The Three Tee Drill!

Would you like to learn a drill that can automatically create more line drives for your young hitters? Of course, you would! What hitting coach wouldn’t? The drill I’m referring to is what I like to call, the Three Tee Drill. Now, even though most people would think I’m suggesting you drag three batting tees out to the cage today and line them up accordingly, you actually only need one in order to do this drill properly.


One of the quickest ways to becoming a better hitter is to learn to stay in the zone longer. Now, what does that mean? Basically, that is Hitting Coach mumbo-jumbo for “keeping the barrel of your bat on a level plane through the strike zone for as long as possible.” And one of the most effective ways of learning this skill is called the Three Tee Drill. This one drill (which I first heard of being used by Alex Rodriguez) is terrific for teaching your young hitter how to keep their bat in the zone longer. To begin the drill, set up a batting tee with the ball placement directly over the front edge of the plate. Have your young hitter drive the ball through the back of the cage a few times to get the feel of going to the ball and staying through the ball. If your young hitter is not hitting the back of the net consistently in this ball placement position, then they are “rolling over” (i.e. letting the barrel beat their hands to the ball.) Please make sure they understand the term Bat Lag and how to lead with their hands, rather than with their barrel.

Next, move the batting tee forward about three inches, but do not allow your young hitter to change their foot positioning. They should stay in the exact same spot in the box. However, now your young hitter will have to extend their hands even further to make sure they can still drive the ball through the back of the cage. Do this a few times until again, your young hitter can drive the ball through the back of the cage with some consistency.
Finally, (and this is where the drill becomes really difficult) move the ball three more inches away from its original placement (six inches in total) with their foot positioning still remaining the same. Now, your young hitter really has to stay in the zone with their hands leading the way in order to hit the ball through the back of the cage. Coaches, this is also an excellent time to reinforce the previous discussions on Bat Lag and how it can help your young hitter develop that short, professional-type swing we all wish to possess.

This one drill is terrific for correcting so many Swing Plane issues and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s also an excellent drill to use with young hitters who have trouble with off-speed pitches. If he or she can keep their swing plane consistently level throughout the entire zone, they will be fooled less. They will be able to create more line drives, and ultimately, they will become better hitters!