High tee drill

At a glance

Sport

Baseball and Softball

Skill

Hitting

Ages

10U to High school

Players

1 hitter per tee (a partner can load the balls)

Time

About 10 minutes

Level

Intermediate

Equipment

A batting tee that raises to chest height, A bucket of balls, Bat and helmet, A hitting net or cage

Indoors

Yes

Most tee work happens at belt height, so a lot of young hitters never practice the pitch at the top of the zone. When that pitch comes in a game, they dip the back shoulder, the barrel drops under the ball, and the result is a pop-up or a swing and miss.

The high tee drill puts the ball where those mistakes happen and gives the hitter rep after rep of staying tall and getting the barrel on top of it. It needs one tee and a net, so it works as a cage station, a winter gym drill or a quick fix for a hitter who keeps popping up.

Setup

• Raise the tee so the ball sits around the hitter's belly button or a little higher, the top of the strike zone for that player.
• Set the tee slightly in front of the plate, where a high pitch should be met.
• Put the hitter in their normal stance with a net or open cage in front of them.

How to run it

1. The hitter takes their normal stance and looks at the top of the ball.
2. They load and stride as usual, keeping the chest fairly upright instead of bending over the plate.
3. They swing on a direct, fairly flat path to the ball, getting the barrel to the back and top half of it.
4. Aim for a hard line drive into the middle of the net, not a fly ball and not a chopper.
5. Check the finish after each swing, then reload. Take sets of 8 to 10, then lower the tee for a few swings to feel the difference.

Coaching points

• Stay tall. The back shoulder should not drop to get under the ball.
• Hands start above the ball, so the barrel does not have far to travel to a high pitch.
• Judge the swing by the ball flight: a line drive is right, a pop-up means the shoulder dipped, a hard chopper means the hitter chopped down at it.
• Turn the body to swing the bat; the arms do not push out on their own.
• Keep the effort high. A soft, careful swing at a high tee teaches little.

Common mistakes

• Dropping the back shoulder and trying to lift the ball, which sends it straight up.
• Chopping steeply down on the ball to avoid popping up, which only trades one bad result for another.
• Setting the tee above the hitter's real strike zone, so every swing is at a ball they should take.
• Reaching with the arms instead of turning, so the swing loses its power.

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.

Smaller: half page or quarter page (PDF).

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Frequently Asked Questions

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