The history of how softball was created is actually a quite funny story. A group of young men had gathered in the Farragut Boat Club gym so they could hear the Harvard-Yale football game. After Yale’s victory a man picked up a boxing glove and threw it at someone. Then, the person who had the boxing glove thrown at them hit it with a pole. The game eventually caught on and softball was invented.
Softball, however, is a sport that people take for granted. It looks easy but it’s not. Someone could easily say all they do is just stand in a field and swing a bat nothing to it. But that is not the case. Being in the field requires fast resistant skills. You need to react quickly in order to field the ball and successfully get an out. But probably one of the hardest things to do in softball is swing a bat, correctly.
“Everyone can go in a field and play softball but not everyone can succeed and do great plays or have great game saving catches. That is what changes the game. I hate when people say that softball is so easy and doesn’t require skill at all. Well let me tell you it’s not easy to hit 65 mph ball coming at you. Or fielding a ball with hops and changes of paths. It may not be the sport with the most contact or running but it sure it one that takes a lot of skill and practice,” said Casey;Catcher/outfielder.
Stance
It’s not as easy as people think to hit a ball. You need great hand eye coordination to hit the ball well. For a good steady stance you want your feet to be shoulder width apart. If it’s too close or too far it could be uncomfortable and not be able to hit the ball. So your feet are shoulder width apart. Next you wanna make sure that your not too far or too close to the plate. Not too close because you don’t want to get hit with a screw ball or inside pitch and not too far because you’ll never reach the outside curve ball. Getting hit with a ball coming at you between 60-68 mph hurts like hell so try to stay at a safe position from the plate.
Placement of hands
Moving on to wear the bat comes in handy. You want to make sure that your holding the bat correctly because it will determine how much extension you get off your swing. To make sure you have the perfect swing take your hands and wrap them around the bat. Now you want to make sure that your knocking knuckles are aligned. Not your punching knuckles because if you swing a bat with punching knuckles your swing will look like you have dinosaur arms, it won’t extend fully. Always make sure it’s your knocking knuckles.
You can’t forget to bend your knees! Keeping them locked will do you no good whatsoever. Having your knees slightly bent in an athletic position is definitely the way your knees should be when up to bat.
How to hold the bat
Now comes in where and how you hold the bat. You want to rest the bat on your shoulders. Then when you’re ready lift it but from the exact position it was on your shoulder. This is the perfect spot for the bat. You don’t want the bat wrapped around your head because it will take longer for you to actually swing and you’ll most likely miss the ball completely. Make sure your head is facing the pitcher and you’re ready to hit the crap out of the ball.
Swinging Mechanics
It now comes down to your swinging mechanics. When the ball is pitched and is coming forward take a little step with your front foot. Righty’s step with there left foot and the opposite for lefty’s. You normally want to do this so you have a little momentum to hit the ball.
When swinging a bat make sure that it’s not a choppy swing and you fully extend after. What every coach will tell you is to keep your hands to the ball. This means to not drop your hands and then swing. To just cut it straight to the ball. If you do drop your hands then chances are you’ll get under it and hit an easy pop up or you’ll miss the ball because it’s coming so fast that dropping and then swinging you will be late. If you just put your hands the ball and swing you will definitely make contact with the ball.
Another key part to hitting the ball or just swinging the bat is all about the hips. After your swing you must finish with your hips to the pitcher. You can’t just swing your arms and think everything’s ok. As your arms cross over your body to finish your swing, your hips should start to turn towards the pitcher.
Eyes on the ball
Lastly and one of the main parts to this is keeping your head and eyes on the ball. When you’re in the box ready to hit the ball make sure your head is on the ball. What I mean when I say this is to keep your head. As you’re ending your swing don’t pull your head out because then your eyes aren’t on the ball and your eyes should be on the ball at all times. It’s obviously harder to hit the ball when your eyes aren’t on it and you pull your head out.
Keeping all this in mind when you’re up to bat. You will have a great swing if these tips are followed. Hitting a bomb is such a great feeling and if you want to be the person that saves the game because of your awesome hit, I suggest you keep these hitting mechanics handy.
