practice. Quick Toss is not only more effective than soft toss, but it’s also safer because it allows the "tosser" to stand and deliver the ball – no more need for parents to get in the uncomfortable position of crouching or kneeling while trying to toss the ball.

Using The Quick Hitter to carry out the drills, you’re able to target specific areas of the strike zone as well. This allows you to train the player’s to hit the ball on the corners of the plate, which also helps them develop a better sense of the strike zone.

As a young player improves, several noticeable changes will stand out:

Reaction time becomes much quicker.
They learn to "hit the ball where it’s pitched" in the strike zone;
A faster, shorter timing step for better balance and bat control;
A level swing because the ball is hit in the proper contact zone.

Consistency is a key. Make sure your youngsters practice on a regular basis. This helps promote good muscle memory that leads to better mechanics. Practicing the Quick Toss on a regular basis teaches young players to swing correctly every time, and results in good swing habits that get better and better with each practice session.

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A father of two young athletes and a long-time youth coach, Terry Scheele developed The Quick Hitter to make batting practice more effective and productive. His innovative batting trainer is used by baseball and softball teams nationwide -- from youth baseball to the college level. To view video demonstrations and learn more information on how The Quick Hitter improves hitting skills, visit www.quickhitterusa.com.