Soft toss from the side simulates game pitching. The tosser is out of the batter’s direct line of sight. The batter has to find the ball and hit it with proper timing.
What you need: 25 soft baseballs (12”), tosser, batter, an age-appropriate bat, a fence or net.
Setup: Tosser stands 10 feet to the side of the batter (between first base and the batter’s box). Batter in ready position.
How to run it:
- Tosser throws the ball underhand into the strike zone.
- Batter focuses on Set, Load, Step, Swing. Eyes on the ball.
- Do 10 tosses. Count solid contact. Reload after each.
- Round two: tosser mixes zones. High, low, inside, outside. Do 10 more.
- Move tosser back to 15 feet. Do 10 more tosses.
What to watch: Does the batter’s head stay on the ball? Or does it pull away? Head must follow the ball.
If they’re struggling: Stay at 10 feet. Toss slower. Throw strikes only.
If they’ve got it: Move to 20 feet. Toss faster. Mix fastballs with slower off-speed pitches. Vary the zones.