Hitting a round ball with a round bat is considered the toughest task in sports. Professional hitters take at least 300 swings each day to hit effectively. How can a Softball Rec league or Travel Ball coach hope to get such repetition for each of their players in the limited practice time available? The answer: Batting Stations.
As a Rec league coach, my teams practice two or three times a week for about 90 minutes each day. One of our goals for each practice is that each girl takes at least 100 good swings. We have multiple batting stations, and spend about 25 minutes of each practice on hitting. The results are amazing as even the weakest batter becomes more comfortable and confident with a bat in her hand by game time. We use the following batting stations in a typical softball practice:
Station 1 is soft-toss into a backstop. Each girl hits softballs while working on her swing and feeling the ball off the bat with solid contact.
Station 2 is a bunting station. Each girl bunts softballs, working on bunts down the 1st and 3rd base line. The short game is HUGE in softball (hmm…a topic for another day, methinks.)
At station 3, players hit softball-sized Wiffle balls thrown hard underhanded, which teaches them to track and drive balls pitched close to game speed.
At station 4, they hit golf ball-sized Wiffle balls with a very thin bat or broom handle, which forces them to keep their eye on the ball up to contact.
Station 5 is tee work, though I prefer to use a hitting wand. This is similar to hitting off a tee, but more reps can be done (who hasn’t felt like throwing a tee over the backstop because the ball keeps falling off?) and the target location can be changed within the strike zone.
I set up a sixth station if I have the resources, like a pitching machine or extra backstop. Personally, I don’t like having redundant stations, so I’ll usually only set up a sixth station if I have a pitching machine available. There are advantages and disadvantages to using pitching machines, but for batting practice, I feel the pros outweigh the cons.
However, with a 12 player team, five stations are usually enough. Girls not participating in a station can help shag Whiffle balls. I teach my girls how to pitch each station so that they can run the stations themselves, which frees me up to float around and coach. This is also a great opportunity for parents to help (note to self…add to future topic list). I love that we easily reach our goal of 100 good swings per practice for each girl in about a half an hour, which leaves plenty of time to work on other parts of the game.
I must warn you though: use this approach only if you want your girls to have fun and confidence in the batter’s box. Also be prepared to deal with hoarse parents who suddenly have to spend a lot of time cheering on their previously-struck-out-every-time daughters.
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