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Softball Hitting Tip #2 from Defiance College – The Negative Move or Load

Hitting Tips  Softball Hitting2010

San Rafael, CA - Defiance College’s head coach Jodie Holava offers her expertise on the fundamentals of hitting and provides a suggestion to youth softball players that their swing should begin with a “negative movement”.

In softball as a hitter prepares to hit a softball, they need to establish a trigger as a timing mechanism as well as a preparatory movement to drive the ball. This begins with what most hitting coaches refer to as the “negative move” or “load.”  Holava states, “During the negative move the hitter begins to shift her body weight in to the back leg as well as separate her hands from her starting position to a load position towards her back shoulder. When loading your hands, it’s important to move your hands back on the same plane to get into this strong attacking position. We want to limit any up or down movement to give us the best opportunity to hit the ball squarely.” 

Holava believes that each hitter can get to this position in their own way, but getting there is a key element to hitting with ultimate power. “Like the stance, hitters can have their own special flair to getting into this position. However, it’s important that all great hitters reach this strong position in time to drive the ball.  You need this load in order to gain momentum and power to drive the pitch. It’s very difficult to do that if you tried to start your swing from a stationary position. Think about trying to throw a softball right from your shoulder, without any windup it’s very tough to get any velocity on the ball. Same with the swing, it’s very tough to get any bat speed! Happy Hitting!”

After just six seasons as the head coach of the Defiance College softball program, Jodie Holava is nearing the most wins in school history with a 144-108 overall record. Holava’s .571 winning percentage is the best by any coach in program history. To get more tips and instruction from her check out her Nike Softball Camp at Defiance College.

About NIKE Softball Camps

At Nike Softball Camps every facet of the game is covered - hitting, fielding, base running, team play and more. Our goals is that your performance as an overall player will improve, along with your self-confidence but it is up to each player to take what they have learned and apply it to game time situations.

US Sports Camps (USSC), headquartered in San Rafael, California, is America’s largest sports camp network and the licensed operator of NIKE Sports Camps. The company was started in 1975 with the same mission that defines it today: to shape a lifelong enjoyment of athletics through high quality sports education and skill enhancement. Players, Coaches, Parents and others interested in the Nike Softball Camp at Defiance College can visit https://www.ussportscamps.com/softball/nike/defiance-college/ or call 1-800-645-3226.

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