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Softball drill

Color call soft toss drill

A tosser feeds soft toss with balls of two colors, and the hitter swings at one color and takes the other. It trains the eyes to pick up the ball out of the hand and the discipline to hold off a pitch they should not swing at.

A youth softball hitter in a helmet loaded in front of a hitting net as a kneeling coach soft-tosses a blue ball from a bucket of blue and red ones
Video by ZONEDSportsAcademy on YouTube. The write-up below is ours.

At a glance

Sport
Baseball and Softball
Skill
Hitting
Ages
6U to 14U
Players
2 (a hitter and a tosser)
Time
About 10 minutes
Level
Beginner
Equipment
Plastic or foam balls in two colors, Bat and helmet, A hitting net or cage
Indoors
Yes

Young hitters often swing at everything. The color call drill gives them a reason to watch the ball out of the tosser's hand and make a decision on every pitch, swing or take, instead of deciding before the ball is tossed.

The tosser kneels in front of and to the side of the hitter and feeds small plastic or foam balls of two colors into a net. One color is a strike to hit, the other is a pitch to take. The soft balls make it safe in a gym or a tight cage, and it is a good station in a hitting circuit.

Setup

  • The hitter stands in their stance facing a net or the side of a cage.
  • The tosser kneels in front of the hitter and off to the side, out of the swing's path, with a bucket of mixed balls.
  • Pick the colors: one is the swing color and the other is the take color, for example swing at blue and take red.

How to run it

  1. The hitter gets into their stance and starts their load.
  2. The tosser picks a ball without showing its color and tosses it into the hitting zone.
  3. The hitter reads the color as the ball leaves the hand.
  4. On the swing color, they hit it hard into the net; on the take color, they stride and hold without swinging.
  5. After 10 to 15 tosses, switch the swing color or switch roles.

Coaching points

  • Stride on every toss, take or swing, the way a hitter does in a game.
  • Watch the ball from the tosser's hand. Guessing before the toss defeats the drill.
  • Keep the tosses the same speed so the color is the only clue.
  • Have the hitter say the color out loud on takes, so you know they saw it.
  • Toss from in front and to the side, never from directly in front of the swing.

Common mistakes

  • Deciding to swing before the ball leaves the hand.
  • Standing still on takes instead of striding and holding.
  • Lunging at the swing color because the hitter is in a hurry.
  • The tosser showing the color early or tossing the take color at a different speed.

Printable drill card

Take this drill to the field: the setup, steps, coaching points and equipment on one card, with the video's address to find it again. Free, no account needed.

Print the drill card

Smaller: half page or quarter page (PDF).

By age

Coach pitch and 10U

Use bigger, brightly colored balls and gentle tosses. Start with mostly swing colors so the hitter gets plenty of swings.

12U and 14U

Use smaller balls, toss to different parts of the zone, and add a third color for a pitch to hit the other way.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can players run the color call drill with each other?

Yes. With light plastic or foam balls, two players can take turns tossing and hitting, which lets a whole team run it at once.

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