How to Teach a Little Leaguer to Switch Hit

Before teaching switch hitting to a Little Leaguer, the youngster should have proper mechanics from his natural side. But crossing over can improve the player's strength and hand-eye coordination, allowing them to become better hitters from their natural side. As with anything else in the sport, learning to switch hit effectively requires plenty of practice. But with time, the Little Leaguer can feel confident in the box from both sides of the plate.

Things You'll Need

  • Protective helmet
  • Baseball bat
  • Batting tee
  • Softballs
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Instructions

    • 1

      Instruct the batter to don his helmet. Make sure the helmet fits properly and that there are ear covers for both sides of the helmet.

    • 2

      Have the hitter around to the unnatural side of home plate. Help the batter position his feet shoulder-width apart and allow him to assume a comfortable hitting stance.

    • 3

      Instruct him to swing his arms like he is hitting a ball, but without a bat. Look at his face to determine his level of discomfort with the new batting stance.

    • 4

      Give him a bat and let him take a few swings. Place a batting tee in front of home plate. Put a softball (they're larger and easier to see and hit) on top of the batting tee. Give the batter permission to swing and hit the ball.

    • 5

      Have the baseball hitter continue practice hitting softballs off the tee. Give him at least 100 swings from the new side of the plate. Continue to assess her level of comfort.

    • 6

      Videotape the switch hitter. Make him view his new batting stance and analyze what she is doing. Switch to baseballs once you feel that the hitter has mastered making contact. Supervise batting practice at least three times per week until he is ready to hit in a game.

    • 7

      Pitch live softballs to the hitter once he is comfortable batting from the other side, then move on to hard balls once your batter is making consistently solid contact.

    • 8

      Add the practice to his normal routine, without sacrificing other areas of his game.