Advice on hitting fungos. Hope this helps a few
1. Use two hands. The quickest way to tell everyone that you have never coached on a high level is to hit pre game infield/outfield using only one hand.
2. Hitting infield fungo’s. If you are right handed, place your bat on your right shoulder as you toss the ball up with your left hand. Toss the ball “hat high” then grab the handle as you take it back (toward the umpire) 2- 3 inches. Contact “ground balls” near chest level, “fly balls” near shoulder level and “line drives” near waist level.
3. Hitting outfield fungo’s. A high school coach and up must consistently hit routine grounders, hard grounders (to be charged), line drives (to be charged), fly balls to be tracked and routine fly balls (caught with momentum toward the throwing target.
4. Hitting fungo’s to the catcher. A coach must have a limber back. I recommend using the hard foam (Atec/Nerf) balls to hit “elevator shaft” pop-ups during practice. These are useful in teaching catchers how pop-ups always spin toward the field. Toss these a little higher and hit them just above shoulder/head height.
5. Keep hands inside the ball (pull the knob) until the last possible moment. The best fungo hitters maintain the “L” angle (created by the lead arm and bat) as long as possible. They break their wrists to hit the ball very late.
6. Finish with back shoulder higher than front shoulder regardless of whether you are hitting ground balls, line drives or fly balls.
7. Call the play that you want them to make so you can monitor their technique. Teach them that it’s perfectly OK (almost preferred) to make errors in practice. It is a training ground. Games are for show casing skills learned during practice.
8. Practice. Remember “practice does not make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect”-Johnny Majors. This applies to fungo coaches as well. What’s stopping you from practicing on your own. Hit an entire bucket to the fence then walk out and hit them all back.
9. Take good care of your hands (your players are depending on many reps). Wear batting gloves (only when your hitting) (two pair if you have soft skin) during all practices. At night, soak in a hot bath (with Epsom salt) if you are old like me.
10. Lead by example. If you expect your players to get dirty (and sweaty), then you should too. I saw a high school JV coach once that wouldn’t wear a hat or hit pre game infield/outfield because he “had a date after the game”.
11. Don’t be overly superstitious. I saw another Varsity high school coach decline to take pre game infield during an entire 7 game win streak because “it was bad luck”. He honestly convinced himself (and his players) that it would “jinx” them if they took infield. Sadly, this was over a 3 week span (25% of their season) so many of his 20 players got zero work. Fortunately, they lost the “8th game” by committing 6 errors. True to form, he screamed “what’s wrong with you guys?” more than a few times during that game.
12. Believe in a routine. A solid, consistent routine is comforting and allows coaches and players to remain focused (under pressure) on the task at hand. Pre game infield/outfield also sets the tone for the game. They will execute it better if they practice the routine often.
13. Know the difference between “bad breaks” and “bad luck”. Bad breaks (bad calls and errors) are a part of the game. Bad luck is not. “The more you practice, the luckier you’ll get”-Lee Trevino.
14. Traditional wood fungo bats are great. However, on 60/90 fields, coaches might want to think about investing in an aluminum fungo bat in order to get the outfielders more challenging work.
15. Teach your players how to hit fungos. You’d be amazed at the number of youth, high school and college players that can’t do this well.
16. This “self toss” increases bat speed and power better than long toss increases arm strength
THop