When you go up to bat, you don’t just want a hit. You want a power hit. A line drive to the outfield. But hitting a softball far requires a lot of skill and practice. If you don’t have the right swing mechanics, the right pitch, and enough strength, you won’t be able to hit a softball as far as you want.
When trying to hit a softball far, you want to focus on accuracy and power. Accuracy allows you to hit the ball squarely and at the right angle. Power is what makes the ball go further. You can’t hit a softball far unless you have both.
This article explains why you may not be hitting a softball far and how to use your strength to hit the ball far.
5 Reasons you aren’t hitting the Softball far
1) You don’t have the right grip, stance, or swing
The first thing you want to focus on is your grip, stance, and swing. The mechanics of the swing are crucial when trying to hit the ball far.
Grip
Your grip should be as low as it can on the bat while still feeling like you have control over your swing. If you find you don’t feel in control or can’t make accurate hits, choke up on the bat. Choking up too much can take away power from your swing, so it is important to find a happy medium.
When you grip the bat, apply pressure with your fingers rather than your palms. The bottom hand should control the bat while the top hand loosely supports the bat. Your hands should be touching and they should be lined up straight.
Stance
Next, take a look at your stance. When you are up to bat, you should feel comfortable, confident, and strong, and your stance should reflect this. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your back foot planted and knees slightly bent. Try not to lean forward or backward.
Your hands should be three or four inches away from your chest. Your arms should not be crossed and your elbows should point down. While your stance should feel strong, you should not feel tensed.
Swing
The last aspect to focus on when it comes to mechanics is your swing. Your swing should be strong and fast, yet accurate. Swing the bat level or at a slight uppercut and hit the ball squarely in the center. Try to hit “through” the ball rather than “at” the ball.
The proper swing should involve your whole body, not just your arms. Use your back leg to push off and transfer your body weight to the front. Your hips should rotate with your swing, giving even more power.
Don’t let your bat swing lower than your hands. Also, your swing shouldn’t end when the ball hits the bat. You must follow through to use your full power.
2) You aren’t hitting the ball at the right angle
When hitting a softball, you can’t just hit the ball hard. You must also hit the ball at the right angle. Even if you hit the ball hard, it will most likely result in an out if you hit it straight down or straight up.
You can practice drills at practice or head to the batting cages to perfect the launch angles of your hits. Aim for a launch angle (the angle the ball comes off of the bat) between 10 and 36 degrees.
3) You aren’t getting fast enough pitches
The faster the pitch, the further you can hit the ball. If you play slow pitch softball, the pitches may not be fast enough for you to hit the ball far. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about this.
To practice with faster pitches, you can go to the batting cages. Most batting cages have different speeds to choose from. Once you have accuracy and control and are making solid hits with slow pitches, you can try fast pitch to see if you can hit the ball further.
4) You don’t have enough bat speed
Bat speed is crucial when it comes to hitting the ball far. Once you know how to make good contact with the ball, you can focus on increasing your bat speed.
Bat speed affects how far and how fast the ball travels after it leaves your bat. A ball that travels fast gives the other team’s defense less time to react, which can help your ball go even further.
5) You don’t have the strength
If you have tried all of the above but you are still not hitting the ball as far as you want, it may be because you simply don’t have the strength. It takes a lot of power to hit a softball far.
Fortunately, you can work out and build muscles in certain areas of your body to increase your batting power. Improving your batting technique increases your power, but gaining overall strength also gives you more batting power.
In order to become a more successful hitter, meaning increasing your hitting power to hit the ball further, you must put in time not only during practice, but also in the weight room. The proper batting technique plus a strong form will consistently bring you power hits.
Hitting is crucial when it comes to winning softball games. But hitting the ball far requires serious skill and experience. The only way to get better and hit the ball further is to practice. Practicing hitting will build your skills and your confidence so that you can produce runs during the game.
Your swing technique is just as important as your power. Having the right grip, stance, and swing can make all the difference. A good swing should maximize your strength and power. Once you have your technique down, you can focus on increasing bat speed and power.
Building muscle in the weight room is a great way to increase overall strength so that you can hit the ball further. There are many tips and strategies you can use to practice your technique. Check out www.teamsnap.com for more tips on hitting a softball far and www.thehittingvault.com for power-hitting drills.
