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Softball Hitting Tips

Rahul Thadani
Being able to strike a softball well is the basic requirement of any good player. Read the following tips to learn how to hit the ball powerfully.
Hitting a softball well is not an easy task, but it can be mastered by learning some hitting tips, and by putting them into practice. These serve as excellent guidelines to develop one's ability to hit the ball effectively. It's easy to give an individual tips about keeping the eyes on the ball, shifting the feet and the body weight in the right manner, and getting the right swing, but to actually practice these tips takes a lot of hard work.
Softball batting tips will help you get more power and distance in your shot, and this will make you a better batter. Some people are born with a natural ability to strike softballs well, whereas others have to hone these skills over a period of time. Both sets of people need to follow some basic hitting tips though, in order to develop better technical skills.

Tip # 1 - Find a Good Bat

The first thing that you will need to do is find a good bat. There are a large number of bats of different shapes and sizes that are available in the market, and you need to find the perfect one for yourself. You must remember that simply buying a bigger bat does not mean that you will hit bigger shots.
This depends on how well you can understand the hitting mechanics. Using a lighter bat will enable you to swing faster and get more power, so you should refrain from using heavy bats.
Most softball teams use aluminum bats, but you must try using a wooden bat to see if you can improve on your swing and your power. Hitting the ball will be easier if you can manage to get a clean swing with the bat that you use.

Tip # 2 - Watch the Ball

One needs to keep his head absolutely still, and precisely follow the movement and trajectory of the ball. This will definitely help hit a better shot, and high levels of concentration needs to be maintained in order to achieve this. You need to consciously make an effort to keep your head still, because if you don't, your body will end up changing the stance as well, and this will affect the effectiveness of your shots.

Tip # 3 - Exercise and Practice

As you may have guessed by now, the strength and power behind a good strike comes from the forearms and the wrist. You need to develop the strength and muscles in your forearm to be able to hit stronger shots. There are plenty of exercises and drills that you can undertake in order to achieve this, and all these workouts should focus on making your arms bigger and stronger.
If the strength in the arms is not adequate to generate sufficient power, then all these tips will be of no use. This is something that can be worked upon. By spending a few hours building arm strength on a regular basis, you can improve your game by leaps and bounds.
Here are some more tips that will make you a better batter.
  • Always hold the bat with your fingers, and not between your palms.
  • Keep your body loose when you are standing at the plate.
  • Train your eyes.
  • Select your shots wisely.
  • Practice base running as much as possible.
  • Learn how to shift your feet effectively.
All these fast pitch and slow pitch tips are regularly pointed out by many coaches and trainers, and they all help in making an individual a better hitter. This is not an easy skill to acquire, but it is not an impossible one either.