The pitcher’s feet are placed at a distance that is not larger than the width of the shoulders, with either one foot or both feet on the rubber. Slow-pitch softball, also known as “lob ball,” also grew in popularity across the United States beginning in the early 1950s. The manner in which the ball is delivered by the pitcher is the key distinguishing feature between the salary grades northeastern university two types of softball. Ken Krause has been coaching girls fastpitch softball for nearly 20 years. Some may know him as a contributing columnist to Softball Magazine, where he writes Krause’s Korner — a regular column sponsored by Louisville Slugger. Ken is also the Administrator of the Discuss Fastpitch Forum, the most popular fastpitch discussion forum on the Internet.
Even if you manage to strike them out the first time up, the more at bats they have, the easier it will be for them to hit you. Changing speeds and moving the ball around is a must. A stride is performed from the beginning stance by rocking back, shifting the weight back to gain momentum and then moving the weight forward onto the ball of the pivot foot. The pitcher then pushes off the rubber with the pivot foot, pivoting that foot in a 30 to 40 degree, clockwise angle as the opposite leg moves out into a stride. The stride leg must land along the “power line,” which means that the pitcher’s body is in line with the plate, with the pitcher’s hips facing the third base line.
Below, are a list of charts that show various pitching metrics that you can use for comparison. While the info below isn’t concrete, and can be influenced by many factors, these charts are computed based off of recorded averages and good old fashioned math. Though the Americans did much better this time around with 51 runs in nine games, when great players face off, softball is clearly a pitcher’s game.
Each day should be very different, and that is where parents can be involved. Help them be creative, challenged, excited, and rewarded by reaching higher levels. Our first priority is always to make sure the pitcher’s movements are efficient, fluid, and that everything is generating from the hips. We concentrate on making her efficient, fluid, and dynamic. If we accomplish that, yes we get the speed, but we also build a platform that will dramatically enhance moving pitches. Press the timer button again to stop the clock as quickly as possible when you hear the ball hit the catcher’s glove.
If there’s a single drill you need to learn, this is it. Nothing else beats this in boosting not just your speed but also your control. If you’re already an experienced pitcher, you can develop a better wrist snap. To me, it’s often the same with the speed discussion. “Speed isn’t that important” is usually something parents of kids who don’t have it say. Bunting is a common strategy used by the batting team to secure a win.
To find the equivalent baseball pitch speed, we need to find how fast a ball should be going to cover a baseball pitching distance in 0.42 seconds. A quick Google search indicates that the average baseball pitch stride is between 80% and 90% of a pitcher’s height. For a 6’ 2” pitcher, that equates to a stride distance of about 5.25 feet (assuming 85% of his height). Unlike a Softball pitcher, a Baseball pitcher extends their pitching arm past his body to throw the ball, so we will assume a total release point of 7 feet from the rubber. Therefore, the Baseball pitching distance is 53.5 feet and a ball has to go 86.8 mph to cover that distance in 0.42 seconds. This is probably a reason why Cat Osterman still holds the strikeout record in the NPF with 234 K’s , and Monica Abbott does not, but throws as one of the hardest at top speeds of 74 MPH.
At the exact release point, you get the speed boost by whipping your wrist forward. When you release, your arm is straight and your elbow isn’t bent. All of that being said, one element is as important as all of the above. If she loves the time you spend together, she will want to do it more and she will want to do it better. All I have to do is throw out creative ideas and watch her run with them. 8-People ask often ask me,“How did you learn these things?
Softball was on the International Olympic Committee program in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2020. It will not be a part of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. You can also use underweight balls for speed training. These can help you practice your fundamentals, and then you can switch to the overweight softballs before you practice with the regulation balls.
There’s no question that pitching speeds play a huge role in qualification for a softball team, especially at advanced levels. However, a team isn’t just made up of pitchers who can throw at the fastest speeds. At the college level, most women throwing pitches in softball can achieve a speed of about 62 miles per hour. However, there are pitchers who focus more on speed and can throw pitches that can go much faster than that, at an average of even 70 miles per hour. Radar guns are not perfect, especially the cheaper ones! Some can vary at least 2 – 3 MPH from gun to gun, so don’t be a stickler on your daughter against the number that gets shown.
The pitcher on one side is hitting her spots but doesn’t throw very hard, roughly in the mid-50s. She is getting people out primarily with weak hits, and maybe 3-4 Ks. Bunting is an offensive strategy used in fast-pitch softball.
