Softball Tip

Hitting Tip #1 from Defiance College – The Stance

The foundation of every good swing starts with an athletic and relaxed stance. Coaches have a tendency to try and structure every aspect of an athlete’s natural skill, the stance being one of those. However, although we want our hitters to be comfortable at the plate with their own style, there are a few commonalities between hitters that prepare themselves up for a successful swing.  When you initially position yourself in the batter’s box, make sure you can cover both the inside and the outside part of the plate with the “sweet spot” of the bat. Be sure to pay attention to your contact points when doing so! Remember, you want to make contact with the inside pitch in front of your front foot and the outside pitch deep in your stance at your belly button.  You also want to check that you have an athletic base with your knees inside your feet.  With this positioning you will be able to promote greater rhythm and load in your swing as you shift from a negative move to a positive move to attack the ball. (Check back for more hitting tips to learn more!) Another check point for your stance is to make sure your hips and shoulders are square to plate. We want to keep that front side closed as long as possible before pulling off the ball.  Finally, the most overlooked trait of a strong stance is to have a level, two-eyed look at the pitch. You want to be the best natural position to track the ball to contact. You can see in the above photos that each of these hitters display these qualities, but yet still have some natural personality too!

To find out more about the Defiance College NIKE Softball Camp call 1(800) NIKE Camp (645-3226) and talk to a US Sports Camp representative.