Michael in Cleveland wrote to ask if I could suggest any ideas for [tag]coaching fast pitch softball[/tag]. Here’s a [tag]fastpitch[/tag] [tag]softball[/tag] [tag]hitting[/tag] [tag]drill[/tag] sent to me by Kyle.
This drill emphasizes using the body during your swing. (FASTPITCH SOFTBALL SWING, NOT A BASEBALL SWING!)
Stand in the batters box with a tee and a ball ready to be hit. The batter holds a boat paddle (or row paddle) with his left hand on the end and the right hand at far up the handle. Then both hands should be on top of the paddle, just like you are rowing in a boat. Hold the paddle at your waist with the wide part of the paddle facing towards the catchers position and parallel to the ground. To swing, rotate the hips, bringing the paddle around and make contact with the ball.
Variation #1: hold a bat using the same grip as above, Closely resembling a bunt grip but with the right hand over the bat instead of under. Rotate the hips and body to hit the ball off of the tee.
Variation #2a: hold a bat using a regular hitters grip. Place bat against the hip bone facing towards the catcher. Rotate the body around, leaving the bat at the hip position.
Variation #2b: same as 2a, but place a soccer ball or basketball on the tee to really emphasise rotating the hips and using the legs on the swing.