Sign up for our level one package and check out our baseball training videos for youth players today!
1. Balance Board
Balance is where we start, because so much depends on balance. In this video, we will learn about the connections between our minds and our bodies, how to properly stack the frame of our body to achieve a good, athletic posture, and what it feels like to be in a perfectly balanced position. To be a great baseball player, we have to be centered, both physically and mentally, and that starts with balance.
Skills learned: body control, how it feels to be centered, how to listen to and understand our bodies, how to anticipate weight shifts intuitively, how to build a strong core, and how to leverage balance for other activities.
Indo board link HERE
2. Flip & Hit
In this video, we will learn the optimal bat path to properly attack the inside half of the baseball. Using sight, sound, and feel as feedback, we will find where the sweet spot of the bat meets the sweet spot of the ball. As we develop our rhythm, timing, and eye-hand coordination, we will learn to drive balls with authority. This drill also teaches us how to react quickly, just like we’ll have to do in an actual baseball game.
Side note: use a lighter bat than you would regularly so that you can get more repetitions.
Skills learned: timing, rhythm, eye-hand coordination, quick hands, bat control, and how to make quick adjustments.
3. Throw Transfer Catch
In this video, we will learn how to develop quick, soft hands. We’ll be sharpening our ball handling skills through fast-paced reps, improving our eye-hand coordination, and enhancing both our quickness and accuracy. Quickness and accuracy help us with both offense and defense, and this drill will give us the quick, soft hands needed for both.
Skills learned: eye-hand coordination, communication, quick and soft hands, concentration and focus, rhythm, and timing.
Throw Transfer Catch Ball Link HERE
4. 10x 20x Sweet Spot Drill
There are few better feelings than hitting a ball on the sweet spot. With this drill, you will have that feeling with almost every swing! This drill teaches us the correct bat path to the inside part of the ball, while forcing us to drive through the ball, rather than aiming for the ball itself and stopping there. It helps our hands be in the perfect position when the point of contact is reached, while giving instant feedback through feel. It also helps build strong wrists and hands.Re
Side note: a mini basketball weighs about 11 ounces and should be hit with a little league bat (a mini basketball is recommended until teenage years); a regular basketball weighs about 22 ounces and should be hit with a heavier bat (a minus three is recommended). The bat will kick back from making contact with the basketball, so take the first few swings lightly to get a feel for it.
Skills learned: how to swing with authority, how to attack the inside half of the ball, and how to drive through the ball to get the backspin that we want.
10x 20x Batting Tee link HERE
Size 3 Soccer Ball link HERE Recommended ages of 5-8 years old
Size 4 Soccer Ball link HERE Recommended ages of 8-12 years old
Size 5 Soccer Ball link HERE Recommended ages of 12-14 years old
BasketBall link HERE Recommended age of 14 years old and up
5. Adjustable Boxer
This is one of my all-time favorite drills. It teaches us how to make adjustments quickly, and how to use our whole body, which takes us to the next level as an athlete. We will learn how to anticipate using touch and feel, and we will be competing against ourselves to get the highest number of reps possible. Like the game of baseball itself, this drill is visual, mental, and physical. It helps teach us how to achieve focus and then keep it. As we improve, we will go from a beach ball to a more difficult ball, such as a racquetball. The more difficult the ball, the better our reactions will become. To play baseball at a high level, our reactions need to be lightning quick on both sides of the ball.
Variations – With the adjustable boxer we can add additional elements, like footwork or hand weights. For example, we can switch which foot we have in front after each hit, increasing the difficulty and improving our agility and dexterity. Or, we can add one-pound weights in each hand, which approximate the weight of a baseball bat. Then we can punch the ball with the weights in our hands to build additional arm strength. (Don’t use heavier weights, just do more reps!)
Skills learned: eye-hand coordination, athletic footwork, touch, feel, precision, accuracy, rhythm and timing, concentration and focus.
Beginner Ball link HERE
Intermediate Ball link HERE
Advanced Ball link HERE
Pro level Ball link HERE
6. One-Handed Pepper
The greatest hitters of all time swear by pepper. It’s fun and it can be done anywhere. What we’ll need is a two-foot-long wood dowel, 1.5 inches in diameter, and a wiffle ball. We will be competing against ourselves to get the highest number of reps possible. One-handed pepper is the ultimate drill to learn eye-hand coordination. Everything in baseball begins with our vision, so we want to keep our eyes sharp and in sync with our hands and body.
Side note: make sure we use our right and left hands equally—the better our non-dominant side, the better we become as a hitter.
Skills learned: eye-hand coordination, accuracy, focus, and timing.
Beginner Ball link HERE
Softball Size Wiffle Ball link HERE
Baseball Size Wiffle Ball link HERE
Golf Ball Size Wiffle Ball link HERE
7. Hand Accelerators (These drills MUST be practiced daily!)
Quarter’s Drill
These are fun to do, and they enhance our rhythm, timing, and quickness.
Skills learned: speed, accuracy, eye-hand coordination, timing and quick adjustments.
Power Putty
Putty builds up our arm muscles, and this improves hitting, throwing, and catching. Our fingers, hands, and forearms have to be strong for steady bat control.
Skills learned: this drill builds strong fingers, wrists and forearms.
Power Putty link HERE
Racquetball
A racquetball is one of the easiest tools we can use to develop smooth and steady hands. The ideal way to get quick, quality reps in from a racquetball is as easy as bouncing it from one hand to the other. This drill is great because it allows us to work on both sides of our body equally, something we don’t commonly do in baseball.
By simply bouncing the ball from one hand to the next, with an emphasis on receiving the ball with soft hands, we can get high-quality reps in during a short period of time. This exercise is especially helpful for infielders, but it benefits all players because it gets us work with hand-eye coordination and left side/right side balance.
Racquetball link HERE