Baseball & Softball with a Basketball?

Post date: Sep 3, 2014 4:54:35 PM

One item that has always accompanied me during my boys’ and girls’ hitting lessons is my mini basketball. This basketball has been through hundreds (if not thousands) of hits from 4 ½-year-old kids to high school aged students. It is a great tool for anyone trying to improve their swing.

Usually, when I bring out the basketball, my baseball/softball students have no idea what the ball is going to be used for. I first ask them to describe what they see and notice about the ball. Most of my students during my batting lessons notice that the ball is indeed a basketball, a little flat and that it’s heavier than a baseball/softball.

There are two main uses for the basketball:

1. The first purpose of the mini basketball is to help remind my baseball/softball students to keep their head down. One of the biggest mistakes that most players make during my private instruction is pulling their head up. Doing so makes them get underneath the ball, popping it up. The best place to put the basketball is in the front of the opposite side of the batter’s box. You can even play a game with the softball and baseball players to help them work on keeping their head down. This is part of ‘gamification’ which I will explain more in a later blog post.

2. The second use of the basketball is to hit it off the tee. THE KIDS LOVE DOING THIS! While this drill is fun, there is a reason for hitting the basketball. Driving through a baseball or softball is important to have the ball fly off the bat. Using a heavier object allows my students to learn to drive through the ball.

Check out my video below to see it in action!