Fastpitch Softball - Soft toss drills

Disclaimer.....
In my previous post about Fastpitch Softball titled: Softball- Instruction you can use, I showed you how to turn that old broom you have sitting around the house into one of the best hand and eye coordination tools you could use for your softball players hitting development, not to mention save you money! If you didn't read that article please do so before moving on. If you have read that article then you've probably done a little research and you can confirm that these very similar products are being sold for as much as $50.
Now, please, let's be clear, I'm not telling you not to purchase these products, by all means do if you feel so compelled, I'm just showing you a way to make a similar product that will do the same job and save you some money, money you could use for a couple of cold, frosty, (you fill in drink of choice here) after a hot day out at the softball yard.. we're talking Slurpee's here kids...
Okay, now that the disclaimer is out of the way let's get on with the topic.


How do I use this broom handle bat.... Position One
Well, now that you've sawed the handle off your broom sweeping up the garage is out of the question, and if you're anything like me that's the good news. What you're going to do now is set your softball or baseball hitter up in their stance, their are a lot of opinions on stance etc.. so I'm not going to get to deep into that for now, I'll save it for future posts dedicated to the swing, just make sure they are comfortable, see photo to the right.
You are going to place yourself at a 45 degree angle opposite their front hip while on your knee or sitting on a bucket. Hold your arm out in front of you, when you drop your arm to toss the ball let your softball hitter know that is the indicator for them to stride (not big!) Then you simply toss the ball towards their front hip and have them swing. It may take awhile for a young softball or baseball hitter to get the feel for this and that's OK. What you don't want is for them to be swinging under the ball and popping it up, again I'll post more on the stance and swing later, right now try to have them make contact with the top half of the ball and we'll be well on our way.
This is the basic, most fundamental position of the four softball hitting positions for this drill. If your Softball or baseball player is just picking up the game stay here for a while until their making good line drive contact on a consistent basis before moving to the next position. This will instill the confidence needed to keep the drills fun, and please, keep these drills fun because after all softball is a game.

How do I use this broom handle bat... Position Two
You are going to place yourself at a 45 degree angle behind their front hip while on your knee or sitting on a bucket. Here your softball hitter won't be able to see your arm because you don't want them looking back over their shoulder so you'll have to give them a verbale indicator for them to stride (again not a big stride!) Then you simply toss the ball past their front hip and have them swing. Clearly this drill is more difficult and teaches them to make contact going to the opposite field. Please do not use this drill for the very young Softball player because it could frustrate them and that is just no fun. This is a good drill for the kids that are established and have a better concept of what you're trying to accomplish. Again, even for them It may take awhile and that's OK. Remember what you don't want is for them to be swinging under the ball and popping it up, have them make contact with the top half of the ball and we'll be well on our way.

How do I use this broom handle bat... Position Three
You are going to place yourself directly behind your Fastpitch Softball hitter while on your knee or sitting on a bucket. Again from this position your softball hitter won't be able to see your arm because you don't want them looking back over their shoulder so you'll have to give them a verbale indicator for them to stride (again not a big stride!) Then you simply toss the ball in front of them out towards where the pitcher would be standing, it's important that you toss it flat and about waist high. They will then pick up the ball out in front of the plate and make their swing, with the goal of hitting it right up the middle. Yes, this drill is difficult and should only be used as your fastpich softball player progresses.
Remember what you don't want is for them to be swinging under the ball and popping it up, have them make contact with the top half of the ball and we'll be well on our way.

How do I use this broom handle bat... Position Four
You are going to place yourself directly across from your Fastpitch Softball hitters stance while standing on a bucket or chair. Again from this position your softball hitter won't be able to see your arm because you don't want them looking up so you'll have to give them a verbal indicator for them to stride (again not a big stride!) Then you simply drop the ball into the hitting zone. They will then try to pick up the ball as it drops into the zone and make their swing, with the goal again of hitting the ball right up the middle. Yes, this drill is also difficult and should only be used as your fastpitch softball player progresses.
Remember what you don't want is for them to be swinging under the ball and popping it up, have them make contact with the top half of the ball and we'll be well on our way.

That's enough for now....
This is enough to get you started. These drills are excellent for the beginner or the most advanced softball player and will definitely improve their hand/eye coordination.
I like to use 3 different sizes of balls in this drill, the golf ball, the baseball and the softball. For the beginners I would start with the baseball as they advance move to the golf ball size and then step up to the baseball and finally the softball from each position. Watch how they rip the large ball at the end of the session, then watch how they rip the softball in their next game. Now don't you agree that is the perfect use of that old broom?
I hope you've found this to be helpful.
Until next time remember Softball is for everyone... Fastpitch Softball is for athletes!