707 V2 ch179 (1/2)

Mr. Miller changed him out too, letting everyone get some time to show off their skills, and practice. He had us switch to backhand, practicing that as well. I could see how effective this drill was to see where everyone's standard was while practicing at the same time.

We did a few more fielding drills before taking a quick water break. We came back to Mr. Miller who was getting some help setting up a batting practice net. That was somewhat normal. I've seen them being used before, but I was confused on why he was setting up two batting tees, placing a baseball on both.

”Should we go get our bats?” Chase, a senior, asked.

Mr. Miller nodded, still setting up. ”Get your complete batting gear. Helmets. Bat. Batting gloves. Shin guard if you wear one.”

We went back to the bags and grabbed everything, leaving our gloves and hats behind.

Mr. Miller looked at us when he was done setting up. ”This drill may be familiar to some of you, but I'll go over it so everyone knows what my expectations are.” He gestured for me to hand over my bat. I complied. He lined up like he was batting right-handed. ”This is the inside, outside drill. Basically you'll be practicing your reflexes, trying to hit whichever tee I call out.”

Mr. Miller started to demonstrate. ”As soon as you start you stride like so.” He lifted his left leg and held it for a second. ”This is when I'll call 'in' or 'out'. Should be self-explanatory on which ball you should hit.” He straightened up and pointed at the 'in' tee. ”This is set lower so it shouldn't get in your way for the 'out' pitch. When hitting an inside pitch, keep your hands close to your body. Make sure the bat head is in front of your hands on contact. If not, you'll be late, and will probably just foul the ball off.”

Mr. Miller explanation was spot on and I felt like this was something I already knew. Almost instinctively. I had practice batting so much that I knew where my hands had to be and how my swing should be.

He went on to talk about how to hit an outside pitch. ”Use the same stride; don't be striding at the pitch. Keep your bat leveled, don't drop the bat head towards the ground.” He spoke a little more about where your feet should be pointed before going on to say: ”This drill is a little advanced so don't be surprised if you don't get it right away. Just focus on your swing.”

”Should Jake go first?” Brett asked.

I froze as all eyes drifted to me.

Mr. Miller handed me my bat back. ”How about we save Jake for last? Everyone should at least get a turn and then we can compare it to Jake.”

”Do you think his batting is better than Korrey's?” Brett asked plainly.

Before Mr. Miller could say anything, Korrey stepped up. ”Of course. Jake is on a different level than those of us coming from JV. My awards mean nothing in front of him.” He looked at Mr. Miller. ”How about I go first?”

Mr. Miller nodded and stood off to the side of the net. ”Sure. Ten swings per person. We'll go a couple of rounds through. Try to improve on each set.”

Everyone shuffled around to lineup. I headed to the back of the line.

Surprisingly, Andy followed, standing in the second to last spot. He looked back at me as Korrey began his turn. ”You okay?”