Hitting A Basketball Off A Tee

Hitting a basketball off a tee is a great hitting drill that can promote power, arm strength, and hitting through the baseball. When hitting a basketball off a tee, I suggest setting up two tees, one at each end of the batting cage. Find an old basketball, being a little deflated is good, and place it on the tee. If the basketball has a hard time balancing on the tee, you can find an old plunger and put it upside down in the tee, so that the rubber from the plunger is up making a bowl like tee. The basketball should having no problem staying up there with that. Just make sure you get a plunger without any poop stains.

When hitting a basketball off of a tee, the hitter should focus on good hitting mechanics, keeping his weight back, and hitting through the basketball. Because you are hitting a somewhat deflated basketball, there is going to be a recoil in the swing. This is what will help the batter learn to swing through the pitch, because the stronger he is when hitting through the basketball, the less recoil there will be. Be careful of using this drill too much because it can cause sore wrists.

Some coaches have compared hitting a basketball off a tee to hitting a tire. These are two totally different drills. I believe hitting a basketball off a tee is much better than hitting a tire. Hitting a tire is a good drill to promote forearm and wrist strength, but you are only working on half the swing. Hitting the tire is good because you can evaluate your swing at contact and check your lower half. When hitting a basketball off a tee, you are not only working on forearm and wrist strength, but you are also working on developing a good full swing and hitting through the baseball. Although you may not get to evaluate your lower half on this drill, you can always just take some dry cuts if you are concerned with that. Therefore, I believe hitting a basketball off a tee is a much better hitting drill than hitting a tire.

As you progress and get better at hitting a basketball off a tee, you can switch to a soccer ball or a mini basketball. These provide a smaller target so the hitter has to concentrate more, but still offer the same experience at contact. It will be a little easier because these balls tend to be a lighter, but the hitter will now be able to work on bat speed while hitting through these lighter basketballs.