Softball
By: Ciara Miller
Introduction
How to prepare/supplies needed
Preparing for learning to hit is fairly simple. To get the full experience you should find somebody to toss or pitch the ball to you. The main things you will need are a bat, and a softball. Additional items you could have are batting gloves and a softball helmet. Using a helmet is a great idea for your safety. And batting gloves can help you grip on your bat a lot easier. If you really need additional help with your hitting you could use a “Tee” if you would like. If you have absolutely nobody to pitch the ball to you automatic pitchers are a great solution.
Now that you have all of your supplies it’s time to warm up! A great way to prepare your arms for this is doing arm circles. Do about 10 on each arm, or more if you please. Depending on the weather will definitely depend on the clothing you wear. Shorts would be a great option if it’s hot. And a pair of pants would be advised for chilly weather. Now let’s get started!
Batting stance
When you are hitting it is a lot easier to hit the ball if you use these tips. Depending if you’re a righty or a lefty will depend how you stand at home plate, and how you hold your bat. The first step is, if you are a lefty you will stand on the right side of home plate. If you are a righty you will stand on the left side of the plate. Next you will have your feet about shoulder width apart. After you have done this, have your front foot towards more of the front of the plate and your other foot towards of the middle of the plate. Then, Bend your knees a little. And you are in the first part of your batting stance.
The next part of your batting stance is actually holding the bat. Grab your bat. Now let’s learn how to hold your bat the correct way. The first part is, spot the “Grip” on your bat. This is where you will be placing your hands. If you’re a lefty place your left and on top and your right hand below it. Vice versa if you’re a righty. Next, place your hands towards the middle and top of the grip. Now, Leave about an inch of space between your hands. The next part is to have your bat almost behind your head. If you do this you will have a lot more power, and a higher chance of actually hitting the ball. Lift the elbow behind you a little higher. Turn your head facing your pitcher and guess what, you’re ready to hit some dingers!
Bunting and swinging?
You may think bunting and swinging are the same thing but, they are very different. Swinging is when you are using full force against the ball. Bunting is when you are hitting the ball but you’re not swinging at it. To bunt leave your bad hand on the grip. Remove your good and place it down at the front of the bat. Stick your bat out and let the ball come to the bat, do not swing! Another term used in softball is called cutting. Cutting is when you do not use a lot of power, and you don’t swing all the way through. Now that you know some information about hitting let’s get down to business. You’re in your batting stance ready to hit. You want to start by taking a step.
Don’t step forward, just lift your leg and step down. While you are stepping put your weight on your other foot that is not coming off the ground. If you do this you will have a lot more power. Since you already have your bat ready these steps shouldn’t be hard. A tip when you’re hitting is not to swing back then forward. If you do this you will definitely not hit the ball because you’re taking that extra time. Like I said before have your bat behind you already so you don’t have to worry about collecting that extra power for no reason. So, now you have learned what you need to do before hitting. Put all the steps together. First, step with your front foot and put your weight on the other. Then, have your bat ready to go. Next, Step down. And finally, hold your bat tightly, and swing towards the ball. Don’t chop, swing through and swing with power. Ding! Did you hear that? That was your ball flying in the crowd.Supplies you need
To throw you really only need a softball. If you want you can grab a friend to catch the ball. Another option is you can use a net to block your ball from rolling away from you. Now it’s time to stretch. Do some arm circles. You can do any other stretches you want. Stretching really helps you get warmed up. Also it will help you get ready to position.
Positioning
There is no particular position to be in. But, your arm certainly has a position to play. When you throw the ball you want to prevent throwing it side arm. To do this you want to keep your arm in, or near your body. The more it’s out the more your arm will slant. Now, to throw the ball you want to start by getting a ball. Put the ball in your good hand. Take a step with your bad foot. Then, stick your bad arm at your target. Now take your good arm and throw it directly at your target. Make sure your arm is straight. Then, you may release.
Most important thing + Tips and tricks
The most important part of throwing is having aim and being accurate . If you don’t use aim in softball there is just no way you can play. Like I was talking about before, to help with aim you can step then use your arm to guide you. But mostly in this paragraph I will talk about tips and tricks for you’re throwing. The first tip is when you are playing a game and you are throwing a ball that was far out in the field, is if they have a chance to get to the next base then go ahead and throw it to that base, even if they didn’t make it, you still took that chance to get an extra out. The last tip is when you are throwing it is to throw it direct and fast so it fly in a straight line, rather than it going high in the air then down, or as they call it “rainbow” throwing
How to prepare/supplies needed
Preparing for this is fairly simple. All you need is a glove. But you also really need somebody to throw the ball for you to catch. Also you can stretch as needed. Suggestions for stretching are doing arm circles, and laying your wrist on the ground and moving your body weight back and forward. This will put pressure on your wrists. Also expect a large impact on your glove, because depending on how hard someone throws it or hits it will impact how hard it hits your glove.
Fly balls and grounders
Catching/fielding are completely different styles. You just got real lucky because learning how to catch these styles is not hard at all. Fly balls are the balls that come up and over your head, or even just really high. Grounders are the balls that roll on the ground. To field a grounder you will bend down a little lowers than a squat position. Lean forward just a little. Next, put your glove in front of you. have your partner roll the ball to you. Move around as needed to get the ball. Once the ball has hit your glove immediately put your hand over the ball and close your glove. And you just caught a grounder. Now to catch a fly ball the ball is very high so you want to put the glove over your head just in case the ball hits you. Like before when the ball hits your glove immediately close your glove, and put your hand over it.
Tips and tricks
Some tricks and tips. A little trick/tip is when you are catching the ball don’t shut your eyes. This can cause two things, one your face will be busted or two you won’t catch the ball.So, watch out for that! Another, little trick/tip is after you catch the ball is to bring it in towards your chest so you don’t drop it. This is really useful in a big game!