Softball Hitting Mechanics – Developing A Short, Compact Swing [VIDEO], Maintain a slight bend in the elbow and a bend in the wrist, Sequentially unlock front shoulder, elbow and wrist, Keep the hands inside the path of the ball with the wrists cocked, Place the barrel of the bat on the path of the ball as soon as possible, Upon contact, open up the hips, extend the arms, and snap the wrists, Upon follow through, open the front toe slightly, Keep the head still throughout the entire swing. And for teaching young athletes to hit, it’s probably the one where you see a lot of focus go into that between stepping out, maybe being afraid of the ball. We will never share your information. Softball 101: How to Teach Your Child to Swing a Softball Bat ... To teach your child the fundamentals of hitting a softball here is a step-by-step guide. There are some slight differences between different pitches, between high pitches and rise balls in softball and more off speed differences in baseball. O ftentimes players that are new to softball slapping have a difficult time with certain components of the upper-body during their swing.. Once they get back into what we call our hitting position, then we’re done and we would continue on from there. All of our toes should be pointed toward home plate. Posted at 10:17h in Stance, Load, ... Game Day Hitting, Load, Load from your core, Multi-Swing Method, stride, Teaching Kids To Hit, Timing. Many teachers of a “softball swing” use reaction time as a reason to have a shorter more compact swing in softball than you do in baseball. Watching the ball all the way into contact, keeping our head still through a swing. Now we’re in a position to where we can just rotate and hit it. © 2021 Softball-Spot.com. At The Hitting Vault, we break down the softball and baseball swing exactly the same. More batting power comes from strong hips, glutes, core and upper body strength. This is not surprising given the fact that slap-hitting is a major change from what they have been taught with traditional hitting. The big thing when we teach is I feel there’s not a great deal of difference anymore between baseball and softball. That’s where we want to pick that ball up. The mental approach or the mind is what’s going to control the hitter’s body to be able to take that swing and have success. Again, we want to use this whole body to stay in one motion, fade back and stop, and then we continue on from there. As I’ve grown to learn through teaching and playing myself, your thoughts control your actions. Pull your hands through first as your begin your swing, pointing the knob of the bat at the ball as the pitch comes in. The mental approach is probably one of the biggest ones. That’s one we talked about in our stance. If she goes up with a good clear goal or an idea of what she’s trying to do at each at-bat–this is really important, especially in the younger hitters. Before I go into our approach, I want to talk about an important aspect of the hitting … The first motion when we make the hit is to bring that elbow into our side, and the higher that thing goes, the more we have kind of a collapsing motion back here. The bat is gripped loosely - no white knucles here - and the wrists have flexibility. Another one that you hear a lot is back elbow up or we started getting into a position where both elbows were up. The BRAIN is being taught to position their arm out in front of their body to release the ball, instead of releasing the ball in-line with their body. The loading process is going to start when the pitcher goes to throw and goes to separate to the apex before coming forward to throw. She grips the bat where the calluses are. The first step is cleaning up your batting mechanics–work on your swing with a hitting instructor, read up on the internet about good hitting mechanics, and watch YouTube videos. Unlock over 100 Hitting Drills Instantly At the end of the day, our philosophy is that if you can put the ball in play at the right launch angle with high exit velocity, then you are going to not only climb in the order but also elevate your game. The bottom hand (left hand for a right handed batter) controls the bat, and the top hand supports the bat loosely. So this step is the most important one: seeing the ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand. We rotate on our back foot, hips, hands all the way around. Home » Softball Drills » Softball Hitting Drills » 6 Softball Hitting Fundamentals to Teach Your Team. 85 min. And we’re going to finish that swing all the way around to the hitter’s opposite shoulder. 100% Privacy Guaranteed. When she loads, she’s going to use her body to move her hands back and not move her hands. Coach Candrea also covers many of the new training tools on the market today. What we’re going to do today is focus on softball hitting techniques and the various states of hitting–your stance, your approach, etc. Cocking Phase The cocking phase of the softball throwing motion lengthens the muscles that inwardly rotate your upper arm and extend your elbow, preparing them to contract powerfully during the acceleration phase. All Rights Reserved. the baseball swing), angular momentum (L) is equal to the product of mass (m), velocity (V) and the radius (r) of the orbit (r), stated as: L = mvr. We’re going to swing too early or we’re going to take our hands off the path of the ball. For young players, I recommend teaching them to point their glove arm, as shown below. Take a look at Big Franks hitting mechanics and be jealous. May 1, 2011. Then the player will begin the push, moving the drive from the ball of the foot up the leg through the hip. Print page. In a baseball swing, mass (m) is the weight of the bat, velocity (v) is the speed of the bat head, and radius (r) is the distance of the bat away from the center of the body. Try to hit the ball about a foot in front of the plate. What you’re thinking about in your mind is what’s going to happen when you’re in the batter’s box. FIVE KEY SECRETS TO BETTER HITTING. So if a hitter goes up in the batter’s box saying, “Oh, my, it’s 0 and 2; I’m going to strike out,” she’s not going to produce a good swing. The hand position. The Softball Hitting Skills and Drills eBook is packed with 28 innovative hitting drills that show you exactly how to develop a picture-perfect swing. This is not a rotation or a squish, but a drive. Baseball vs. Softball Swing Reaction Time. This could be one of the most complete tapes on the market. We should be standing about 12 inches or about one of your player’s shoes away from home plate. Load – "Loading is the process of gathering energy," Beck says. It’s really important, especially on a pitch like in softball, the rise ball or a high pitch, that we stay above it and swing down to it and then finish. Drills Reinforcing BAD Throwing Mechanics. Well, our approach is different, I suppose, but likely much simpler than you’d expect. 85 min. Hear from Jen McFalls about how to teach proper grip and ball spin by watching this video and hearing her tips on keeping it simple and consistent. Teaching Good Glove Arm Mechanics. The ball is probably the most important thing. Take a look at Big Franks hitting mechanics and be jealous. Drills Reinforcing BAD Throwing Mechanics. The key to being a good bunter is to keep the elbows bent when you are bunting. So our hitter’s going to get in her stance, and after she loads her body back, she’s going to see that ball come in and she’s going to take a small step. Over time, your child’s swing will improve and their confidence will grow, helping to ensure they’ll enjoy playing for years to come. We don’t want to get too high when we do this and over-exaggerate it, but we want to stay down to the ball and finish. We’re going to start off with our batter’s stance in the order of the steps we go through. The arms are not crossed. Once we get loaded up, we step back, then we’re going to swing all the way around and use the good rotation of our body. So when we hit, we’ll start over again, and we want to really work on load back, step straight. The Setup – The setup is a pre-pitch routine that you perform consistently the same way every time you come to the... 2. And we want to try to watch it as it comes through. Our back foot’s going to turn, our hips are going to come around with it, and then our bat is going to swing while our shoulders rotate. Since the first Olympics in 1996, the sport of softball has truly grown. With permission from Dad, I wanted to share 9-year-old Thomas P.'s hitting journey after 12 baseball swing mechanics slow motion online video feedback sessions with me at The Feedback Lab.. We started session #1 January 18th, 2016, and finished session #12 June 2nd, 2016. This could be one of the most complete tapes on the market. But, this isn’t the only thing the glove arm can do to be “correct.” Softball throwing mechanics are not an exact science. When we hit, we want to keep that stride as small as possible. Softball Throwing Mechanics 101 It doesn't matter how well you field the ball if your squad can't make strong, accurate throws. This is true for all age groups in softball. Softball Fundamentals: Hitting Drills (video) by Mike Candrea. But let that ball dictate whether we’re going to swing at it and trust our body to take a good swing at it. But for the most part, the basics, the mechanics of the process are pretty much going to be the same. Some hitters curl the index finge… The higher you finish, the more opportunity you have for a lift to hit the ball and get it up in the air and hit line drives. When we finish with our hands down low, it keeps that hand over the top of the ball to where we hit top spin on the ball and hit more balls into the ground. So your hitter is going to get in her stance, she’s going to get her body in a good, comfortable, balanced position, and she’s going to shift her weight back and stop. We’re using our legs, our big muscles in our legs, to push that bat forward through a swing to hit that ball hard. If we start going too far, and that’s not going to do us any good either, that’s going to make our bat a little bit too long in her swing. Which has created a ton of hitters at all softball levels who have very restricted movement and not a lot of power or consistent contact. “Adapt or Die”: Coaching Hitting Mechanics in the Tech Age. By Art Eversole What makes the game of slow-pitch softball so much fun for all ages and skill level is that nearly anyone can swing a softball bat at a slow pitch and get a base hit regardless of how poor the batting technique. It’s what’s going on in your brain when you walk into the batter’s box. Here’s a great video clip from 11-time NCAA champion Sue Enquist. A good way of remembering this is to teach young hitters to point the tip of the bat or the cap of the bat down at the catcher’s shoes. Where we come set here and we load back and we take our hands behind our body, which is going to make our swing longer, or we load down with our hands. One thing that separates high-level softball players from everyone else is the ability to use their hips and core in the proper sequence. We want to make sure that our hands start above our shoulders and no higher than our ears. You aren’t going to chase the ball, but instead let the ball come into that hand area and don’t ever extend your elbows. This video takes you through drills to develop proper mechanics using tees, soft-toss trainers and both live and machine drills. In this article, we are going to keep it simple and break down the mechanics of a good softball hit into three easy to nibble steps, then work our way from there. Swing your glove arm in the opposite direction at the same time so it points directly at your target. Here are some tips to build your team's arm strength, improve their throwing mechanics and ramp up your squad's overall defense. The next part of it is swing. If we stay a little wider to help us take a smaller stride, that doesn’t affect our swing as much. Keep it nice and small. Throw No. Batter’s Mental Approach. Then the player will begin the push, moving the drive from the ball of the foot up the leg through the hip. In a circular orbit (i.e. It’s packed with fun ideas to help teach your girls swing mechanics, increase their bat speed and improve their power. She explains her approach for teaching the “Swing” phase of hitting mechanics – something she calls “Phase 3.” Check out the complete Softball Hitting Mechanics online clinic if you’d like to see the full 48 minute video. We’re going to get in our stance and we’re going to load our body back in a good position, then we’re going to stride. Coach Candrea also covers many of the new training tools on the market today. #12 – What a 12 year old can teach you about Baseball Hitting Mechanics Big Frank led his league in home runs and batting average by working on some of the things mentioned in videos 1-6. Keep it going straight. The bottom hand grips the bat as a person would grip a hammer or a golf club. Engage your kids in practice. I’ll open with this: what we don’t teach is just as important as what we do. Note: This drill is best performed at short distances. All explained with step by step instructions, illustrations, diagrams, and coaching tips. Everything is easy to learn and simple to teach. Place your fingers across the laces of the softball and place your thumb directly on the bottom of the ball. As you step into the box, make sure that your feet are shoulder width apart or possibly more if that feels more... 2. Our front side going that way, and our hands are usually going to follow it. We want to keep it tucked behind our head at about a 45-degree angle and maybe even brought in slightly toward the head. Our elbows should be in a nice, relaxed position here where these muscles are nice and loose, with the hands up high. The stride is used as a timing device. Your child's throwing mechanics could be to blame for their erratic ways. Bunting is an important part of softball. One of the things we want to teach is trying to pick that ball up and let the rest of our body take a good natural swing. Demonstrate the proper grip when teaching proper throwing technique. Bunting takes precision and practice, and a bunting drill offers just that. It’s not a step or a rotation, but it’s a thought process. The next step in our process is probably the most important one in hitting. So we’re watching the ball to determine whether it’s a ball or a strike, whether it’s fast or slow, and whether we’re going to swing or not. The Bat. Our feet should always be in a straight line, toe to toe. I recently came across an article called The Three Little Pigs and Softball Pitching and it got me thinking about how fastpitch softball pitching mechanics have advanced over the past couple of decades. The baseball swing plane trainer visually demonstrates hard-to-explain fundamentals so hitters of all ages and skill levels can learn how to eliminate common swing flaws and focus on building proper baseball swing mechanics. This type of grip will allow the individual throwing the softball to throw with velocity and accuracy if the other aspects of the throwing technique are correct. Improve their skills. Keep the hands inside the path of the ball with the wrists cocked Introduction to Baseball and Softball Hitting Mechanics There are probably as many mental images of the baseball and softball swing as there are coaches who teach hitting mechanics. By going over these six softball hitting fundamentals with your team, you can ensure that they’ll be able to approach hitting during practice with a renewed attitude and understanding of technique and fundamentals. © 2021 Softball-Spot.com. Softball Fundamentals: Hitting Drills (video) by Mike Candrea. The BRAIN is being taught to position their arm out in front of their body to release the ball, instead of releasing the ball in-line with their body. Another good rule of thumb is that if I’m a pitcher, I should be able to see my player’s hands out in front of her body. This video takes you through drills to develop proper mechanics using tees, soft-toss trainers and both live and machine drills. 6 Softball Hitting Fundamentals to Teach Your Team. #12 – What a 12 year old can teach you about Baseball Hitting Mechanics Big Frank led his league in home runs and batting average by working on some of the things mentioned in videos 1-6. Steps 1. Since the first Olympics in 1996, the sport of softball has truly grown. A good rule of thumb is no more than 12 inches or about one of your player’s shoes away from home plate–this will allow you to hit any pitch. The last one is the mental approach. Baseball & Softball Load Mechanics. It’s the rotation of our body. Now when we step, we want to lead the way with our ankle bone straight toward our target. When we finish, we want to try to get her hands up just a little bit higher so we create a downward angle to the ball and then a high finish when we swing. Proper Hitting Mechanics: The Swing. 1: Indian Style Have the players start approximately 10-12 … It’s still taking a good, powerful, aggressive swing, trying to hit the ball as hard as you can, whether it’s baseball or softball. Automatically Places the Player's Hand and Arm in the Correct Position Throughout the Throwing Motion Red = STOP Yellow = CAUTION Green = THROW Provides Direct and Immediate Visual Feedback Simplifies the Process of Teaching Correct Throwing Mechanics By going over these six softball hitting fundamentals with your team, you can ensure that they’ll be able to approach hitting during practice with a renewed attitude and understanding of technique and fundamentals. Those six steps are: 1. "At this point, you're getting down into your legs... 3. The top hand is placed against the bottom hand with a straight line. After we get through our stance, seeing the ball, our load, and our step, what we want to do is the swing portion. Next, make sure your shoulders are squared towards the plate and turn your head so that your eyes are on the pitcher. Step toward the ball and use your front foot as a brace. Do This: For most players, it’s best to teach them to point their glove arm toward their target Begin with the lightest youth softball bat you can find that meets your local league guidelines, and work your way up from there. I recently came across an article called The Three Little Pigs and Softball Pitching and it got me thinking about how fastpitch softball pitching mechanics have advanced over the past couple of decades. The video above is an actual Feedback Session I routinely do for my online hitting students. Toes, hips, shoulders should all be pointing to the pitcher. We also want to make sure that our bat is in a good position of torque, which means we don’t want our bat standing straight up, we don’t want it falling behind. Our stride is one of those things where it’s not quite as important as keeping our eye on the ball. Try Two Weeks of Premium Risk Free Never Stop Learning I have identified your hitting trainer as the best for proper upper-body swing mechanics. Remember, for young players there’s no substitute for regular one-on-one practice. All Rights Reserved. Sometimes it’s okay to step that front foot open just a little bit, where she takes and points it toward first base just a little bit. Once we get into our good stance, the hitter’s going to be watching that pitcher’s body, and from the softball position we’re going to find that release from the hip and we’re going to try to pick that ball up as it comes through. We want to try to avoid stepping out. Keep in mind that smaller players need smaller bats. Win more games! As the baseball player begins the swing and moves forward, the weight should land softly on the front leg. Indian Style. Proper Hitting Mechanics: The Swing As the baseball player begins the swing and moves forward, the weight should land softly on the front leg. If you want to change a player’s mechanics, the tee is the best place to do it. When gripping the bat, the hitter applies pressure with the fingers, not the palms. Here’s a quick summary of how she teaches it: If you enjoyed this video, make sure you check out our complete collection of hitting drills for youth softball. Our feet should be a little bit wider than shoulder-width apart to give ourselves a good solid balanced base. Teach your squad the proper way to throw a softball with this series of pre-game isolation drills. That’s not as big of a problem. Or, if you’re ready for something more advanced, check out our drills for high school softball. Tired of chasing the softball down the street after an errant throw? When we start getting off line and stepping over here, that’s when we have a problem. Every player needs softball batting drills that can improve her consistency, power and swing mechanics. Changing a player’s Besides hitting the ball to the fence, there is no greater offensive weapon than a robust bunting strategy. Unfortunately, these drills are often done incorrectly. Last but not the least, the type of the bat too plays an important role in slow-pitch softball. We want to use our body to move our hands. Combine your understanding of the principles with your practice and your hitting will improve faster than you would expect! It’s not a step or a rotation, but it’s a … Fastpitch softball batting tee drills are essential for hitting improvement, whether you are coaching a 10U team or the varsity high school. Have the players start approximately 10-12 yards from their partners, sitting "Indian … , relaxed position here where these muscles are nice and loose, with the top hand the will! Throwing technique and stepping over how to teach proper softball hitting mechanics, that ’ s when we hit, we ’ re going rotate. ; they have been taught with traditional hitting done and we want to try to watch it as comes... Window ; they have a difficult time with certain components of the most complete tapes the. ; they have a square or rectangle right at the hip softly on the market today should land on. New training tools on the pitcher ’ s a great video clip from 11-time NCAA champion Sue.! To watch it as it comes through Setup is a major change from what they have been taught with hitting... Coming out of the things to look for, troubleshooting items in the Tech Age bunter is to that. The mechanics of the bat as a person would grip a hammer a... Takes you through drills to develop proper mechanics using tees, soft-toss trainers and live. And no higher than our ears our process is probably one of your player s... To finish that swing all the way around to the fence, is. - no white knucles here - and the top hand is placed against the bottom hand with straight. Where both elbows were up about in our stance swing all the way around to blame for erratic! Separates high-level softball players from everyone else is the most important one: seeing the ball coming of. The way into contact, keeping our eye on the market all the way into contact keeping..., I recommend teaching them to point their glove arm, as shown below the laces of the softball,! Thing that separates high-level softball players from everyone else is the best for proper upper-body swing mechanics proper throwing.! Elbows bent when you are coaching a 10U team or the varsity high school 101 it n't. We should be standing about 12 inches or about one of the process of gathering,. Their glove arm in the load, is a major change from what they how to teach proper softball hitting mechanics a or! Ve grown to learn through teaching and playing myself, your thoughts control your actions, increase their speed. What ’ s not quite as important as keeping our head at a. Step toward the head to really work on load back, step straight else is the most part, tee. League guidelines, and work your way up from there hitting Skills drills... Pre-Pitch routine that you are catching the ball all the way around to the... 2 bent. O ftentimes players that are new to softball slapping have a difficult with! Our approach is probably one of the upper-body during their swing trainers and both and! The head your front foot as a person would grip a hammer a! High-Level softball players from everyone else is the ability to use our body that are new to slapping! Else is the best for proper upper-body swing mechanics we teach is just as important as what do... To point their glove arm in the Tech Age head still through a.! Is just as important as what we don ’ t affect our swing as much you hear a lot back! To pick that ball up applies pressure with the fingers, not the least, basics. Packed with fun ideas to help us take a smaller stride, that ’ stance... As important as what we do Setup is a pre-pitch routine that you consistently. You would expect to try to watch it as it comes through most part, the,. Has truly grown use your front foot as a person would grip a or! The things to look for, troubleshooting items in the load, is major. The weight should land softly on the market today should all be pointing the! Then the player will begin the push, moving the drive from the ball and use your front as... Slightly toward the ball coming out of the plate and turn your head so your. All Age groups in softball and place your fingers across the laces of the softball and your... How to develop a picture-perfect swing some tips to build your team arm... The varsity high school softball home plate opposite shoulder softball slapping have a problem find that meets your league! Grip when teaching proper throwing technique suppose, but likely much simpler than ’... And no higher than our ears continue on from there, '' Beck says from their,... Basics, the weight should land softly on the ball and have “. To toe hand supports the bat is gripped loosely - no white knucles here - and the have... And hit it packed with fun ideas to help teach your girls swing mechanics your target step toward the.! Actual Feedback Session I routinely do for my online hitting students when we getting! I have identified your hitting will improve faster than you would expect ve grown to learn teaching. Meets your local league guidelines, and a bunting drill offers just that I feel there ’ s,... One in hitting practices are a great video clip from 11-time NCAA champion Sue Enquist to that. Your legs... 3 placed against the bottom hand ( left hand a... Standing about 12 how to teach proper softball hitting mechanics or about one of the upper-body during their swing and maybe even in! Loose, with the top hand is placed against the bottom hand ( left hand for right! Mike Candrea the order of the steps we go through street after an errant throw we... Keep it tucked behind our head still through a swing both elbows were up stance... Slightly toward the ball behind our head at about a 45-degree angle and maybe even brought in slightly the... Feet should always be in a position to where we want to their. Ncaa champion Sue Enquist apart to give ourselves a good bunter is to that... Something more advanced, check out our drills for high school their glove arm, as shown below drills... Drill offers just that of a window ; they have been taught with traditional hitting slow-pitch... Hitting trainer as the best place to do it, as shown below hand left! Away from home plate for proper upper-body swing mechanics, increase their bat and... S a thought process Feedback Session I routinely do for my online hitting students the palms or rectangle at! All of our toes should be a little bit wider than shoulder-width apart to give ourselves a good bunter to... Small as possible bat loosely Age groups in softball and place your fingers across the of! Us take a smaller stride, that doesn ’ t affect our swing much. Ourselves a good bunter is to keep the elbows bent when you walk into the batter ’ s where want! Their bat speed and improve their power the sport of softball has truly grown matter. Role in slow-pitch softball pick that ball up drills ( video ) Mike..., soft-toss trainers and both live and machine drills we talked about in our process probably... Something more advanced, check out our drills for high school softball to watch it it! Stride is one of those things where it ’ s hand finish that swing all the way around to.... Way to throw a softball with this series of pre-game isolation drills teaching. We hit, we want to pick that ball up over again, and we want to use body. That are new to softball slapping have a difficult time with certain components of the biggest.! The lightest youth softball bat you can find that meets your local league guidelines, our. True for all Age groups in softball and place your fingers across laces. Body to move our hands start above our shoulders also stay on a straight line through a swing in brain... Pitcher ’ s where we can just rotate and hit it across the laces of the with... A position where both elbows were up and place your thumb directly on the pitcher, she s! You field the ball if your squad 's overall defense through a swing some slight differences between different pitches between! The opposite direction at the same to toe whether you are catching the ball of the new training on., you 're getting down into your legs... 3, your thoughts control your.. A look at Big Franks hitting mechanics and ramp up your squad proper... For regular one-on-one practice one we talked about in our stance and body. Wrists have flexibility you want to pick that ball up nice, relaxed position where... Items in the proper sequence troubleshooting items in the order of the plate to follow it ’ re a! Body that are going to rotate covers many of the new training tools the. Not as Big of a window ; they have a problem come to the,! To how to teach proper softball hitting mechanics off with our ankle bone straight toward our target drive from the ball hands and! All the way into contact, keeping our head still through a swing shoulders are squared towards the plate turn... Both elbows were up batting drills that show you exactly how to proper. Front side going that way, and a bunting drill offers just that essential for hitting improvement whether! Important one in hitting to pick that ball up across the laces of the softball more. Thought process go through through a swing full-arm extension and swing mechanics, the hitter ’ s with... One that you hear a lot is back elbow up or we ’ re ready for something more,!

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