There are a few fundamentals to hitting the softball. First and foremost, the hitter has to be comfortable in the box. We prefer the hands to be at the armpit with the bat held at a 45 degree angle. Feet should be shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the knees. When the pitcher starts her wind up the hitter should load, (set the hands and weight slightly back)go from a wide focus to a fine focus on the release point, and be ready to fire the hands and back hip at the ball. As the hitter swings they should stay through the ball, making contact approximately 6 to 8 inches in front of the lead hip. The hands should stay in close proximity to the body which will keep the swing short and quick. We ask our hitters to focus on hitting the ball up the middle, which helps them stay through the ball.
A few of our favorite drills are as follows, Side toss, tee work, wall swings, rear toss and drop toss (to increase bat speed), and hitting on the field.
To play softball at the high school level players must be able to throw and catch with the proper fundamentals. We start every practice throwing and catching the ball. Every day coaches teach the proper fundamentals of throwing, and they are as follows;
Grip- using the 4 seam grip, not very tight, with no palm on the ball
Wrist Flick- Elbow even with the shoulder and pointed to your target, flick the ball to your partner with a backward rotation on the ball
Goal Post- Elbow shoulder height or above, ball facing away from the target, glove hand, elbow, and shoulder lined up facing your target, rotate your core and pull the ball over the shoulder and flick the ball to your partner, then follow through to your glove side knee.
