Softball Hitting Drills – Rope Drill

Purpose: To teach the hitter to stay back and maintain balance on her leg in order to avoid shifting her weight forward during her swing when softball hitting.

Procedure: The rope should be tied around the hitter's waist. A player stands around 15 feet behind the hitter and holds the rope from an angle. Holding the rope from an angle keeps the rope-holder safe from being hit by the bat or foul ball. As the hitter takes her stance, the rope-holder should pull the rope taut. The hitter should take some practice swings in order to feel the effect of the rope. A third player acts as a feeder and tosses the ball to the hitter as the hitter takes a normal cut. The rope-holder shouldn't pull backwards on the rope. Instead, she should maintain the tension on the rope. If the hitter moves forward to hit the ball, the rope will restrain her. Having the rope restrain the hitter enables the batter to see if she is lunging forward to hit the ball (which is a hitting technique flaw).