Tee Ball Drills are absolutely essential to Swing Development

 

Drawing from my direct personal experiences as a player and coach, discipline and absolute determination makes all the difference in the world when it issues us challenges and, indeed, I fully agree with those who advocate the use of  the tee ball as an exercise to correct abandonment in batting dexterity and skills-based techniques. Yeah! The tee ball drill will enable a coach to help young players to correct deficiencies in their swing while teaching them batting fundamentals that must be acquired in order to be a good hitter of the ball. It is of paramount importance that the correct grip of the bat and the correct stance are shown to the learner. Albeit the stance is elementary it is a very important issue in swing development. Feet just a little bit wider than the shoulders, the knees bent, the hands must be at shoulder height and close to the body.  The bat should be in a vertical position, the back elbow down, the head must be almost level with the upper part of the left shoulder so that the tracking eye has a clear line of sight to the ball and the bat must be kept still before the swing is executed.  Certainly, a tee ball is not pitched to the batter and therefore the ball must be hit from a stationary position, placed in front of a home base. Attention must be paid to the shifting of weight towards the back leg before taking a short stride with the front leg while the front foot, the front hip and front shoulder remain closed. The hands move backwards and the leading arm stretches across the chest (Watch for bat wrapping and for hands dropping), turn the back foot at a 90 degree angle. Watch for the front shoulder, and the hip opening, this should produce a strong hip rotation, the belly button must be pointing to where the ball is going after it has been hit and the bat should be driven by the legs and hips, not hands, and ensuring that the player makes a solid contact with the ball towards the fielders. 

From the coaching point of view repeatedly hitting the ball off the tee will improve a player's swing and at the same time he will discover that there is a sweet spot on the bat at the end of the barrel when he makes a clean contact with the ball. However, discipline is the key to success and by doing what one is asked to do well one will certainly overcome the inevitable pains of reaching one's goal since one's success in baseball depends very much on one's willingness to fulfil what one has promised to oneself and others to do. There is no gain without pain, indeed, every human being, while in the womb, is engineered for success but his attitude will determine how far he/she would go and by demanding to himself/herself to do what he says he/she will do, he/she would be able to achieve extraordinary success in life. I am sure of that. Nevertheless, he/she must utilise his own strength and that of others in order to accomplish greatness or he/she will never achieve what he/she wants to achieve without the willingness to confront, conquer and master the obstacles in his/her way without the zest for achievements. 

Pedro Figueras

Head Coach

Figueras Baseball Academy

http://www.spanglefish.com/Figueras