FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Fast hands ... see this thread here .... http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting-practical/7882-fast-hands.html
How to hit faster pitching?
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Fast hands ... see this thread here .... http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting-practical/7882-fast-hands.html
obbay
Banned
While there is nothing better than facing live pitching, machine-pitch can be an effective tool to overcome the issue of adjusting to speed,
they need to SEE faster pitching. I'm not talking traditional BP, I'm saying have them stand in the box with a bat and just take pitches from a machine. get them SEEING lots of pitches, preferably faster than what they will see in a game. they need to get used to seeing speed.
Another thing I like that someone here (maybe Howard) had mentioned was having the batter get up to bat (machine pitching) with a fielders glove on what would be their top hand. they assume the normal batting stance but when the pitch is delivered they turn into it and Catch it in the glove. (you need to have a lefty glove for righty batters and vice versa)
Again with a machine, do the "Bonds drill": where they start out hitting from their usual spot at the plate and when warmed up, take a step closer to the machine. take a few swings and another step closer. reaction time is less and less with each step. this can be fun to see how close they can get and still hit. one thing I found doing this is the pitch location becomes more consistent the closer you get to the machine. so even though its faster, it may be easier to hit. you can also work this back and forth so they are moving up sometimes and moving back other times to simulate variations in speed.
it might sound a bit dangerous but I've used this with 10 - 15 y.o. over the years and never had an injury or accident. at first there may be some anxiety involved but again with practice the fear of speed is overcome by their ability to hit,
they need to SEE faster pitching. I'm not talking traditional BP, I'm saying have them stand in the box with a bat and just take pitches from a machine. get them SEEING lots of pitches, preferably faster than what they will see in a game. they need to get used to seeing speed.
Another thing I like that someone here (maybe Howard) had mentioned was having the batter get up to bat (machine pitching) with a fielders glove on what would be their top hand. they assume the normal batting stance but when the pitch is delivered they turn into it and Catch it in the glove. (you need to have a lefty glove for righty batters and vice versa)
Again with a machine, do the "Bonds drill": where they start out hitting from their usual spot at the plate and when warmed up, take a step closer to the machine. take a few swings and another step closer. reaction time is less and less with each step. this can be fun to see how close they can get and still hit. one thing I found doing this is the pitch location becomes more consistent the closer you get to the machine. so even though its faster, it may be easier to hit. you can also work this back and forth so they are moving up sometimes and moving back other times to simulate variations in speed.
it might sound a bit dangerous but I've used this with 10 - 15 y.o. over the years and never had an injury or accident. at first there may be some anxiety involved but again with practice the fear of speed is overcome by their ability to hit,
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Good stuff obbay. Worked with our girls on speed yesterday (this is 18U). Usually we set our cage machine at about 60-62 and they crush it. Set it at 70 and told them to figure it out, and then after some struggles gave them advice on early loads, taking the slack out, top hand turn/torque, etc...see what works for them. Afterward we talked about vvvvvrrrroooooom or eeeeeeeewwwww sounds to get a feel for the slow early load to explode. Without a slow early load you don't have a timing window you can move forward or backward depending on pitch speed. They thought it was dumb, until they tried it.
You don't move your position on the plate (like so many coaches advise) -- you teach them to move their timing window.
Barry Bonds drill is good stuff too. It works.
Nothing beats seeing speed for learning how to hit speed.
You don't move your position on the plate (like so many coaches advise) -- you teach them to move their timing window.
Barry Bonds drill is good stuff too. It works.
Nothing beats seeing speed for learning how to hit speed.
