Softball and baseball hitting drill

High Tee Drill

The baseball high tee drill done right: set the ball at the top of the zone and stay on top of it for line drives.

FixesSwinging under high pitches and popping them up

This drill works for softball and baseball players. See more softball drills.

  • Solo
  • 12 min
  • Ages 9–18
  • 3 days a week
Drill clip1:09
Video: Ripken Baseball on YouTube

The coach says to attack the ball downward. Keep your hands above the ball and aim for line drives; hard grounders mean you chopped too steeply.

Who
Solo, no partner needed
Ages
9–18
Time
12 minutes
Dose
3 rounds of 10 swings, 3 days a week
Equipment
  • Batting tee that raises to chest height
  • Bat
  • 10 or more balls
  • Hitting net or an open field

How to do the drill

  1. 1

    Raise the tee to the top of your strike zone, about chest high, even with your front hip.

  2. 2

    Load and stride like a normal swing, and land with a tall chest.

  3. 3

    Keep your hands above the barrel and hit the middle of the ball.

  4. 4

    Aim for line drives up the middle. A pop-up means the barrel dropped; a hard grounder means you chopped.

  5. 5

    Hit 3 rounds of 10. Count your line drives out of 30.

Coaching cues

  • Hands above the ball.
  • Stay tall.
  • Line drive up the middle.

What good looks like

A tall chest at landing, hands above the barrel through contact, and line drives gap to gap.

Safety

Hit into a net or an open field with nobody in front of you. Check that the tee is steady before each round.

Why this drill

High pitches get swung under more than any other pitch. This drill is easy to do wrong: hitters who swing up pop the ball up, and hitters who chop down hit grounders. Done right, it trains a flat, short path to the top of the zone.

Next hitting drillTwo-Tee Bat Path Drill
Player development

Assign this drill with Bravara Reps

Players watch the clip, do the drill at home and check in from their phone. You see who did it, and you pick how many days a week.

Available for iOS & Android