Would you let your kid use a batting tee?

[steveox]

Just to make him learn how to hit the ball or thats considered cheating? I think its cheating cause you gotta learn to hit the ball while its moving in the air.By making him hit off the tee is not the proper way to teach him how to hit.
This is the right way.

This is the wrong way

Why you ask ? cause theres no movement action on the ball.Its just sitting there and balls arent gonna sit there wait for you to hit them.The first pic on top ball is moving and you try to make contact that helps you keep your eye on the ball while its moving as you make contact.

[cong]

I guess all of those MLB players who do "T" work are wrong. It's cheating (not that cheating is new to MLB )

"T " work is not done for timing, it is to develop the proper swing mechanics, working on the fundamentals of the swing. You can work on the mechanics of hitting inside/out or any number of various locations by adjusting the "T". It is a very useful tool and can be worked on with limited space.

Hit-away is a child's toy. It will not help much in developing timing anymore than a batting "T". It brings the ball into the batting area a pretty much the same place every time, not much different that a static "T". The timing you do develop with it will not help much with the timing you will need for hitting. It is a syncopated timing, like skipping rope. It can help with grooving your swing, so it is not a complete waste.

The hitting "T" IMO is the next best hitting tool to hitting Live pitching.

[Coach Knight]

Every great player, coach, and team in the country uses batting tees on a regular (if not DAILY) basis. I can't imagine any player not using a tee, as it promotes good swing plane & muscle memory. Hitting a moving ball won't showcase mechanics as well as a tee...and if you can't consistently hit the ball hard off the tee, you certainly won't do it when it has movement.

[steveox]

Well you gotta learn how to hit the ball while in motion.The hit away helps you keep your eye on the ball.When the ball comes at the right spot you hit it.Its where and when you hit the ball and your body mechanics how you approach to the ball what makes you a better hitter off the start.

[hiddengem]

Originally Posted by Jake83

I played high school and JC baseball and I was still hitting off a tee. It teaches hitters how to drive the ball up the middle or opposite field. I bet you HG at the major league level still practices of a tee

You bet I do. Its a great way to refine your swing and work on things, not having to worry about hitting a live object. Tony Gwynn used it every morning in spring training if I'm not mistaken.

I see more screwed up swings in young kids because at such a young age they are getting into this "coach pitch" level. 6'1 dads are throwing overhand to kids that are 4'. Talk about a serious uppercut and all sorts of problems.

You are much better off doing front toss behind an L-Screen, sitting in a chair or on a bucket. That way if you can toss the ball decent you can give you kid a good low strike everytime and work from there.

Also with young kids, If I'm going to throw overhand to them, I do it sitting down or kneeling so I"m on their same level. I never get anywhere trying to pitch to small kids standing up, its a waiste of time.

[XFactor]

The T is good for working on hitting mechanics, but I found something even better

Well, when I was down in Arizona, a person I worked with has thing, it's like a tee except it's a horizontal plastic tube (hard enough where if you hit it, it's not going to bend or anything) and it has 3 notches on it where you can put balls. But you don't put baseballs on it. You put tennis balls on it. Why? Because if you hit a tennis ball on the top of it, it'll go maybe a foot, and with the horizontal tube if you hit underneath the ball, your going to hit the tube. It teaches you to have a level swing (and there is only 1 part of the whole swing where the bat is suppose to be level, and that is at contact, your either going down at the ball, make level contact (perferabbley add backspin), then up again, so only 1 part is level). He also threw us tennis balls to hit. Because if you don't hit it right, it's not going to go very far. It's instant feedback, I suggest all you coaches add this to your repitore (spelling? heh).

[hit-it-hard]

Originally Posted by XFactor

The T is good for working on hitting mechanics, but I found something even better

... It teaches you to have a level swing (and there is only 1 part of the whole swing where the bat is suppose to be level, and that is at contact, your either going down at the ball, make level contact (perferabbley add backspin), then up again, so only 1 part is level).

I don't like the tee devices which promote a "level swing" because I rarely see a high-level hitter swinging level except on high fastballs. But if you're going to use one of these (which I don't recommend), I would always set it up at the top of the zone - approximately chest high.

But don't take my advice. Instead review video to determine what MLB hitters really do and make your own decision.

[Ursa Major]

We had one of those hit-away devices for a long time, and my son hated them and I finally gave it away, convinced that it did more harm than good. Perhaps it has a small benefit it developing some hand eye coordination to help kids make contact, but I've found that kids who don't see the ball well often do fine when the ball is coming from a short distance, but just can't make an adjustment to tracking the ball from 46 feet away.

The big problem with the hit-away is that the ball comes back so quickly that batters don't have a chance to get back into their launch position, so they just end up swiping at the ball, which only promotes using their arms too much. Also, you inevitably have to go to a schoolyard or playground to use it; who's got a pole in their backyard? Finally, unless you have an adult put it up who can really tighten up on the velcro straps that wrap around the pole, one strap or another inevitably starts sliding around the pole, throwing the whole mechanism off.

[Jake Patterson]

Originally Posted by steveox

Well you gotta learn how to hit the ball while in motion.The hit away helps you keep your eye on the ball.When the ball comes at the right spot you hit it.Its where and when you hit the ball and your body mechanics how you approach to the ball what makes you a better hitter off the start.

There are many specific movements that have to happen properly and sequencially in order to be able to hit that moving ball. The tee allows hitters to concentrate on specific aspects of the swing. The tee, like Bombats, hitting sticks, and other training aids are just that, training aids. All are designed for a specific purpose.

[hellborn]

I think that a tee is most valuable for teaching head discipline and how to avoid bailing out. The first time I hit off a tee as an adult, my front foot flew out and I was taking my eye off the tee well before I tried to hit the ball. I actually had a hard time making hard contact. A little practice showed me how to be more under control and still hit the ball with authority. And, I found that I was popping up in games much less as a result.

[RottenGazebo]

Well, during one game, the Detroit Tiger's announcer said that Chris Shelton used to hit 100 balls off of a tee daily as a youth.

[Dirtberry]

Yes! Motor skill development is the a key element in any Sport related activity.
Young players build initial proprioceptive awareness that makes it critical to get it right early. Changing it is a time consuming task that need not be.

The best Tee is a broken at the bottom used Tee but still stand able Tee. The Little leagues throw away thousands every year. You place this tee off the back hip inside at belt high. This helps eliminate backside drop at initial forward force application. Now throw soft toss or front side toss or live or put a healthy Tee in front of the broken Tee and have at it. Dads never use a raised batting platform when teaching a classic backspin drive swing, keep it at high knee. If you wish to teach him a looping top hand UP instead of OVER, uppercut that produces predominance towards topspin ball exit then I suggest you put the tee up at belly high. This problem is the biggest mistake 5 and 6-year-old T ball fathers make year after year.

[RayR]

If you are trying to build a repeatable swing, the tee is the way to go. How else can you get the reps needed and not rely on someone throwing perfect strikes? You cannot build a base swing attempting to hit balls low, high, inside, outside, coming in from a steep angle, too loopy, etc, etc.

Build your base swing and then go from there.

[JeffK 29]

Originally Posted by Ursa Major

We had one of those hit-away devices for a long time, and my son hated them and I finally gave it away, convinced that it did more harm than good. Perhaps it has a small benefit it developing some hand eye coordination to help kids make contact, but I've found that kids who don't see the ball well often do fine when the ball is coming from a short distance, but just can't make an adjustment to tracking the ball from 46 feet away.

The big problem with the hit-away is that the ball comes back so quickly that batters don't have a chance to get back into their launch position, so they just end up swiping at the ball, which only promotes using their arms too much. Also, you inevitably have to go to a schoolyard or playground to use it; who's got a pole in their backyard? Finally, unless you have an adult put it up who can really tighten up on the velcro straps that wrap around the pole, one strap or another inevitably starts sliding around the pole, throwing the whole mechanism off.

Concur with this. I renamed the hit away to put it away. We put it away and never took it out again. That's what I tell every parent who asked me about it...put it away and get a tee.

[BoardMember]

I personally don't like the tee. See, when you use a tee, the ball is way lower then the hands and shoulders, so you have to start the swing down into contact.

Of course as we all know, this makes the swing a "V" shape.

Sorry, just could help myself.....

carry on............

Originally Posted by JeffK 29

Concur with this. I renamed the hit away to put it away. We put it away and never took it out again. That's what I tell every parent who asked me about it...put it away and get a tee.

[stejay]

I depends on how old they are in my opinion. If they are 3-7 years old, then make them use a tee. Then teach them to hit properly. I have a 5 year old son, and I am teaching him how to hit by using a tee.

[JJA]

The tee is exceedingly helpful especially if you have a plan on what you want to use it for. It's excellent for working on swing mechanics in general as many posters above have pointed out, but it's really good training kids on how to hit pitches in different places in the zone. For example, set the tee up low and outside in the location where you want the child to hit it (i.e., deeper than compared to an inside pitch), and then have them hit that pitch over and over again (hopefully to the opposite field!). Bring the tee high and inside and let them get the feel of that. In other words, the tee has many great uses. You've got to be a bit careful that bad habits don't creep in (like counterroration) that happen because kids are trying to generate power off the tee, but for me it's an indispensable tool.

[TG Coach]

I'm not stating anything new. I'm just adding a vote to the value of hitting off a tee. Plus it's something a kid can do on his own. We have a net set up in the garage. We also have an mechanical soft toss machine.

The person who stated the Hitaway makes kids swing to quickly rather than being set is right on. The only worse device is that sliding ball on a string Jeter endorses.

Also GEM is correct regarding the angle in coach pitch. We used a machine set at as low of an angle as possible instead of coach pitch. When practicing with my son, I pitched from a knee.

[callyjr]

Originally Posted by hiddengem

You bet I do. Its a great way to refine your swing and work on things, not having to worry about hitting a live object. Tony Gwynn used it every morning in spring training if I'm not mistaken.

I see more screwed up swings in young kids because at such a young age they are getting into this "coach pitch" level. 6'1 dads are throwing overhand to kids that are 4'. Talk about a serious uppercut and all sorts of problems.

You are much better off doing front toss behind an L-Screen, sitting in a chair or on a bucket. That way if you can toss the ball decent you can give you kid a good low strike everytime and work from there.

Also with young kids, If I'm going to throw overhand to them, I do it sitting down or kneeling so I"m on their same level. I never get anywhere trying to pitch to small kids standing up, its a waiste of time.

Is having a dad throw really any different of an angle then your seeing from the mounds? I don't know the stats on it, but it seems to be about the same. Now if dads are throwing from a mound I would have to agree with you.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by callyjr

Is having a dad throw really any different of an angle then your seeing from the mounds? I don't know the stats on it, but it seems to be about the same. Now if dads are throwing from a mound I would have to agree with you.

I think the big difference is the Dad is throwing with not enough velocity so to get the ball there it will have to start out higher (loopy throw). Once the kid sees the initial pitch height he/she adjusts based on that. The ball tends to drops through the zone too much. This is what I have seen. If you are going the coach pitch, you have to throw darts and keep it on a line as much as possible.

I tried HG's way of getting on one knee, but that after the 4th or 5th hitter my back and knee has had enough. Never thought of sitting on a bucket.

[gwynnfan]

i have a chair with cushions, might as well be comfortable.

[APPpitch]

Yes! Another vote for parents/coaches sitting on a bucket! I could never understand 6' coaches throwing to 7-9 year olds standing up. It's either high pitch softball arcs or balls thrown at such an extreme downward trajectory.

My son has gotten a lot of use out of his SoloHitter Pro.

-scott

[Chris O'Leary]

Originally Posted by steveox

This is the wrong way

I agree that teaching kids to hit balls at eye level is probably a bad idea.