Hey everyone, new softball player here!

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Dreklie

New Member
Have played baseball all my life, from t-ball through high school, injured my knee when I was 21 and haven't played anything since then. A friend said I should try softball and I played my first game 2 days ago and another today, absolutely love it! Have not had that much fun since the last time I was on a diamond.

I have a major problem though ... I simply cannot hit the softball correctly. I am 20 years into baseball and doing the same exact thing, I am 4-7 in the two games but out of the 4 hits only one I felt like I solidly hit, the other 3 were just high pop ups that people didn't catch.

I'm honestly not sure where my problem is, but I am a right handed hitter hitting it to right field always (obviously I know I need to swing earlier, but I cannot judge the softball for some reason), it seems like I'm getting under the ball because I'm used to the ball coming level not from top to bottom.

I was told that you need to keep your hands at your shoulders and swing there (which shocked me as a baseball player, still getting used to all this)

Any tips are greatly appreciated as I want to get my swing fixed as soon as possible! Was also looking for bat suggestions around 150 - 250 bucks or so. There are so many bats out now I have no idea how to tell if the bat I buy is legal or not!

Thank you for your time!
 
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goalie31

Addicted to Softballfans
hey buddy get a few balls and toss m in the air level your swing no undercut .swing at tit or shoulder high. almost drag the bat at swing and snap the wrist at last second to get that extra power. practice practice. I came from a fast pitch back round. taught many newbys this way and there making big strides. u will learn to control the ball by hand toss hitting it will teach u how and where to hit the ball to control it. practice practice
 
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Noquar

Extra Hitter
The Swing Makeover series on YouTube has been super popular in swing mechanics specific to softball.
 
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wgilbert21

Starting Player
Welcome to the world of slow pitch softball. i have been playing for 3 years now and can tell you most people have some trouble hitting in the beginning. I have a lot of friends that come and fill in on my team when needed and they always show up thinking they can hit a softball a mile because the ball is so big compared to a baseball. The main things I can tell you is wait for the ball to come to you. Work on hitting the center of the ball and taking a few pitches so you can learn what is a strike or ball. I still find myself swinging at some balls I shouldn't just because I know the ball is coming in slow . Every pitch looks easy to hit until you learn what is a quality pitch to swing at and what is not. My focus when batting is to get in the box relaxed and take the first pitch so I can see the ball and be selective of what I swing at. Another good idea is to buy or make a Tee and take lots of BP. You'll gain bat speed and good mechanics over time.
 
hitsone

hitsone

Well-Known Member
Dreklie welcome to SBF.
As to bats always remember the next one is the right one.
You can find a good selection of used bats here on the selling/buying forums.
Check out the bat reviews..but the best way is to actually swing a bat.
See if team mates will let you BP with their bats or if there is a retail store that has demo bats you can try.
You are going to enjoy slow pitch softball
 
kybosh_ag

kybosh_ag

Extra Hitter
Do yourself a favor and stay away from this site if you have no will power and don't want to spend money! lol I played for about 8 years before I found this site and only had two bats, an inexpensive glove, and bought basic cleats. Now I have at least seven bats (and want more), a custom Rawlings glove, Salomon trail/turf shoes, and a few full sub jerseys. Slow pitch can get addictive and expensive if you let it. :D
 
jd10

jd10

Came to make a bang
Yeah, relaxing is key. I see baseball players get up with thier timing mechanisms and bat hitches and you know a sky high popup is coming. the ball is barely moving, you dont need all that. Go to the cage and figure out where you need to stand in the box. Slow your swing down alittle so you can figure out where you're making contact. Then once you figure it out you can go back to swinging hard.
 
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Dreklie

New Member
Sorry I completely lost track of this site and couldn't find it! So a little update, I'm swinging better, have managed some home runs and found a bat I love. I think it is called a Worth Greg Collins or something like that? It's mostly black with some red on it. I had been using an end load Nighthawk and managed a home run with it but the end load seemed ... odd to me. I just couldn't put the bat on the ball solid, swapped to the balanced Worth and really see an improvement in my hitting.

I still swing at really bad pitches because like people have mentioned, they all look really good lol. I have found that I love the higher pitches, anytime I seem to get a high pitch it's more than likely a home run or a really hardly hit ball. 24 years of Baseball will be a challenge to change as the perfect pitch in softball is a terrible pitch in baseball. Thank you all for the tips!!
 
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Dreklie

New Member
Did not mean to imply I have perfected anything lol, 9 homeruns out of about 100 pitches is not mastering lol.
 
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