Tee hitting
Ready when: Grip and throw at a target (b1) started; a double ear-flap helmet available.
What you are learning
Hitting a still ball off a tee: a side-on stance, hands together at the end of the bat, a smooth level swing, the head over the ball and the eyes on it, and a follow-through. Then the bat is dropped, never thrown. The tee lets a beginner learn the swing before facing a pitched ball.
Words on this card Batter, Tee, Side-on, Follow-through, Double ear-flap helmet
- Batter
- The player trying to hit the ball.
- Tee
- A stand that holds the ball still for the batter to hit.
- Side-on
- Standing with a shoulder, not the chest, toward where you aim.
- Follow-through
- The arm or bat keeps moving toward the target after the throw or the hit.
- Double ear-flap helmet
- A batting helmet that covers both ears.
Set up
A tee (or a cone with a ball on it), a plastic or light bat or a tennis racket, a helmet, open ground in front, cones as targets. No tee? A cone with a rolled newspaper stuck in it.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Helmet on. Stand side-on to the field, feet a shoulder-width apart, knees soft, the tee in front of you.
- Hands together at the end of the bat, bat up over the back shoulder.
- Swing smoothly and level, head over the ball, eyes on it.
- Follow through toward the target, then drop the bat beside you.
Your part while they practise
Stand well to the side and in front of the batter, never behind. Pick up the balls after each round.
Step by step
- 5 slow practice swings with no ball.
- Side-on, hands together, knees soft.
- Hit the ball off the tee, eyes on the ball.
- Follow through, then drop the bat.
- 5 hits a round.
How much: 5 practice swings, then 4 rounds of 5 hits 8 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Target tee
Cones in the field, and points for every ball that stops near a cone.
Who plays: 2 or 3, taking turns at bat.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Put 3 cones in the open ground at about 5, 10 and 15 m
- The batter has 5 hits off the tee; everyone else stands well to the side
- After the 5 hits, walk out together to see where the balls stopped
- Two turns each
- Fair play
- A younger batter uses a bigger ball, a lower tee or a racket.
- Points
- 1 point for each ball that rolls into the open ground; 2 points if it stops within one big step of the near or middle cone; 3 points near the far cone.
- Fouls
- No points for that hit
- The bat is thrown
- Hitting before everyone is clear to the side
- A swing and a miss uses up that hit
- Winning
- The highest total after two turns of 5 hits.
- 8 points for 1 star
- 14 points for 2 stars
- 20 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
A bigger ball, lower tee, or a racket.
A smaller target, then a soft toss from at least 2 m to the side.
What you will see, and what to say
- the child swings and misses over the top
Level swing, hit the middle
The bat travels flat through the ball. - the head comes up early
Head over the ball
Keep looking at the tee until after the hit.
Self-check
4 of 5 balls hit and rolling into the open ground.
Stop and get a coach when
A hit leaves a hand injury or the bat slips; stop, check the grip.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains hitting, hand-eye, rotation.
awiseathlete.com/sports/baseball-softball/baseball-softball-b3