Softball Hitting Instruction - Don Slaught Approach

Is there a different stance and swing style for fastpitch softball?

Good question. As a softball comes in underhand from level ground (and can therefore be perceived to "rise"), it seems that some characteristics of stance would be inherently different from baseball (which has a significantly more pronounced downward trajectory).

Very interesting, but this has nothing to do with women's fastpitch. Women have different mechanics. In upper level softball play, pitchers never throw fastballs. The focus is on how to hit specialty pitchers. I've said for years, that this ain't baseball for girls. This is an example of the worst kind of advise for softball coaches.

Actually, one of Don`s conclusion using video evidence and most of the current top hitting instructors will tell you the same thing, there is just about NO DIFFERENCES whatsoever in the actual swing of top level softball AND baseball players, males or females.

Styles are often different but the actual swings are just about the same. Differences between both sports seems to actually be a myth when you carefully review swings at very slow motion.

Styles = what you before initiating the swing (stance, trigger or loading, stride) and what you do after contact (follow-through). Styles are VERY DIFFERENT from one hitters to another and this is what we mostly see with the naked eye and we assume that hitting techniques are different because of different in styles (stance, pre-swing phase, follow-through).

Swing = what happens between stride and contact and THIS PART IS VERY SIMILAR in all top hitters but it is happening so fast that we don`t really see it with the naked eye but when looking at elite female softball players and elite baseball players, they just about do exactly the same things. You can only really see the difference with slow motion videos.

To Coach Bob,
I disagree with you completely. I used to think the same way as you, that is that the softball swing is different from the baseball swing, but there is very little difference. It has taken me many years to understand this and I don't have enough time to explain all of my thinking on this.

Sorry guys, I don't buy it and won't pay for it either. Baseball guys are trying to cash in on the softball market. My more then 25 years experience including HS Varisty and NCAA tells me different. It's a hoax designed to sell more vidios. Girls aren't guys, if you haven't noticed and baseball ain't softball. Stride is not "style" it's mechanics. Stride into a riseball and you will be struck out every time. The focus needs to be on bat speed, contact hitting specialty pitches, not driving the ball out of park with a long stride and swing, hoping to hit a fastball, which will never come. Again, there's no place for a fastball, in upper level play, so why focus on hitting one. This is bad advise.

I can give you a great example they are not different! My DD (now a Freshman in College) is taking lessons form a local softbal hitting instructor in the ALT. Her numbers went out the roof after a few minor ajustments and she became a real force at the plate. After a yr of succses, my son (now a freshman in High School) asked if he could go to the same female instructor so I granted him his wish. Within 1 month you could see a drastic change in his performance as well. It has nothing to do with fastballs or breaking pitches, simply seeing the ball at the contact point. Everything else is hoopla! The pitches are delivered from different angles but they all still move up, down, in, and out and they also change speeds.

I can give you a great example they are not different! My DD (now a freshman in College) is taking lessons form a local softball hitting instructor in the ALT. Her numbers went out the roof after a few minor adjustments and she became a real force at the plate. After a yr of success, my son (now a freshman in High School) asked if he could go to the same female instructor so I granted him his wish. Within 1 month you could see a drastic change in his performance as well. It has nothing to do with fastballs or breaking pitches, simply seeing the ball at the contact point. Everything else is hoopla! The pitches are delivered from different angles but they all still move up, down, in, and out and they also change speeds.

Softball and baseball swings are the same. Match the plane of the bat with the plane of the ball.Baseball however some hitters are trying to jack the ball swing for the fence.Thats when you see them drop the bat head and try to drive it up and out.otherwise pretty much the same only timing changes.

To Coach Bob:
Too bad you didn't go to Don Slaught's softball and baseball hitting seminar at Planet Fastpitch in Uxbridge, MA yesterday. You'd see that his focus is not on just hitting the fastball, but he teaches how to handle location change and speed change and he shows you how by the time you reach toe touch every good hitter looks the same (baseball and softball). Don Slaught has worked with the Red Sox, Arizona State Softball team, Arizona Softball team, Fresno State Baseball team, the USA Olympic Softball Team, and many others using Right View Pro. I have to say that when he used RVP yesterday to show us the similarities between baseball hitting and softball hitting, it was quite obvious that they had the same key positions after toe touch. Don Slaught has worked with Sue Enquist and Mike Candrea, so you can't say he is just a baseball guy when you honestly don't know everything he is about.

I don't think you've been paying attention. Watch the college world series. Those swings are not linear swings. I'm guessing you advocate the early rolling of the wrists, producing that beautiful groundball to short, hoping it gets booted.

After correcting many young ladies that drag the bat (level swing) taught by what I call "baseball dads" At 6,8,and 10 girls can hit off a machine or live pitcher and catch up. At about 12 faster pitchers take over, because these helpless young ladies drag the bat (level) and are way behind. By having my players swing from the shoulder and practice tee work with pitch locations inside, middle, outside moving in a linear fashion THEN rotating they learn to hit inside pitches and explode hitting outside pitches as well.When I see the "little box" over the middle of the plate (and not out in front where it should be)these girls are being forced to hit from by these "baseball dads" I could scream. Deb Hartwig does a great job, with a video of Jenny Finch hitting (yes she is a great hitter too) which shows linear movement (and I'm talking body here)then rotation. So to quote Deb it is a "Hybrid" linear then rotational. And last when you hear someone tell a player to "keep her elbow up" or "get the bat off your shoulder" Slap them for me and just remind them to keep their eyes on the ball. Thanks for responsible coaching

great stuff! alot of the same things we are working on with the help of some college coaches in our area.could you talk a little about the toe touch,ie. when should the toe be back on the ground so the back elbow can start down and foward? thanks for the help

We've all been at games and seen players who do everything possible that we consider "sacred" in terms of batting wrong, and yet they still manage to destroy the ball and have more than respectible batting averages. That mili-second in time when the decision comes to pull the trigger comes in their heads to attack the ball NOW, while for others that time passes them up as they wait to think about it, and by the time they pull the trigger its to late. That one pitch that fools them and they never think twice about it, but instead hammer the next one. I'd take 12 girls with positive self-talk going on in their heads, with great timeing but "poor style/form/mechanics" over 12 girls taught to have perfect mechanics but who dwell on the negative self talk and who doubt that "trigger" instinct.

I wish we as a group were able to figure out how to adjust the girls "thinking processes" as easily as we can their form. Those deep down thoughts either positive/negative come from so many things in their lives that we have no control over and its hard to change their self image by just focusing on the swing. Also hard to teach a girl to have an attack mentality.

So other than form/mechanics/style/elbows/hands/toes … what kind of mental tips/tricks do others use to try and change their "thought process" in regards to approaching their at bats?

Dalton has finally hit the ball out of the park. Great hitters have a hitters attitude, BE AGGRESSIVE. Stay away from the high pitch and hit anything else close to the strike zone. Positive talk is essential. They need to say to themselves, "Can Hit" or "Hit Ball" or "Smash It" or "Hit" or "Bang" whatever works for them. Over and over as they step into the box. I teach my college girls to go for the fence with strike one, then more defensive with strike two and move up in the box and focus on the strike zone, to cut off specialty pitches and make contact for strike three. Visualization is important in practice and at games. Teach them to breathe deeply. All girls tend to hold their breath or breath shallowly. Of course proper SOFTBALL hitting mechanics helps a lot.

Your comment is just not appropriate to the actual mechanics of a swing. Newton"s laws aplly equally to a female, or male batter. Look it up.

I've been an instructor for more than 6 years working with hundreds of athletes ranging fron 8u up to Div.1 athletes and as a coach I think it's important to keep growing by consuming as much knowledge from as many people as possible. I am in agreement with Marc that it's important to absorb and process all philosophies in hitting so you can best match to an individual HOWEVER, whats different today than 5 years ago is that advancements in video analysis have allowed us to look into the swing at a much deeper level. My background is in kinesiology and bio-mechanics and rather than take side in the linear or rotational debate, I choose to teach my young hitters to emulate the swings of the best in the world. If my kid can match mechanically the swing of A-Rod, Sosa, or Jenny Topping, than its irrelevant what I label it…in my opinion. Now, in terms of different ability levels with students, I sometimes simplify the swing because its actually quite difficult to emulate correctly all the moving parts of an elite swing.

So for Coach Bob, I recommend studying the tape of the best hitters to determine if you see a difference in baseball/fastpitch swing for yourself.

I'm with you Dalton. I had my daughter who plays golf and often baseball with me and her brothers (very competitive) decide to play softball in Middle school. She came home today confused. "Dad, I was ripping the ball all over the place but the coach said I hit like a baseball player?" "I hit better than everybody else but she said I need to work on hitting for softball?" Now, thanks to her coach she will be thinking of hitting like a "softball player" (whatever that means) instead of getting base hit into the gap or over the pitchers head with a goal of getting on base?

Don't get me wrong but I think Jenny, A-rod, and Sosa have few things in common and it isn't that they watch a lot of technique videos. They have genetics and they have spent A LOT more time hitting balls than most in competitive situations. They are competitive and will find a way to reach the goal on the field.

I'm not saying there is not a place for this but it also can ruin possible potential in the wrong hands.