Softball Hitting Tip - Be Sure the Front Side is Firm

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

In the last few years, much has changed in the way fastpitch softball players are taught to hit. The entire technique is much closer to the way Major League Baseball players hit – in fact, the general wisdom is that it should be the same swing.

One of the elements that includes is a weight shift, from balanced to back to forward. The backward movement is a slight push back to overcome inertia, then the forward weight shift takes the center of gravity ahead of the point where it started. (In the old days, for those too young to remember, hitters would stride out onto the front foot as though they were stepping on thin ice, and then keep the weight back.)

All well and good, and I heartily agree with that method. However, for some hitters, shifting the weight forward ends up getting their weight out ahead of the front foot, essentially lunging forward. They take the idea of weight shift a little too literally. Usually they wind up with the front leg bent and soft, rather than straight or firm.

If you have a hitter doing that, try telling her to land on the inside part of her front foot. Usually when they’re wind up soft, they’re letting the weight continue forward until it’s on the outside of the front foot.

At toe touch, the weight comes down on the inside of the front foot, and the weight shifts into the front foot instead of over it. That will help the front knee firm up when the heel drops, and will give the hitter a solid foundation around which to rotate. Having that solid foundation is critical to delivering maximum power in hitting the ball.

Remember, shift the weight into the front leg, not over.