"Speed Soft Toss" Drill

This drill comes from Rich Kocinski our January 2003 Drill of the Month Winner.

Set up as with any soft-toss drill, in front of a fence or pop-up screen.

Prepare for the drill by placing five balls in your glove or where they can be reached quickly.

Toss the balls consecutively on a four or five count, allowing just enough time for the batter to reset for each swing.

As his/her skill increases, reduce time between tosses.

Limit the number of tosses to five, since the batter's arms will tire quickly after a few sets of these.

Pay attention to mechanics as the swings occur. Don't let the batter compromise them.

Variation: Intersperse "pop-up" tosses to the batter that require him/her to wait an additional second until the ball falls into the hitting zone. This variation requires the batter to concentrate on the ball during his swing motion.

This drill can be varied by changing positions from which the balls are delivered: From slightly in front of the batter on his open side to directly beside him, to slightly behind, to almost directly behind him, to make it more difficult.

This drill will improve bat speed as well as enhance hand-eye coordination.