Tips on How to Improve Softball Hitting
By Guest Author Marc Dagenais
Softball Hitting is definitely one of the most complex and stressful roles to play when engaging in the softball sport. A lot of people engage themselves in this kind of sport because they believe that this cannot only develop them physically but mentally as well. In this game your mind and body works together. When you are playing, it is not enough that you know how to throw a ball or how to hit a ball; it is a must that you must be good at those skills or else you will be left behind. With the best softball hitting skill you will be surely kept in the team and on the game.
Each player has different styles when it comes to hitting. It is not advisable to copy other player's technique, especially those who are really good and popular. You have to work for it since everything can be developed. If you are really determined then you can also be as good as them in your own way. With hard work and persistence, you can learn the art of softball hitting. You just need some patience and discipline in order for you to reach your goal. These attitudes will also develop a much greater way of softball playing.
Softball Hitting is indeed the offensive weapon in the softball. That is why training is always a good part in developing softball hitting skill. Regular exercise will help your body build up power and vigor. The key is not to try to put the ball out of the park every single time but just look for a solid hard contact using the fundamentals. In order to be the best hitter there are tips in hitting the softball.
The primary softball hitting tip to keep in mind is to learn how to focus. By keeping your head very still and in the right direction and angle you will obtain a higher position. This softball hitting tip is really vital because without it, you will not be able to hit the ball perfectly.
The coordination of the eyes and the hands also is very vital for the success of a softball hit because the eye dictates when and where the hand and arm should move and strike. That is why without good hand-eye coordination, chances of scoring an amazing softball hit would be low.
Body balance is one of the softball hitting tips to put into place in hitting situations. By being completely grounded and balanced, one will be able to exert the right amount of power and force as it hits the ball.
Keep those softball hitting tips in mind and heart because they will most definitely be a great help and assistance for you to be able to put on amazing softball hits and once you know for sure that you have mastered these very effective softball hitting tips and techniques, it is time for you to play the game. Always remember that experience is what makes a great softball player the best softball hitter.
Marc Dagenais is a Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to sign-up to get our FREE softball pitching tips!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais
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Suggested Links:
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http://fastpitchsoftballtrainingequipment.blogspot.com/
http://youthsoftballcoachingclinic.blogspot.com/
http://fastpitchsoftballhittingcoach.blogspot.com/
http://fastpitchpitchingcoach.blogspot.com/
http://softballbloopers.blogspot.com/
http://softballvideosonline.blogspot.com/
http://wildsportsvideos.blogspot.com/
http://rottensports.blogspot.com/
http://fastpitchsoftballcoaching.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label softball hitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label softball hitting. Show all posts
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Fastpitch Hitting - Swing Like "the Best in the World"
Fastpitch Hitting - Swing Like "the Best in the World"
By Guest Author: Joe M White
Many people who follow fastpitch softball consider Jessica Mendoza to be the best all-around player, and best overall hitter in the world over the past several years.
Mendoza can do it all at the plate. She is a great bunter, a very effective slap hitter, and hits away for a very high batting average and with terrific power. In fact, baseball fans can compare Mendoza side-by-side with most any major league baseball hall-of-famer, and see that they swing the way she does.
Although Mendoza isn't the first fastpitch player to adopt a Rotational swing, she does it at least as well as anyone who's ever played. More and more fastpitch players are turning to her method of hitting. Increasingly, Division 1 college coaches are converting their players to Rotational hitting (for example, Mike Candera, Head Coach at the University of Arizona, whose teams have won 6 College World Series National Championships, is teaching a peculiar variation of Rotational hitting).
While softball players can continue to have success using the Linear method of hitting, there are reasons for the shift to Rotational.
A Very Short History
Many in the fastpitch community are under the impression that Rotational is relatively new, and that Linear hitting has always been the norm. Actually, Rotational hitting was introduced to Major League Baseball by Shoeless Joe Jackson in the early 20th century, and after Babe Ruth copied Jackson's method, it became the swing of about 95% of Major Leaguers until the introduction of synthetic turf on many Major League fields from the 1960's to the 1990's.
Those early synthetic turf fields were nearly as hard as concrete. Major League batting coaches quickly realized that ground balls hit on it moved so fast, that many balls that were routine ground outs on natural fields were hits on 'turf. Many that would have been outfield singles bounced so hard they became doubles or even triples. So many began to teach Linear hitting to their weaker hitters. And in many cases it worked.
(Most of the Big Leaguers who hit over.300 in those years, and nearly all the RBI and Home Run leaders, continued to be Rotational hitters. As synthetic turf disappeared from the Major Leagues, so did Linear hitting. There are very few nowadays, and although many still use Linear terms to describe their swing, they actually use Rotational swings.)
The increasing use of Linear hitting in MLB coincided with the introduction of lightweight aluminum and composite bats. These bats were not only much lighter than wood -- and so could be swung much faster -- they also had more "pop." The ball came off the bat harder and faster, so grounders hit with metal or composite bats got past infielders more often than with the old wood bats.
While MLB rejected Non-wood bats, they were quickly adopted by youth baseball leagues, middle and high schools, and the NCAA. Along with the bats, coaches at all these levels began to teach Linear hitting. Boys and young men who might have struggled with heavy wood bats became good or even above average hitters by using aluminum/composite bats and Linear hitting.
During all this, fastpitch softball experienced a rebirth as a game for women and girls. Fastpitch softball was originally played with wood bats, and Rotational hitting was the dominant method for both women and men playing the game. In fact, relatively few women played fastpitch until the 1970's.
As young ladies took up the game, they used aluminum and composite bats, for the same reason their male counterparts were. Most of their coaches were men -- dads -- who were enthusiastically embracing the cutting-edge Linear hitting movement. So most ladies learned Linear hitting, which tends to create more grounders as we'll see.
Linear Versus Rotational
So what's the difference between Linear and Rotational hitting? Andy Collins has a pretty good definition of Linear hitting: "Linear hitting is a hitting style that has been used for many years in fast pitch softball and by many little league coaches, some high school, college, and even minor league baseball coaches who still prefer this method of hitting instruction.
"It is used to achieve solid contact hitting, producing... sharply hit ground balls which are designed to shoot through the drawn-in infielders on the hard dirt surfaces of softball (and astroturf surfaces in baseball). It is especially useful in slap hitting (fast runners who hit it on the ground and beat it out to first base).
"Baseball players who use this style, do so especially when they use the ultra light aluminum bats and... if they play on artificial surfaces."
A Linear hitter will normally hit ground balls. Most Linear coaches teach "hit the top half of the ball," and "swing down," which naturally produces grounders. They also teach "lead with the hands" or "take the knob (or hands) to the ball," and to set up with most of your weight on the back foot and then shift your weight to the front foot as you swing. All of these work together to lengthen the swing (producing slower bat speed and therefore less power) and cause a lot of ground balls.
Since softball infields are clay (a hard surface), and the bases are relatively close together -- and so the infielders are close to the batter and have less time to react to the ball to field it -- if you hit a ground ball hard enough, you will get on base. So Linear hitters can be very successful.
Linear hitting works really well when playing against younger or less accomplished fielders and pitchers. But as the defense gets better, whether it's because the ladies at the level you've been at are more mature physically and more experienced fielding balls, or if it's because you're moving up from the Silver division to the Gold, fewer and fewer ground balls get through for hits.
And as the pitching gets faster, Linear hitters often struggle to get the bat around quickly enough, hitting more and more weak grounders to the opposite side. If you get a chance to watch Division 1 college softball games, you'll really see this happening. The lightweight bats allowed in softball go a long way in addressing the problem of slow batspeed. However, when you get to the very top level of competition at a given age, Linear hitters often struggle.
Also, if you are doing a correct Linear swing and happen to hit the middle or lower half of the ball, you will create backspin on the ball - which will usually result in a pop up or a very slow grounder. Slap hitting, a variation of Linear, can help overcome these problems. An accomplished Slapper can place the ball very accurately, and so, "hit 'em where they ain't," as baseball legend Wee Willie Keeler said 120 years ago (Willie was a Linear hitter, like all ballplayers of his time).
Rotational hitting emphasizes even weight balance, leading with the hips, using the legs, hips and torso muscles to produce a short, compact swing, and hitting the center of the ball. These combine to create more bat speed than Linear hitting can, and because the intention is to hit the middle of the ball, it produces many more line drives. No one swings perfectly every single time, so of course, there will be ground balls and pop ups, just as with Linear, but overall, there is more power, and many more balls hit in the air to the outfield. And, because the swing is faster, ground balls are normally hit harder than with Linear -- and so are more likely to get past the infielders for hits.
Perhaps the biggest problem with Rotational hitting is that many people who have very little understanding of it try, with the best of intentions, to teach it. They often combine bits of Linear with a partial understanding of Rotational, with horrible results. Some have grasped portions of the Rotational, and teach what they know. Their results are very uneven. Some hitters do fairly well with this partial swing, most do no better than with Linear, and some don't have any success.
Mike Epstein, former MLB baseball player, and the person credited with coining the phrase "Rotational Hitting," ask the question, "Do we coach what we REALLY see?" Very few coaches take the time to do the frame-by-frame video analysis of great softball and baseball hitters to see all of the components of a productive Rotational swing. (Epstein's hitting course is one of the better ones available. Thousands of players have benefitted from his instruction.)
What a Rotational Swing Looks Like
The photos at batting.wordpress.com in the Nov. 5 post, "The Best Hitter on the Planet?" show how the key components of Jessica Mendoza's swing work together to make her such a great hitter. A true Rotational hitter. You may see that it's very different from what most local coaches teach, even those who call their style of hitting "Rotational." (In her 5-minute video lessons on YouTube, even Mendoza teaches something very different from the way she actually hits! It seems to me that her using Linear hitting phrases -- "shift your weight," and "take your hands to the ball" -- can be confusing to most players, because Mendoza doesn't do these things in a Linear way at all, as you can see in the photos.)
Mendoza keeps her hands back and high as she begins her swing. As she takes a very small step, her entire body moves slightly toward the pitcher (the "weight shift"), but her weight is balanced equally on both feet. Her hips begin to rotate as she brings her back hand down slightly. Her front foot pivots. Keeping her elbows close to her body, the hip rotation brings her bat around at very high speed. Her wrists remain in the same position as at the beginning of the swing.
Her back shoulder moves lower (how much lower depends on the pitch -- if it had been high in the strike zone, the back shoulder would have lowered less, but still would have "dipped"). At contact, both elbows are in an "L" position, head directly on the ball. At the moment of contact, the front knee is straight, the back knee in almost an "L" position. The bat extends straight from her lead arm, looking as if it is part of her arm.
The elbows remain in the "L" until well into her follow-through. Her back hand remains on the bat until the swing is 98% finished.
That's how the best fastpitch hitter in the game does it. And the ball is on a powerful line drive trajectory. If you can get a look at Crystl Busto, the most powerful fastpitch hitter who every played, you'll see that her swing is the same. If you can find video of Stacey Nuveman from 2004-2007, you'll see the same swing. If you look at the Texas A&M team, nearly everyone has the same swing as Jessica Mendoza.
Is One Better Than the Other?
In the fastpitch softball community, the discussion over the two styles is often very heated, and passions frequently run high. Often people are so emotional about their chosen method that they cannot see that both have a place. But look at the 2006-2009 USA National Softball teams. The ladies who made up the team were deemed to be the best players in the US at the time. Both methods of hitting were represented on the team, and they won 3 World Championships and a Silver Medal in the Olympics. Clearly there is room for both Linear and Rotational hitting.
What to Look for in a Coach
In general, everyone who teaches Linear hitting teaches the same principles and the same swing. While each coach will have their own way of teaching it, there is a great uniformity in Linear instruction. A player will get the same advice and tweaking of her swing, but perhaps with different words used from coach to coach.
Unfortunately, while Rotational hitting is fairly simple and straightforward, many coaches haven't really learned the components of the swing. Simply latching onto key words and phrases, they teach what sounds like Rotational hitting to them and the player. Of course, this doesn't produce a sound swing, and causes many to abandon and reject Rotational hitting. Those who have learned Mike Epstein's system can teach a pretty effective swing. Jack Mankin has taught many coaches how to teach the swing used by Mendoza and nearly every Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member.
Even worse than those who teach Rotational hitting without understanding it, are those who try to combine the two methods. This simply doesn't work, except for a very few extremely gifted athletes whose hand-eye coordination is so superior they can overcome this disastrous combination swing. Avoid this swing at all costs!
Use the photos at batting.wordpress.com and the description above of Mendoza's swing to guide you in finding a Rotational hitting coach. These are the fundamental elements of the swing, and each is crucial. Ask the coach to describe the components they teach. If it sounds very different, move on to someone else. If it sounds similar, ask more questions. Be sure they are teaching what you see in these photos. This particular swing is about as perfect a Rotational swing as humanly possible.
In the End, It's a Choice You Have to Make
As we said, there is a place for both Linear and Rotational hitting in fastpitch softball. However, as they move up in skill levels, Linear hitters will find it increasingly difficult to achieve the greatest possible success at the plate.
The best hitter in fastpitch, Jessica Mendoza, is a Rotational hitter. So are Crystl Busto, Stacey Nuveman, and many of the best players in the US. More and more top Division 1 college softball coaches are adopting Rotational hitting for their teams.
The method has been around for nearly a hundred years and is proven to be very effective. If you're serious about taking your game as far as you can, if you dream of playing college softball or even playing for your national team (and why NOT dream that?), you should look into Rotational hitting. But try to be sure you find a coach who really understands this simple method and knows how to teach it.
Whatever you choose, keep practicing, especially in the off-season, keep working hard at getting better, but also take some breaks from the game! Don't get burned out on the game you love!!
©2009 Joseph M. White
Now in his 17th season as a youth softball and baseball coach; also a hitting coach and fastpitch pitching coach. His long experience studying all aspects of the game, and teaching hundreds of boys and girls how to play, and play better, gives him unique insights and enables him to effectively convey game skills to players, coaches, and parents.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_M_White
By Guest Author: Joe M White
Many people who follow fastpitch softball consider Jessica Mendoza to be the best all-around player, and best overall hitter in the world over the past several years.
Mendoza can do it all at the plate. She is a great bunter, a very effective slap hitter, and hits away for a very high batting average and with terrific power. In fact, baseball fans can compare Mendoza side-by-side with most any major league baseball hall-of-famer, and see that they swing the way she does.
Although Mendoza isn't the first fastpitch player to adopt a Rotational swing, she does it at least as well as anyone who's ever played. More and more fastpitch players are turning to her method of hitting. Increasingly, Division 1 college coaches are converting their players to Rotational hitting (for example, Mike Candera, Head Coach at the University of Arizona, whose teams have won 6 College World Series National Championships, is teaching a peculiar variation of Rotational hitting).
While softball players can continue to have success using the Linear method of hitting, there are reasons for the shift to Rotational.
A Very Short History
Many in the fastpitch community are under the impression that Rotational is relatively new, and that Linear hitting has always been the norm. Actually, Rotational hitting was introduced to Major League Baseball by Shoeless Joe Jackson in the early 20th century, and after Babe Ruth copied Jackson's method, it became the swing of about 95% of Major Leaguers until the introduction of synthetic turf on many Major League fields from the 1960's to the 1990's.
Those early synthetic turf fields were nearly as hard as concrete. Major League batting coaches quickly realized that ground balls hit on it moved so fast, that many balls that were routine ground outs on natural fields were hits on 'turf. Many that would have been outfield singles bounced so hard they became doubles or even triples. So many began to teach Linear hitting to their weaker hitters. And in many cases it worked.
(Most of the Big Leaguers who hit over.300 in those years, and nearly all the RBI and Home Run leaders, continued to be Rotational hitters. As synthetic turf disappeared from the Major Leagues, so did Linear hitting. There are very few nowadays, and although many still use Linear terms to describe their swing, they actually use Rotational swings.)
The increasing use of Linear hitting in MLB coincided with the introduction of lightweight aluminum and composite bats. These bats were not only much lighter than wood -- and so could be swung much faster -- they also had more "pop." The ball came off the bat harder and faster, so grounders hit with metal or composite bats got past infielders more often than with the old wood bats.
While MLB rejected Non-wood bats, they were quickly adopted by youth baseball leagues, middle and high schools, and the NCAA. Along with the bats, coaches at all these levels began to teach Linear hitting. Boys and young men who might have struggled with heavy wood bats became good or even above average hitters by using aluminum/composite bats and Linear hitting.
During all this, fastpitch softball experienced a rebirth as a game for women and girls. Fastpitch softball was originally played with wood bats, and Rotational hitting was the dominant method for both women and men playing the game. In fact, relatively few women played fastpitch until the 1970's.
As young ladies took up the game, they used aluminum and composite bats, for the same reason their male counterparts were. Most of their coaches were men -- dads -- who were enthusiastically embracing the cutting-edge Linear hitting movement. So most ladies learned Linear hitting, which tends to create more grounders as we'll see.
Linear Versus Rotational
So what's the difference between Linear and Rotational hitting? Andy Collins has a pretty good definition of Linear hitting: "Linear hitting is a hitting style that has been used for many years in fast pitch softball and by many little league coaches, some high school, college, and even minor league baseball coaches who still prefer this method of hitting instruction.
"It is used to achieve solid contact hitting, producing... sharply hit ground balls which are designed to shoot through the drawn-in infielders on the hard dirt surfaces of softball (and astroturf surfaces in baseball). It is especially useful in slap hitting (fast runners who hit it on the ground and beat it out to first base).
"Baseball players who use this style, do so especially when they use the ultra light aluminum bats and... if they play on artificial surfaces."
A Linear hitter will normally hit ground balls. Most Linear coaches teach "hit the top half of the ball," and "swing down," which naturally produces grounders. They also teach "lead with the hands" or "take the knob (or hands) to the ball," and to set up with most of your weight on the back foot and then shift your weight to the front foot as you swing. All of these work together to lengthen the swing (producing slower bat speed and therefore less power) and cause a lot of ground balls.
Since softball infields are clay (a hard surface), and the bases are relatively close together -- and so the infielders are close to the batter and have less time to react to the ball to field it -- if you hit a ground ball hard enough, you will get on base. So Linear hitters can be very successful.
Linear hitting works really well when playing against younger or less accomplished fielders and pitchers. But as the defense gets better, whether it's because the ladies at the level you've been at are more mature physically and more experienced fielding balls, or if it's because you're moving up from the Silver division to the Gold, fewer and fewer ground balls get through for hits.
And as the pitching gets faster, Linear hitters often struggle to get the bat around quickly enough, hitting more and more weak grounders to the opposite side. If you get a chance to watch Division 1 college softball games, you'll really see this happening. The lightweight bats allowed in softball go a long way in addressing the problem of slow batspeed. However, when you get to the very top level of competition at a given age, Linear hitters often struggle.
Also, if you are doing a correct Linear swing and happen to hit the middle or lower half of the ball, you will create backspin on the ball - which will usually result in a pop up or a very slow grounder. Slap hitting, a variation of Linear, can help overcome these problems. An accomplished Slapper can place the ball very accurately, and so, "hit 'em where they ain't," as baseball legend Wee Willie Keeler said 120 years ago (Willie was a Linear hitter, like all ballplayers of his time).
Rotational hitting emphasizes even weight balance, leading with the hips, using the legs, hips and torso muscles to produce a short, compact swing, and hitting the center of the ball. These combine to create more bat speed than Linear hitting can, and because the intention is to hit the middle of the ball, it produces many more line drives. No one swings perfectly every single time, so of course, there will be ground balls and pop ups, just as with Linear, but overall, there is more power, and many more balls hit in the air to the outfield. And, because the swing is faster, ground balls are normally hit harder than with Linear -- and so are more likely to get past the infielders for hits.
Perhaps the biggest problem with Rotational hitting is that many people who have very little understanding of it try, with the best of intentions, to teach it. They often combine bits of Linear with a partial understanding of Rotational, with horrible results. Some have grasped portions of the Rotational, and teach what they know. Their results are very uneven. Some hitters do fairly well with this partial swing, most do no better than with Linear, and some don't have any success.
Mike Epstein, former MLB baseball player, and the person credited with coining the phrase "Rotational Hitting," ask the question, "Do we coach what we REALLY see?" Very few coaches take the time to do the frame-by-frame video analysis of great softball and baseball hitters to see all of the components of a productive Rotational swing. (Epstein's hitting course is one of the better ones available. Thousands of players have benefitted from his instruction.)
What a Rotational Swing Looks Like
The photos at batting.wordpress.com in the Nov. 5 post, "The Best Hitter on the Planet?" show how the key components of Jessica Mendoza's swing work together to make her such a great hitter. A true Rotational hitter. You may see that it's very different from what most local coaches teach, even those who call their style of hitting "Rotational." (In her 5-minute video lessons on YouTube, even Mendoza teaches something very different from the way she actually hits! It seems to me that her using Linear hitting phrases -- "shift your weight," and "take your hands to the ball" -- can be confusing to most players, because Mendoza doesn't do these things in a Linear way at all, as you can see in the photos.)
Mendoza keeps her hands back and high as she begins her swing. As she takes a very small step, her entire body moves slightly toward the pitcher (the "weight shift"), but her weight is balanced equally on both feet. Her hips begin to rotate as she brings her back hand down slightly. Her front foot pivots. Keeping her elbows close to her body, the hip rotation brings her bat around at very high speed. Her wrists remain in the same position as at the beginning of the swing.
Her back shoulder moves lower (how much lower depends on the pitch -- if it had been high in the strike zone, the back shoulder would have lowered less, but still would have "dipped"). At contact, both elbows are in an "L" position, head directly on the ball. At the moment of contact, the front knee is straight, the back knee in almost an "L" position. The bat extends straight from her lead arm, looking as if it is part of her arm.
The elbows remain in the "L" until well into her follow-through. Her back hand remains on the bat until the swing is 98% finished.
That's how the best fastpitch hitter in the game does it. And the ball is on a powerful line drive trajectory. If you can get a look at Crystl Busto, the most powerful fastpitch hitter who every played, you'll see that her swing is the same. If you can find video of Stacey Nuveman from 2004-2007, you'll see the same swing. If you look at the Texas A&M team, nearly everyone has the same swing as Jessica Mendoza.
Is One Better Than the Other?
In the fastpitch softball community, the discussion over the two styles is often very heated, and passions frequently run high. Often people are so emotional about their chosen method that they cannot see that both have a place. But look at the 2006-2009 USA National Softball teams. The ladies who made up the team were deemed to be the best players in the US at the time. Both methods of hitting were represented on the team, and they won 3 World Championships and a Silver Medal in the Olympics. Clearly there is room for both Linear and Rotational hitting.
What to Look for in a Coach
In general, everyone who teaches Linear hitting teaches the same principles and the same swing. While each coach will have their own way of teaching it, there is a great uniformity in Linear instruction. A player will get the same advice and tweaking of her swing, but perhaps with different words used from coach to coach.
Unfortunately, while Rotational hitting is fairly simple and straightforward, many coaches haven't really learned the components of the swing. Simply latching onto key words and phrases, they teach what sounds like Rotational hitting to them and the player. Of course, this doesn't produce a sound swing, and causes many to abandon and reject Rotational hitting. Those who have learned Mike Epstein's system can teach a pretty effective swing. Jack Mankin has taught many coaches how to teach the swing used by Mendoza and nearly every Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member.
Even worse than those who teach Rotational hitting without understanding it, are those who try to combine the two methods. This simply doesn't work, except for a very few extremely gifted athletes whose hand-eye coordination is so superior they can overcome this disastrous combination swing. Avoid this swing at all costs!
Use the photos at batting.wordpress.com and the description above of Mendoza's swing to guide you in finding a Rotational hitting coach. These are the fundamental elements of the swing, and each is crucial. Ask the coach to describe the components they teach. If it sounds very different, move on to someone else. If it sounds similar, ask more questions. Be sure they are teaching what you see in these photos. This particular swing is about as perfect a Rotational swing as humanly possible.
In the End, It's a Choice You Have to Make
As we said, there is a place for both Linear and Rotational hitting in fastpitch softball. However, as they move up in skill levels, Linear hitters will find it increasingly difficult to achieve the greatest possible success at the plate.
The best hitter in fastpitch, Jessica Mendoza, is a Rotational hitter. So are Crystl Busto, Stacey Nuveman, and many of the best players in the US. More and more top Division 1 college softball coaches are adopting Rotational hitting for their teams.
The method has been around for nearly a hundred years and is proven to be very effective. If you're serious about taking your game as far as you can, if you dream of playing college softball or even playing for your national team (and why NOT dream that?), you should look into Rotational hitting. But try to be sure you find a coach who really understands this simple method and knows how to teach it.
Whatever you choose, keep practicing, especially in the off-season, keep working hard at getting better, but also take some breaks from the game! Don't get burned out on the game you love!!
©2009 Joseph M. White
Now in his 17th season as a youth softball and baseball coach; also a hitting coach and fastpitch pitching coach. His long experience studying all aspects of the game, and teaching hundreds of boys and girls how to play, and play better, gives him unique insights and enables him to effectively convey game skills to players, coaches, and parents.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_M_White
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Softball Hitting For Power Basics
By Brad Henks
Watching some of the best hitters in baseball and softball makes us want to hit just like them. There are great home run hitters like Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, Crystl Bustos and some others. They all command attention when they step up to the plate because of their explosive hitting power.
Here are some tips to help you become a better, more powerful softball hitter. Implement these at your next softball practice.
1. To be a powerful softball hitter you will need to be powerful and in great shape physically. Work on this by do exercises that will build power such as squats, plyometric jumping drills, long jumps over boxes. Work on your triceps, and chest by doing medicine ball drills or dips for a few ideas. You can come up with more I'm sure.
2. Learn to hold the bat properly. A lot of young players naturally, but mistakenly grip the bat way too firmly. If you loosen your grip on the bat you will be able to swing the bat much faster and it will feel better. You need to have loose wrists and grips. There is even a line of batting gloves out there that help you keep a looser grip on the bat.
That should tell you how important this is for a powerful swing.
3. Do some one handed batting drills. Use a tee, swing the bat with the top hand only. Then repeat using only the bottom hand. Do about 10-15 wings each. This will strengthen your arms and hands. Also gets you into proper alignment with the bat and your body.
4. Using both hands, remember that your front hand pulls the bat while your back hand pushes the bat. Beginners may find this a little tough but stick with it and you will get the hang of it soon.
5. Step to the plate correctly. Align yourself about in the middle of the batters box to give yourself plenty of room to see the pitch and time to swing properly at it.
6. Get a good view of the pitcher. Make certain you are looking straight at the pitcher with both eyes. Hold your chin on your front shoulder to put your head in the proper alignment.
7. Watch the ball all the way to your bat. Don't close your eyes and don't be distracted by the infielders moving or the base runner starting to steal a base. Keep your eye on the ball as they say. This will help you track the ball for a more powerfull softball hit.
8. Let your weight shift forward as you make contact with the ball. Allow your back foot to slide forward a couple of inches. This will put all your power into the hit.
9. Focus on hitting the inside seam of the softball. This will make the ball go back up the middle for a hard hit line drive. These are really hard for infielders to get to.
10. When you hit the ball, run as hard as you can all the way through first base. Your coach will tell you if you need to keep going.
There you go, some basic softball power hitting tips. Practice these at home on a tee or with a friend. What are you waiting on, go out and learn to become a true power softball hitter.
Talk about Fastpitch Softball over at http://FastpitchSoftballTalk.blogspot.com/.
The author is a fastpitch softball enthusiast and has been involved in fastpitch softball and baseball for 20 years as a parent and coach. For more information please visit http://www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com for some of the best fastpitch softball gloves and related accessories.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brad_Henks
Watching some of the best hitters in baseball and softball makes us want to hit just like them. There are great home run hitters like Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, Crystl Bustos and some others. They all command attention when they step up to the plate because of their explosive hitting power.
Here are some tips to help you become a better, more powerful softball hitter. Implement these at your next softball practice.
1. To be a powerful softball hitter you will need to be powerful and in great shape physically. Work on this by do exercises that will build power such as squats, plyometric jumping drills, long jumps over boxes. Work on your triceps, and chest by doing medicine ball drills or dips for a few ideas. You can come up with more I'm sure.
2. Learn to hold the bat properly. A lot of young players naturally, but mistakenly grip the bat way too firmly. If you loosen your grip on the bat you will be able to swing the bat much faster and it will feel better. You need to have loose wrists and grips. There is even a line of batting gloves out there that help you keep a looser grip on the bat.
That should tell you how important this is for a powerful swing.
3. Do some one handed batting drills. Use a tee, swing the bat with the top hand only. Then repeat using only the bottom hand. Do about 10-15 wings each. This will strengthen your arms and hands. Also gets you into proper alignment with the bat and your body.
4. Using both hands, remember that your front hand pulls the bat while your back hand pushes the bat. Beginners may find this a little tough but stick with it and you will get the hang of it soon.
5. Step to the plate correctly. Align yourself about in the middle of the batters box to give yourself plenty of room to see the pitch and time to swing properly at it.
6. Get a good view of the pitcher. Make certain you are looking straight at the pitcher with both eyes. Hold your chin on your front shoulder to put your head in the proper alignment.
7. Watch the ball all the way to your bat. Don't close your eyes and don't be distracted by the infielders moving or the base runner starting to steal a base. Keep your eye on the ball as they say. This will help you track the ball for a more powerfull softball hit.
8. Let your weight shift forward as you make contact with the ball. Allow your back foot to slide forward a couple of inches. This will put all your power into the hit.
9. Focus on hitting the inside seam of the softball. This will make the ball go back up the middle for a hard hit line drive. These are really hard for infielders to get to.
10. When you hit the ball, run as hard as you can all the way through first base. Your coach will tell you if you need to keep going.
There you go, some basic softball power hitting tips. Practice these at home on a tee or with a friend. What are you waiting on, go out and learn to become a true power softball hitter.
Talk about Fastpitch Softball over at http://FastpitchSoftballTalk.blogspot.com/.
The author is a fastpitch softball enthusiast and has been involved in fastpitch softball and baseball for 20 years as a parent and coach. For more information please visit http://www.BuyFastpitchGloves.com for some of the best fastpitch softball gloves and related accessories.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brad_Henks
Friday, January 22, 2010
our Little-Known Baseball/Softball Training Secrets, PART 1
Four Little-Known Baseball/Softball Training Secrets, PART 1
By Steve Zawrotny
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Train for POWER
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Baseball and softball are not games of strength, but of EXPLOSIVE POWER. Just how strong do you have to be to pick up a 5 oz baseball, or a 30 oz bat? On the other hand, propelling that 5 oz ball 90+ mph, or hitting a ball 400+ feet with that 30 oz bat requires tremendous power - the ability to perform work. In this case, the work of playing baseball and softball at a high level.
In both games, while they can be slow in duration, the various activities that comprise a game are short and quick. Rarely does a play take longer than 6 or 7 seconds. There are exceptions, of course - an inside the park homer, or an extended rundown or "pickle." But, for the most part, things happen very quickly on the diamond.
Why does this matter to you?
Well, let me ask you this: how often have you heard coaches tell pitchers to condition themselves by running laps - Long, Slow Distance (LSD) training, or to spend a lot of time pedaling a bike?
If you've been around as long as I have, you've seen this a lot. Here's the problems: these coaches (and many players) incorrectly think that LSD (or aerobic) conditioning improves player performance. In fact, studies show the aerobic demands (the amount of oxygen needed by the body) of baseball and softball to be very low.
In fact, the oxygen uptake of a baseball pitcher (the most active position) is a low 45% of the maximum needed. Apparently the rest pitchers get between each pitch and in-between innings is sufficient to replenish the main energy system used.
Baseball and softball are considered to be "alactic anaerobic" sports in terms of the energy system utilized, with pitchers in both sports the busiest players on the field. What this means is that there is little to no lactic acid buildup as a result of this activity. That burning feeling you get when you lift weights really hard is a result of a buildup of lactic acid, a by-product of that (and other) short-term, intense types of exercise.
Have you ever heard of a ball player complaining of this problem?
Consider the baseball pitcher: it takes about 0.15 seconds from the time the front foot contacts the ground until the ball is released. Very little lactic acid can be built up in this short burst of activity. The primary source of fatigue in pitching is not metabolic, but neural. [1]
Again, why does this matter to you?
Because studies show that LSD training significantly detracts from power, strength, and speed development.
Reduce these characteristics, and you educe your ability to throw with high velocity, hit with power, and run at high speed. Look at the bodies of sprinters vs. marathoners. You don't have to be built like a sprinter to be successful as a ball player, but this illustrates how training affects one's body, conditioning, and hence, ability to perform.
Put another way: Train Slow, Perform Slow.
As mentioned earlier, aside from the game itself (which can be be long and slow) things happen quickly on the ball field. Playing softball and baseball requires high velocity, ballistic movements like throwing a fast, well located pitch, taking a hard swing at this high velocity pitch, and exploding out of the batter's box to sprint down the first base line.
So how should you train?
To augment the aforementioned activities, concentrate on developing power, flexibility, and speed. Weight lifting, plyometrics, flexibility, and short burst sprint interval training should form the basis of conditioning for baseball and softball players.
[1] Gambetta, V. A Big Windup. Training & Conditioning, p. 43 March 2003
Steve Zawrotny, MS, CSCS 405.373.3253 steve@baseballfit.com FREE REPORT: "Harmful Resistance Exercises Baseball/Softball Players Should Avoid" VISIT: http://www.BaseballFit.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Zawrotny
BatAction.com
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SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Must Have Equipments For Softball Hitting
By Marc Dagenais
Softball is considered as one of the most popular games in the world. This is played by people of all ages all over the world. Even if it is a game that is hard to play, a lot of people are still enjoying playing softball because it brings tons of challenges.
We are all aware that there are many skills that you need to master first before you can learn to play the game well. They are quite hard and difficult to learn but if you are determined no matter how hard these skills can be, you can surely master them.
As we all know, softball hitting is considered as the hardest skill in softball. Well, it is not easy to hit that ball especially if you are faced with a great pitcher. But you must not forget that a great pitcher will be useless if you are an excellent hitter.
If you are planning to develop your skills in softball hitting, there are lots of things that you have to consider first. One among these things is your health. It is important that you are healthy enough before you decide to go on with this because you will need your physical strength. Aside from this, you must also ask yourself if your equipments are already complete. Softball hitting equipments are needed so that you can perform well. Here are the softball hitting equipments that every hitter like you must have:
Softball bat.
If a soldier needs a gun, you as a hitter need a bat. This will be your partner for every game. You can say that it can also be your key to win. There are many types of bat. There are bats that are made of wood, aluminum, composite materials like glass, and graphite. They are also of different sizes. Big bats will surely have a great impact but then it can affect your speed which is also important. In finding a bat, you must not just go on its brand name. go for the one that will suit you, a bat that can match you. You must see to it that you will not have any difficulty in using it and you are comfortable.
Gloves.
Hitters also need gloves in order to perform well. This can avoid you from having blisters which can greatly affect how you hit. This will make your task of holding the bat easier and you are sure that your grip will be tight with the gloves around. This will help in making you feel comfortable. Choose a glove that will match the size of your hands.
Protective gears.
You can find these protective gears at any sports equipment stores. They are used to protect players like you. We know that softball is a game that needs a lot of action. Because of this, you are close from having injuries. To avoid any untoward incident, you must use protective gears so that you will stay safe and protected even if you are out in there creating some action.
Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!
Article Source:
Softball is considered as one of the most popular games in the world. This is played by people of all ages all over the world. Even if it is a game that is hard to play, a lot of people are still enjoying playing softball because it brings tons of challenges.
We are all aware that there are many skills that you need to master first before you can learn to play the game well. They are quite hard and difficult to learn but if you are determined no matter how hard these skills can be, you can surely master them.
As we all know, softball hitting is considered as the hardest skill in softball. Well, it is not easy to hit that ball especially if you are faced with a great pitcher. But you must not forget that a great pitcher will be useless if you are an excellent hitter.
If you are planning to develop your skills in softball hitting, there are lots of things that you have to consider first. One among these things is your health. It is important that you are healthy enough before you decide to go on with this because you will need your physical strength. Aside from this, you must also ask yourself if your equipments are already complete. Softball hitting equipments are needed so that you can perform well. Here are the softball hitting equipments that every hitter like you must have:
Softball bat.
If a soldier needs a gun, you as a hitter need a bat. This will be your partner for every game. You can say that it can also be your key to win. There are many types of bat. There are bats that are made of wood, aluminum, composite materials like glass, and graphite. They are also of different sizes. Big bats will surely have a great impact but then it can affect your speed which is also important. In finding a bat, you must not just go on its brand name. go for the one that will suit you, a bat that can match you. You must see to it that you will not have any difficulty in using it and you are comfortable.
Gloves.
Hitters also need gloves in order to perform well. This can avoid you from having blisters which can greatly affect how you hit. This will make your task of holding the bat easier and you are sure that your grip will be tight with the gloves around. This will help in making you feel comfortable. Choose a glove that will match the size of your hands.
Protective gears.
You can find these protective gears at any sports equipment stores. They are used to protect players like you. We know that softball is a game that needs a lot of action. Because of this, you are close from having injuries. To avoid any untoward incident, you must use protective gears so that you will stay safe and protected even if you are out in there creating some action.
Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais
Monday, November 2, 2009
Softball Hitting - The Importance of Wearing Gloves
By Marc Dagenais
Softball hitting is one of the most fundamental skills in softball. A hitter must be good and excellent because most of the time, the victory of the whole team lies on his hands. The skill in softball hitting is not easy to learn. Before you see a softball hitter making a perfect swing out there in the field, he had already spent hundreds days and even nights just to do that. If you look at it from afar, it seems that softball hitting is very simple. You just need to swing, hit the ball and that's it. But it is more than that. It is more than what you perceive it to be.
If it is your first time to play softball and you choose to be a hitter, it will be a miracle if you happen to hit the ball that the pitcher throws on the first try. For sure you will miss it. What I am trying to say here is that softball hitting cannot be learned that fast. It will not just take hours. Sometimes it may even take hours or even years before one can perfect the art of softball hitting. Even professional players, no matter how famous or good they are do not stop practicing. There are lots of techniques that a player can do so that he will be able to improve his hitting prowess.
But before we go to those hitting techniques, this article will first focus on the equipments that are needed in softball hitting. Aside from the bat, the most important material that a softball hitter must have is the gloves.
Gloves have been introduced quite a few decades ago. They are proven to be helpful especially in the field of softball. Gloves are invented because players are tired of having hands that are full of blisters which are caused by the bat that they are holding. The blisters affect their performance during the game. This is the reason why gloves that can be used in sports are invented. They serve as the protection of the hands in the sport of softball.
It is really impossible to avoid blister, with so many swings that a hitter needs to do in every game. From then on, wearing of gloves for softball trainings and games became just an ordinary scenario. Some players are having second thoughts of using the gloves because sometimes they feel that they don't feel the bat correctly but as years pass by, several improvements on the glove happened. These improvements make wearing gloves a lot more comfortable for the players.
Today, players are always wearing them for each game. They said that because of the gloves, they now feel that their grip is better than before. Aside from that, even if they are doing a lot of practices, their hands are not experiencing any damages.
Gloves are really essential for every softball player particularly the hitter. Since this prevents them from having blisters, they are able to practice more. And because they can now practice more, they can now have more time to improve their skills in softball hitting.
Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps softball players and coaches improves their game by sharing with them the tips and strategies used by the world's best softball players and coaches to achieve extraordinary performances. Visit his site and sign-up to get his FREE softball hitting tips!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Dagenais
SoftballrUs.com/FastpitchSoftballSupply.com is the ultimate online fastpitch softball online store. SoftballrUs.com has Batting Trainers,Pitching Training, Training Bats,Defensive Training Equipment,Coaching DVDs & Books, Softball Pitching Machines, Softball Complete Net & Frame Batting Cage Packages, Batting Cage Nets, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, and BatAction Hitting Machines, and much, much more. Visit Softballrus.com now!
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