A batting tee holds the ball still, so you can repeat the same swing and learn where contact should happen without having to time a pitch. Good contact off a tee means the ball is met slightly ahead of your body, with the top palm facing up, the bottom palm facing down, the arms extended and your eyes on the contact point. Off a tee the camera can read your swing mechanics, the position of your body and arms at contact, your head stability and how consistent you are across reps; it can't measure the ball's exit speed or flight.
Set the tee and contact point
Start with the tee over the middle of the plate and the ball at about belt height, or slightly below your beltline. This middle, belt-high ball is your baseline before you move the tee anywhere else.
a simple, central target.
Stand so the ball sits slightly ahead of your body, about even with your front leg. Step back from the tee until the barrel can reach the ball with your arms extended, then take your normal shoulder-width stance.
you could reach the ball without leaning.
Don't take practice swings at the ball. Settle into your stance with your head still and your eyes on the ball, the same way you would against a pitch.
quiet head, eyes on the ball.
Swing to contact
Load, take a short stride toward the pitcher and turn against a firm front leg, using the same stance, load and hip turn as your other swings. Swing at normal speed; don't slow down to aim at the ball.
your normal swing, not a guided one.
At contact the bat is level with the ball, your top palm faces up and your bottom palm faces down. Your hips have opened toward the tee.
palms up and down, barrel through the ball.
On a middle, belt-high ball, your arms are extended at contact and your eyes are on the contact point. Keep the palms in that position through contact; the wrists roll over as you follow through, not before.
eyes stay on the spot where the ball was.
Follow through to finish the swing over a firm front leg. A good middle-tee rep sends a line drive back through the middle of the field.
a full finish without stumbling.
Move the tee
Once the middle tee is consistent, move the tee in and out, up and down. For an inside ball, set the tee further out in front of you. For an outside ball, set it deeper, further back toward your body. In a study of experienced hitters choosing their own contact points off a tee, high and inside balls were hit further forward and low and outside balls further back.
the contact point moves with the pitch, the swing stays the same.
Feel it
A tee rep should feel like your real swing: normal speed, a short stride, hips opening toward the tee, and the barrel meeting the ball slightly ahead of your body with your palms up and down and your eyes on the ball. Common faults are pulling the head off the ball, contact that is too deep or too far out front for where the tee is, rolling the wrists before contact, and a barrel that drops under the ball. The app reads your body positions and consistency across reps; it does not see the ball or the bat.
Fix-its
- You pull your head off the ball Draw a dot on the ball, set it on the tee facing you, and try to watch the bat hit the dot.
- You roll your wrists before contact Use the stop-and-hold drill: stop just before the ball and check that the top palm faces up and the bottom palm faces down, then finish the swing.
- Your barrel drops under the ball Set a second tee behind the first, about 6 inches higher, and hit the front ball without touching the back tee. You can also set a tee high and try to hit the ball on the ground to stay on top of it.
- You hit every location at the same spot Set the tee further out front for inside balls and deeper for outside balls, and keep the same swing for each.
- You lunge or finish off balance Keep the stride short and toward the pitcher, keep the hands back, and turn against a firm front leg.
Drill
- Stop-and-hold: tee slightly below the beltline, ball slightly ahead of your body. Swing at normal speed, stop just before contact, check bat level, palms up and down, arms extended, eyes on the ball. Pause one second, then finish through the ball. 10 reps.
- Score 10: 10 swings off a middle, belt-high tee. Count the line drives back through the middle of the field and try to beat your score next round.
- Two-tee path drill: a second tee directly behind the first, about 6 inches higher. Repeat the stop-and-hold drill without touching the back tee.
- Dot drill: draw a dot on the ball, face it toward you, and watch the bat hit the dot.
- Around the plate: move the tee in, out, up and down. Inside balls further out front, outside balls deeper. Film face-on at 120 fps or higher to compare your arm and head positions at contact across locations.
Sources
- Little League University — Backyard Tip: Using a Tee to Improve the Swing Path
- Little League University — Hitting Drill Progression
- Baseball Canada — Hitting Fundamentals
- Thomas & King — Baseball: Steps to Success, "Training the Swing" excerpt (Human Kinetics)
- Katsumata et al. — Coordination of hitting movement revealed in baseball tee-batting, J Sports Sci (2017)
Last checked 2026-10-26.