How to hit a softball

I did a lightning talk at AdaCamp called “how to hit a softball”. This talk was born of frustration: the only activity I participate in which is less gender-diverse than open source software is softball. I’ve played in games where I’m the only woman on either side, out of 20+ people.

(I find this especially heartbreaking as softball currently functions as a way to keep women out of baseball. The rules, equipment, and pitching motions are just different enough that it is incredibly difficult to switch from one to the other. Talented girls are then forced to decide between the limited but attainable rewards of softball, which provides many with college scholarships, and the risks of baseball, which has given riches and fame but only so far to men. I could go on - and have - but for now, lets get back to my lightning talk.)

There are three simple tips I give completely new players that can get them from “missing 90% of the time” to “solidly connecting 90%” of the time. They are:

1) Watch the ball

This may seem obvious, but many novice players take their eyes off the ball when they swing. This not only makes it harder to hit the ball, it also messes up the motion: with the correct swing, it should be possible to watch the ball wherever it goes. If you can’t follow the ball with your eyes, it’s a sign that your swing is off.

You can see a demonstration here.

2) Keep your back foot planted

The power in a swing comes from shifting weight from the back of your body to the front, not in throwing your body at the ball. While the front foot may move, the back should never leave the ground (though it often will twist in place). If you find yourself twirling when you miss a pitch, you are surely making this error.

You can see a demonstration here.

3) Line up your knuckles

The above two tips should help you connect with the ball most of the time. To help the ball go farther when you connect with it, there are a number of subtle things you can do with both your upper and lower body. Perhaps the easiest of these things to learn is: when you grip a bat, line up your knuckles. This position forces you to hold the bat in your fingers, not your wrists, which allows your wrists to move fluidly, an important part of having a powerful swing.

You can see a demonstration here.

(Extra tip: your back hand should be higher up on the bat than the hand which is closer to the pitcher. Most people will place their hands this way naturally, without being told to, as it is the most comfortable.)

This has less of an impact on your swing than the above two tips, so if you can only remember a few things at once, practice the above before working on this one.

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What I like about these tips is that they’re something anyone can do: you don’t need to lift weights, study pitches for hours, or memorize dozens of muscles movements in order to make these changes. Just remember: watch, plant, align (or eyes, back foot, knuckles) and your swing will go from embarrassing to serviceable very quickly.

Bonus! This gorgeous video of a fastpitch softball pitch in slow motion: