Striking (Tee Ball)

Striking is the most complex of the fundamental movement skills. Striking can be introduced in the Foundation year and by Year 2 most children should be able to demonstrate a two-handed strike. Most children will not instinctively know how to demonstrate a two-handed strike.
Teaching cues
- Grip – Hold the bat with both hands together, your dominant hand (the one you write with) on top.
- Stand - Stand sideways with knees slightly bent and keep the bat near your shoulder.
- Swing – Keep your eyes on the ball and swing the bat smoothly to hit it.
- Follow Through – Let the bat continue swinging around your body after you hit the ball.
Teaching strategies
Body Positioning
- Stand side-on to the ball, eyes on the ball.
Equipment
- Start with hands, hitting balloons or large, soft balls hanging from trees.
- Use pool noodles as bats to hit large, soft balls.
- Progress to using dome cones or tall cones as tees
- Use foot markers/flat markers to encourage proper stance.
- Progress to hitting soft balls off small cricket tees.
Focus on Power
- Emphasise hitting for distance over accuracy.
Fun Games
- Play games like Noodle Run or Striking Zone to build striking confidence.
Striking Progressions
- Encourage children to step towards the target with their front foot, use markers to help with this (step & squash the cone).
- Focus on striking the ball as hard as possible and following through with bat around the body.
Equipment
- Use small balls (such as tennis balls).
- Use a tee ball tee.
Fun Games
- Play games like Rapid Fire (Striking), Speedy Strikers or Triple Tee Dash.
Challenges
- Try hitting a moving ball (ball is thrown to the striker)
- Introduce accuracy targets with games like Precision Strike.
- Place targets further away.
Fun Games
- Introduce game strategies and tactics for striking with games like Striking Tunnel Relay or Mini T-Ball.
Skill criteria
- Stand side-on to target
- Eyes on ball
- Hands next to each other, bottom hand matches the front foot
- Step towards target with front foot
- Hips then shoulders rotate forward
- Ball contact made on the front foot with straight arms
- Follows through with bat around body
Common errors
- Incorrect grip – hands apart or the wrong way around
- Standing front on to the target
- Not stepping
- No weight transfer
- No follow-through
- Not watching the ball