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Coaches, trust me, you need a bucket of tennis balls mixed in with your equipment! Over the past 10+ years I have instructed numerous baseball camps and coached kids at all age levels, and no doubt, one of my favorite training tools is the tennis ball. Here is why: |
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Catching a tennis ball in the air is excellent for developing players as it is safe and the bounciness of the ball forces players to catch with two hands.
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ACCURATELY HIT FLY BALLS, POP UPS, AND EVEN LINE DRIVES
In addition to having a bucket of tennis balls, I also bring a tennis racquet to practice. I of course get my players an extensive amount of defensive work with real baseballs that are hit with real bats, but at times incorporate defensive drills involving a tennis racquet and tennis ball into our practices. I can accurately hit fly balls to my outfielders which enable me to challenge them by hitting balls in all directions. I can sky my pop ups higher than my players will ever encounter in a game which gives them the confidence to make any catch (Check out the Agility Pop Up Drill). I can even accurately place line drives and hard grounders to teach my infielders to dive and keep the ball in the infield. SAFE AND EFFICIENT BATTING PRACTICE
Because a tennis ball is softer than a baseball, it is way safer. This safety factor allows coaches to modify their batting practice routines in a way they can get their players more swings in less time. Whenever I throw batting practice with tennis balls I use a simple trick that I would never do using baseballs, I throw to two hitters at a time. I simply put two home plates next to each other about 10 feet apart, and alternate pitching from player to player. As I am throwing to one batter, |
the other can reset and get ready for their pitch. I would never do this with baseballs as there is potential one player could get hit by a foul ball. This trick alone almost cuts my batting practice time in half. The safely factor of the tennis balls allows coaches to pitch from a closer distance to more accurately throw strikes and lets some of the players who are shagging (retrieving the batted balls) to be closer to the hitter and coach which enables for a faster transition time between batters.
TENNIS BALLS CAN BE USED WHEN BASEBALLS CANNOT
Sometimes it just isn't appropriate to use a baseball, so a tennis ball can be a great alternative. Here are just a few scenarios where you might wish you had a bucket of tennis balls: If the ground is wet/muddy and you don't want to ruin your baseballs, at a tournament where space for warm up may be limited, to hit off of a tee or soft toss into a pop up net, to practice run downs when your runners do not have helmets, have catchers practice blocking, and more!
Sometimes it just isn't appropriate to use a baseball, so a tennis ball can be a great alternative. Here are just a few scenarios where you might wish you had a bucket of tennis balls: If the ground is wet/muddy and you don't want to ruin your baseballs, at a tournament where space for warm up may be limited, to hit off of a tee or soft toss into a pop up net, to practice run downs when your runners do not have helmets, have catchers practice blocking, and more!
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THEY ARE SO AFFORDABLE
Tennis balls are cheap, which make them one of the best valued pieces of training equipment a baseball coach can own. For about $1/ball (bucket indluded) coaches can stock up on tennis balls. Personally, I love having anywhere from 50-100 tennis balls. With that many I can set up hitting stations and still have enough for throwing batting practice. Good Luck Coaches!
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Tim Thoreson
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