Soft toss done right (and the four ways most parents do it wrong)

Soft toss is the most-used at-home hitting drill in youth baseball. It's also the most-misused. The vast majority of soft toss reps at home actively reinforce the wrong swing.

The good news: the fix is the parent setup, not the kid.

The four mistakes

1. Tossing too close

The most common one. Parent crouches next to the hitter, almost in their swing path, and lobs from 3 feet away.

The hitter has no time to react. They learn to pre-swing — start the swing before the ball arrives — because it's the only way to make contact. That's the opposite of what tracking a pitched ball requires.

Fix: Get back. Six to eight feet to the side, slightly in front of the hitter. Tosser should be out of the swing plane entirely.

2. Tossing too fast

A close, fast toss leaves no decision-making in the swing. Hitter just swings as soon as the ball appears. Builds rhythm habits that don't transfer to live pitching.

Fix: Looping arc, not a darting line drive. The ball should peak slightly above the hitter's shoulder, then fall into the zone. Gives the hitter time to see the ball before deciding to swing.

3. Always tossing to the middle

If every soft toss is middle-middle, the hitter never trains the swing they need on inside or outside pitches. They build one swing for one location.

Fix: Call locations. "In." "Middle." "Out." Toss accordingly. Mix randomly so the hitter can't predict.

4. Telling them what they did wrong after every rep

Parents try to coach mechanics in real time. "You dropped your hands." "Stay back." "Keep your head down."

For most kids under 13, this just creates noise. They can't process verbal swing cues fast enough to apply them on the next pitch. The over-talk turns soft toss into a stress drill.

Fix: Talk between sets, not between pitches. After 10 reps, ask one question: "How did that feel?" Let the kid name what they noticed. That's the rep that moves the needle.

A 15-minute soft toss routine

Set up: tosser 6–8 feet to the side, slightly in front. Net or fence behind the hitter so balls don't roll across the yard. Bucket of 15–20 balls per set.

• Set 1 — Middle-middle (15 reps). Build rhythm. No location calls. Just get into the swing.
• Set 2 — Location calls (15 reps). "In," "middle," "out." Mixed randomly. Hitter has to adjust.
• Set 3 — Quiet set (15 reps). Hitter calls out which pitch they liked and why between sets. Parent says nothing.

Total time: 12–15 minutes. Three sets a week for a month moves more than 4 long sessions on Saturday.

The one thing that matters more than anything else

You're not coaching the swing. You're feeding the ball.

If you can do that — consistent location, consistent tempo, quiet between reps — your kid will figure out their own swing faster than anyone telling them how to fix it.

If you want a coach watching the rep with you, book a free first session. Bonney Lake, WA. Every session filmed. We'll show you exactly what your kid's swing is doing.