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Thumb Tracking

Move your eyes, not your head, to follow a target like you track a pitch.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Hold your thumb out at arm's length.

Core: Soft toss. Beat your own best of solid contact out of 10.

Ages
7 and up
Time
5 min
Players
Just you
Space
Yard or field
Bring
Nothing to bring
Level · skill
Beginner · Hitting

The steps

How it works

  1. Hold your thumb out at arm's length.
  2. Move it slowly in big circles and lines while your head stays still.
  3. Bring it toward your nose and back out.
  4. Do 10 slow paths.

Coaching point

Still head, busy eyes.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Target-zone hitting: two teams of two take turns hitting off the tee toward zones in the field. Each team adds up only its own solid hits.

Challenge

Pick a setup: Less (tee), Core (soft toss), More (soft toss to a zone). Beat your own best of solid contact out of 10.

Story

You are a slugger in the big game, and every swing is your turn at bat.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best of solid contact out of 10. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

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An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.