Coaching Youth Baseball-Free Drills and Youth baseball Tips for Parents and Coaches - Hitting off the tee

coachtrev writes "The baseball tee is a great practice tool for youth baseball players.
Here we are going to focus on 5 and 6 year olds that play t ball (t-ball , tee ball). It always seems the tee is put in the wrong place for these little guys, so we need to make some adjustments for them as coaches to ensure proper hitting off the tee.

1) We need to make sure our t ball players have the right size bat. I am a proud advocate of lighter bats. Many youths will come with a bat that is just simply to heavy for them to control. Watch the swings..if the player is getting off balance, the bat is probably to big. Learn To Effectively Coach Tee Ball. Tee Ball Coaching Tips, Drills That Work, Practice Plans, Helpful Coaching Forms And More! Click Here!

2) Put your hands in the right place. Hands should be holding the bat near the top of the strike zone, close to the body. Many kids will hold them away from their body to much and way to low. Lets stop popups right from the start, because that is usually the result and will do more damage in the long run.
Special note about back elbow up. I am not a big fan of screaming this out or even doing it. Try it yourself and see. If you get your back elbow up to high, it causes undue stress on the arm and shoulder and feels very uncomfortable. It is going to be hard to hit properly if you are uncomfortable from the begginning. It also lengthens the swing. Watch closely or record someone hitting with a video camera. When the swing is started the back elbow has to come in close to the body for a short quick swing. You do not have to take my word for it. Do a Google search on the phrase "back elbow up" and decide for yourself if your child or team should be doing it..

3) Get your feet in the right place. Since it seems every one places the tee right on top of the home plate, we need to get our players deep in the box so the hit will actually more simulate hitting the ball in front of the plate. I'm sorry but nobody gets a nice hard hit by hitting the ball in the middle of the plate on a pitched ball. I tell players to get their feet right. I actually like their front foot at the back corner on a coach pitched ball and at the very back point of the home plate when hitting off the tee. This will get the hands and eyes used to the proper point of contact.

4) Focus on the Ball! - Point of impact - When the player hits the ball his head should be down and eyes focused on the ball. I know you will repeat this many times but all players including t ball players should resist looking to see where the ball goes. Cant hit what you cant see. I use the phrase Focus on the Ball (borrowed from the jugs pitching machine company) to emphasize this in all practices and before the actual at bat.

How do we teach this? Consistent repitition during batting practice.
1) Use the right bat
2) Get your feet in the right place.
3)Get your hands in the right place(top of the strike zone close to the body)
4) Focus on the ball!

After this RUN! and listen to your base coach.

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Note: Learn To Effectively Coach Tee Ball. Tee Ball Coaching Tips, Drills That Work, Practice Plans, Helpful Coaching Forms And More! Click Here! "