A Swing is a vital technique in any softball match. As a hitter, you ought to master this skill lest you get embarrassed on the pitch during a game.
This article is going to highlight some of the few ways that will help you improve on the softball swing technique. Stay tuned!
Concentrate more on your hip and back foot rotation
To begin with, aim at generating a quick and powerful swing from your hips. If you need to create a coil in the hips, which is essential, all you have to do is turn your front knee inwardly and lift your heel off the ground forming a sort of arch.
The hip area is regarded as the engine room or the core of your swing. Concentrate more on it than the upper body
Confidence
It gets achieved through regular practice and drills. Your training should focus on getting ready for a match so that you are psychologically prepared. A well-done homework ensures a confident and psyched player.
Always have strong beliefs about your hitting abilities, this dramatically enhances your swing capabilities. A player who lacks confidence ends up executing an awful swing despite having excellent hitting mechanics.
On the other hand, a player with tons of confidence but with a lousy softball hitting mechanics may end up with a satisfactory match. The importance of confidence is real.
Minimize any other movements when making a swing
This gives you the time to read and react to the softball. Unnecessary movements such as jumping at the ball will cause you to needlessly shift your head and eyes making it difficult to track the ball. Secondary movements may also cause you to lose balance and focus during the swing action.
Focus on your swing action and keep other things off your mind
In one swipe, go down for the ball with your back foot firmly rooted to the ground, then rotate your hip and swing as the ball approaches your chest level. When your swing crosses the middle level of your body, put the lead foot onto the ground as you get into contact with the ball, and always train your eyes at the exact point you want to hit the ball, with some slight form of uppercut motion with your bat. Lack of attention or absent-mindedness may cause you to lose the ball.
Develop a proper softball hitting technique
Put your efforts on getting the best softball drills geared towards improving the game day bat speed, this will not only boost your confidence levels, but you also get to hit the inside of a fastball.
Also to note is that, leaning lousy hitting techniques could not only cost you immeasurably in terms of time and effort, but could also be difficult to unlearn, rendering the whole new learning process chaotic.
Pickup on your front foot
It is a good practice to emulate this since your weight gets distributed evenly and keeps you balanced through the entire swing action.
Get lots of practice in timing and load drill
As the saying goes, ‘practice makes perfect.’ Make sure you get to practice a lot regarding the timing of the ball. These will ensure that your swing is in a tip-top condition and can get automated subconsciously by your mind during a game situation. With precise timing, you will get the ball right most of the time thus improving your game ten folds.
Don’t load with a straight back
Doing this kind of thing is detrimental since it shifts your center of gravity squarely to your back foot. You will end up becoming unstable hence not executing a beautiful swing.
On-deck circle
Make good use of this to determine the time of your load for each pitcher. Having a bad on-deck circle compounded with a weak strategy means that you are not ripe for the batter’s box.
Follow through your swing
Ensure that you hit squarely on the ball and that your hitting mechanics are up to par for your ball drive through seamlessly. The undesirable effect of not following through your swing is that the ball will tend to hang lazily in the air after hitting it.
After making contact with the ball always ensure that you continue swinging until the bat moves all the way up to your lead shoulder.
Have a perfect grip on your bat
Having a good grasp will ensure a perfect swing, and gives you an upper hand regarding control. It allows you to place the needed spot precisely on the center line of the ball (usually the most significant part of the bat). A point to note is that you should not exaggerate the grip since it will steal some power from your swing. Practice gripping the bat at different locations to get what works best for you.
Stand firm
Maintain a steady gait, with the distance between your feet approximately the width of your shoulder. What to avoid is to tense up your muscles, just relax and also avert extraneous exercises before the real game. These will make you more relaxed and full of energy. A firm stand also ensures you accurately hit the ball without wobbling about or losing balance.
Conclusion
Getting that perfect swing will take you some considerable efforts and time, get to know which grip positions are most suitable in your case and keep on practicing. A good strategy is always to simulate real game situations during practice, to avoid panicking during the live matches. Feel free to practice some of these tips for you to perfect that swing.
Hello everyone, I’m Darron and head Editor of this site. I’m so proud to be a part of this project.