“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”
-H. Jackson Brown Jr.
The first time I saw this drill, or something similar to it, was in Dixon, IL. My friend Dan Crawford was using it as part of his team’s pre-game routine. Whiffle balls were flying in every direction. Players were placed all over left field. Jokingly, I said, “Dan, it looks like a octupus exploded out there. What’s going on?” He told me it was a drill. I liked it so much, that night I scribbled something similar to it on paper.
Equipment needed:
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1 bucket
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4 dozen whiffle balls
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4 bats
Purpose: The purpose of this drill is to get each of your players 24 purposeful swings with in less than 8 minutes. It makes a great pre-game hitting routine. I especially like it on the road. It also makes a good practice drill when time or space is limited for hitting. Lastly, it’s a good indoor drill when a cage is not available.
Set up & Grouping: Take your team and divide them into three or four equal groups. I recommend no more than 5 in a group. 4 in each group is just about perfect. Place the bucket of whiffle balls in the center and one group on each side of the bucket. Each group needs a hitter, pitcher, and shaggers. The hitters are nearest the bucket. The pitchers are throwing towards the hitters standing by the bucket.
After a hitter gets 6 cuts, he or she rotates to become the pitcher of his group. The pitcher rotates to shagger. A shagger comes to the bucket and becomes a hitter. Make one of the groups “the lead group”. When all of the hitters in the lead group have hit, that group yells “ROTATE” and all of the groups rotate clockwise. It should take a little less than 2 minutes for a group of 4 to hit at each station. Each station has a purpose. See below:
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Station #1: Pulling inside strikes
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Station #2: hitting up the middle
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Station #3: hitting outside strikes
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Station #4: I like to use this one as a wildcard station in order to mix it up. You can make it a bunting station, top hand drill, 2 strike hitting, etc. Most often, I like to use a paddle drill.
Hints:
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The first time you run the drill, it will take a bit longer than 8 minutes due to explanation. It will get to be more fluid each time the drill is run.
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For younger players, eliminate the rotation. As the coach, call out a new hitting purpose every 2-3 minutes.
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Monitor your pitchers. Make sure that they are throwing the balls hard enough and trying to hit locations.
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Monitor your hitters make sure that they are swinging at strikes. Much to often, when the whiffle balls come out, hitter start swinging at everything.
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Emphasize no pop-ups.
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Make sure your hitters are not getting to close to one another. Safety first 🙂
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