Baseball is America’s pastime for a reason – it brings families and communities together through a shared love of the game. As a baseball coach and player, I know how important it is for young athletes to develop strong fundamental hitting skills.
With some creativity and basic equipment, parents can set up a DIY batting cage right in their backyard to help their kids improve their swing.
1. Soft Toss
Soft toss is one of the best drills for honing a level swing and making solid contact with the ball. All you need is a bucket of balls, a hitting tee or cone, and someone to gently underhand toss balls to your hitter.
Have the tosser stand about 10 feet away, alternating ball locations from inside to outside. The key is keeping the balls low and on a line. This helps teach young hitters to sweep the zone and use their hips and core to drive the ball, instead of their arms. Aim for about 15-20 repetitions.
2. Hitting Stick Drill
Grab any old broomstick or softball bat cut down to about 20 inches long. This drill isolates the hands and wrists to refine the proper hitting motion and bat control.
Have players hold their hands together in front of them, with no bat. Simulate the swinging motion to understand the feel of the hands working together, then transfer it to the stick. Start with slow-motion swings focusing on clean contact and wrist action. Do 2 sets of 10.
3. Bat Taps
Sometimes less is more with hitting drills. For this simple exercise, have hitters hold their bat vertically with the barrel end on the ground. Gripping lightly, use your fingers to tap the bat rapidly up and down.
This works the wrists without tiring the arms. Do this bat tap drill for 30 seconds to a minute as part of your warmup routine. It activates the muscles used to snap the wrists and hands through contact.
4. Front Toss
Front toss drills help develop quick reaction time and teach hitters to keep their hands inside the ball. Take 10 balls and have your player set up in a batting stance holding just the bat handle, no barrel.
Stand about 10 feet directly in front of the hitter and softly toss balls one at a time into their hitting zone. Cue them to swing fast and stop the barrel in front of the ball. Do 2-3 sets of 10 tosses.
5. 2 Ball Drill
Here is a great drill for honing bat speed while keeping eyes focused on the ball. Take 2 balls and hold them out in your hitting hand’s palm. Quickly drop 1 ball, then immediately swing the bat at the remaining ball.
The motion of dropping the ball activates your nerves and muscles to swing faster. Do 10 repetitions on each side for a controlled “speed” workout.
6. Batting Tee Drills
No baseball practice is complete without tee work. Set up a batting tee at waist level in your batter’s box. Some key hitting tee drills include:
- Knocking bases – Start the barrel behind your back hip and work on driving through the ball to the opposite field. Aim for 10-15 reps.
- Soft hands – Grip the bat very softly and focus on making crisp, clean contact each swing. Goal is to not sting your hands. Do 2 sets of 10.
- High and low ball hitting – Alternate tee heights from high pitches near the shoulder, to low ankle biters. Strike a balanced 10-15 pitches at both extremes.
7. Bottom Hand Drill
Isolating the bottom hand trains hitters to strike down through the ball and create backspin. With your top hand off the bat, take 10 practice swings focused on pulling the knob of the bat straight to the ball.
Then do 10 full swings concentrating on that bottom hand snap and extension through the ball. This engages the back hip and shoulders.
8. One Hand Drills
Taking swings with only your top or bottom hand improves hand-eye coordination and bat control. Gripping the barrel end of the bat, take 25 swings with each single hand.
Make sure to stand open and work on driving the barrel out in front of the body. One hand at a time keeps the motions smooth and compact.
9. Soft Toss Into Net
Hanging a pitching net or old sheet in the backyard creates your own instant batting cage for soft toss. Have a partner stand 10-15 feet away and throw easy lobs into the net.
Focus on consistently squaring up the ball – stay inside it and use quick hands to find the barrel. Do several sets of 10 pitches working on spraying line drives up the middle.
10. WIFFLE Ball Hitting
WIFFLE balls are great training tools for young hitters since they float forever and don’t hurt when you hit them off a tee. Set up a tee or get an old folding chair to soft toss WIFFLE® balls into the strike zone.
Emphasize smooth level swings, keeping eyes on the ball, and making solid contact. The lightweight ball lets players build confidence and work on driving line drives around the yard!
Incorporating these kinds of simple backyard batting cage drills into practice routines will help develop the muscle memory, hand-eye coordination, and proper mechanics kids need to become complete hitters. What’s great is parents can do it without needing expensive equipment – just some balls, a tee, a net, and a little creativity!
The Science Behind Developing Young Hitters
As both a student and teacher of hitting, I’m fascinated by the biomechanics and motor learning principles that underpin developing the swing. The motions involved in squaring up and driving a ball require an intricate sequence of movements and finely tuned coordination.
Proper coaching applies the science to help players ingrain the right habits. For example, most of a hitter’s power comes from the hips and legs, not the arms. So we emphasize rotation in the hips and weight transfer during drills. The hands provide bat speed more than brute strength. Whippy wrists like ichiro allowed him to sting line drives all over the field despite his slight build.
I remember one summer spent just working with a 12 year old player named James on getting his lower half in sync with his hands. We did hundreds of dry swings focused on opening the hips while keeping his hands and barrel back. It was tedious but yielded huge dividends in games when his improved timing helped him square up the ball consistently.
The science also shows how thousands of quality repetitions are needed to master the kinetic sequence for hitting. Coaches must be thoughtful in designing practice plans to get the right kind of reps through game-like drills. Simply hitting off a tee or coach soft toss offers important foundations but lacks the visual cues, mental focus, and swing adjustments required in live at-bats.
Creating A Backyard Batting Cage On A Budget
Transforming your backyard into a practice hitting zone doesn’t require spending a fortune. With some handywork and creative thinking, you can build an effective setup on the cheap.
First, lay down turf mats or plywood sheets to create a smooth level batter’s box area. Then set up an impact net – you can buy an affordable one online or DIY it by stringing tarp or netting material between poles or trees.
Add a quality batting tee – my preference is one with flexible legs that can angle the ball for high and low pitches. For tossing, rig up a ball scoop from PVC pipe and attachments to easily throw consistent lobs.
An old lacrosse stick also works well. Hang a tire or blanket as a backstop behind the net to trap balls. Get some paint or turf tape to mark off batter’s and catcher’s boxes.
For lighting, outdoor stand lamps on poles will do the trick. I simply used extension cords and clamp lights on rakes stuck in the ground! The final touch is hanging an old soccer goal net on the back fence as a target for the hitter to aim for.
With all that set up for just over $200 bucks, I had a backyard batting cage that provided endless opportunities to develop our young hitters.
Batting Cages vs. Live Pitching
While batting cages are helpful for honing mechanics, they can never fully simulate the experience of facing live pitching. Some key differences pitchers bring versus batting practice:
- Timing – Pitchers disrupt a hitter’s timing by changing speeds and location. Batting practice is predictable. You have to gear up reactions and make constant adjustments against pitchers.
- Movement – Whether it’s hard sinkers, sweeping curveballs, or late-moving changeups, real pitches move much more than batting practice throws. Reading out pitches and making mid-swing corrections takes experience.
- Sequences – Smart pitchers don’t just hurl random pitches – they work through sequences designed to disrupt hitters. The mental chess match against an opponent is absent when you just see a steady diet of pitches to hit.
- Fielding – Knowing there’s a live defense changes the hitter’s calculus and approach. They can’t just whip every ball into the field without consequence. It presents more game-like scenarios to practice executing situational hitting.
So while a batting cage builds necessary fundamentals, facing live arms is when a hitter really gets battle tested and forced to apply their skills and mindset in game action. They key is finding a healthy balance of both types of hitting preparation.
Fun Competitive Backyard Batting Games
In addition to standard drills, there are all kinds of fun competitive batting games we’d play in the backyard to sharpen skills:
- Home Run Derby – Set up a points system for different fence locations and take turns seeing who can score the most. Player with the highest cumulative total after 5-10 swings wins. Great for power practice.
- Pepper – Classic rapid fire game with one batter and 1-2 fielders placing grounders and line drives for the batter to hit back. Swing for 15-30 minutes straight to build stamina.
- Hit & Run – Batter hits, drops the bat, and tries to run the bases before fielder throws the ball into a baseman’s glove. Fun conditioning workout and baserunning practice.
- Bucket Ball – Place a bucket or stool 20 yards out. Award points for hits that strike the bucket clean. Fielders can play misses off the bucket for outs. Hone precision hitting.
The camaraderie of backyard games keeps things lively and competitive among siblings or teammates, so they don’t even feel like they’re doing drills. But over time, the extra reps add up to whip players into shape and elevate batting skills.
Conclusion
Hitting a baseball consistently is one of the toughest skills in sports to master. But with the right drills and repetition, any young player can become a better hitter and contributor on the field. The 10 drills covered above like soft toss, bat taps, and bottom hand isolation help build a solid foundation by honing the swing from multiple angles.
Parents need not feel overwhelmed or ill-equipped to help their kids improve at the plate. With minimal equipment and space, they can transform the backyard into a DIY batting cage. Focus on quality over quantity of swings, and keep sessions short, simple, and fun. Baseball skills develop over time through patience, practice, and encouragement.
Use these hitting exercises to switch up routines, emphasize certain techniques, and track progress. Videotape your player every month or so to compare form side-by-side. Above all, remember that baseball is just a game, and the best way to help young athletes thrive is by supporting them unconditionally. The strikes and home runs are already a joy to watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What hitting drills can I do with my young kids if they can’t catch or throw well yet?
A: At early ages focus on tee work, soft toss into nets, front toss swing practice, and one-handed drills. Mastering bat control and swing mechanics is crucial before introducing live pitching.
Q: How can I create practice drills if I don’t have a big backyard space?
A: You can hang a batting tee, net, and target off a fence or garage wall. Also play pepper games with whiffle or tennis balls. And set up a simple tee area in the driveway for hitting into a field.
Q: What coaching cues help kids develop a proper swing?
A: Hands inside the ball, bat lag, hips open first, drive the back knee, keep eyes down through contact, extend hands on finish. Make sure to demonstrate each concept.
Q: How often should young players practice hitting outside of team training?
A: 2-3 short sessions per week is ideal. You want to build muscle memory without risking fatigue or overuse injuries. Monitor kids for proper mechanics too.
Q: Are weighted bats ok for youth players to build bat speed?
A: Be very careful using weighted bats, especially with younger kids whose bones and muscles are still developing. Focus instead on high rep, low resistance training for bat speed.
