Fastpitch Softball - Basics on How Its Done & Fastpitch Softball Pitching Equipment

Fastpitch Softball - Basics on How Its Done & Fastpitch Softball Pitching Equipment
By guest author: Mike Ripley

The game of softball is often confused with the game of baseball and many are often lead to believe that if one plays baseball one can play softball too. Before one discusses what softball pitching is all about it would be worth while to just have a glimpse of some of the differences. Softball as a game has its roots in the game of baseball. In softball the numbers of innings are limited to seven; the ball is thrown underhand and played on a smaller ground. The game of softball has been attributed to George Hancock and since then this game has become increasingly popular. Today it is played in countries all over the world.

Pitching a softball requires quite a bit of practice. It's not just about throwing the ball but instead requires proper hand and body coordination before the ball is pitched.

The whole idea of softball pitching concentrates around the pitchers body position with respect to the pitchers plate, the gripping of the ball in the hand and the proper positioning of the foot. A full understanding of these positions will help a softball pitcher perform better.

While pitching a softball the weak foot is usually placed at the end of the back of the pitch plate with the feet placed apart at around shoulder length. The arms are kept at the sides and the back heel is lifted in the air. This gives more strength to the front foot and greater balance. The weight can be shifted to the back by rocking the arms in a backward position. The arm is now brought forward with the ball in the glove such that the ball remains hidden from the batter. Rotating the ball in the air in the vertical direction and moving it in a circle the ball is released from the hip position. The action finishes by looking at the direction of the catcher. This is the essence of softball pitching where the main softball equipment with respect to the pitcher is the ball and the gloves.

However, there is fast-pitch softball also known as fast pitch or just fastpitch. This term refers to a form of softball played by women, though male and mixed fast pitch leagues also exist. They commonly start at the age of 6 and play it through the college. The International Softball Federation recognizes three pitch speeds: fast pitch, medium pitch and slow pitch. The fast pitch is considered as the most competitive form of softball. This form of softball was played in Olympic Games from 1996 till 2008.

Softball equipment helps a player to perform at the highest level possible. It is important that bats, gloves, cleats, apparel and more, are top notch in performance, quality, and durability at an affordable price. Nokona as a main manufacturer of softball equipment offers great quality and affordable prices. They make bat bags, softball knee leg guards, catcher gear and accessories (such as Nokona wrist saver, Nokona palm saver, Nokona classic glove conditioner, leather lacings, leather bags, NGM Nokona glove mallet).

Nokona athletic company provides softball players with quality gloves. They come in following series, Buffalo. Buckaroo, Classic Combo and Walnut Classic. They also use a wide range of materials to get the best results. Therefore, Buffalo and Classic Combo are made of American range bison, the leather which provides soft and sturdy at the same time. More over, Buckaroo is combination of kangaroo and cowhides to form lightweight gloves. At last, but not least important Nokona built its reputation on famous Walnut 'crunch' leather. For fastpitch, in their rich array they included series such are Catcher's mitts, Elite and Youth.

Fastpitch softball pitching equipment
http://fastpitchsoftballpitching.org
http://softballbaseballequipment.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Ripley

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Fastpitch Hitting - Swing Like "the Best in the World"

Fastpitch Hitting - Swing Like "the Best in the World"
By guest author: Joe M White

Many people who follow fastpitch softball consider Jessica Mendoza to be the best all-around player, and best overall hitter in the world over the past several years.

Mendoza can do it all at the plate. She is a great bunter, a very effective slap hitter, and hits away for a very high batting average and with terrific power. In fact, baseball fans can compare Mendoza side-by-side with most any major league baseball hall-of-famer, and see that they swing the way she does.

Although Mendoza isn't the first fastpitch player to adopt a Rotational swing, she does it at least as well as anyone who's ever played. More and more fastpitch players are turning to her method of hitting. Increasingly, Division 1 college coaches are converting their players to Rotational hitting (for example, Mike Candera, Head Coach at the University of Arizona, whose teams have won 6 College World Series National Championships, is teaching a peculiar variation of Rotational hitting).

While softball players can continue to have success using the Linear method of hitting, there are reasons for the shift to Rotational.

A Very Short History

Many in the fastpitch community are under the impression that Rotational is relatively new, and that Linear hitting has always been the norm. Actually, Rotational hitting was introduced to Major League Baseball by Shoeless Joe Jackson in the early 20th century, and after Babe Ruth copied Jackson's method, it became the swing of about 95% of Major Leaguers until the introduction of synthetic turf on many Major League fields from the 1960's to the 1990's.

Those early synthetic turf fields were nearly as hard as concrete. Major League batting coaches quickly realized that ground balls hit on it moved so fast, that many balls that were routine ground outs on natural fields were hits on 'turf. Many that would have been outfield singles bounced so hard they became doubles or even triples. So many began to teach Linear hitting to their weaker hitters. And in many cases it worked.

(Most of the Big Leaguers who hit over.300 in those years, and nearly all the RBI and Home Run leaders, continued to be Rotational hitters. As synthetic turf disappeared from the Major Leagues, so did Linear hitting. There are very few nowadays, and although many still use Linear terms to describe their swing, they actually use Rotational swings.)

The increasing use of Linear hitting in MLB coincided with the introduction of lightweight aluminum and composite bats. These bats were not only much lighter than wood -- and so could be swung much faster -- they also had more "pop." The ball came off the bat harder and faster, so grounders hit with metal or composite bats got past infielders more often than with the old wood bats.

While MLB rejected Non-wood bats, they were quickly adopted by youth baseball leagues, middle and high schools, and the NCAA. Along with the bats, coaches at all these levels began to teach Linear hitting. Boys and young men who might have struggled with heavy wood bats became good or even above average hitters by using aluminum/composite bats and Linear hitting.

During all this, fastpitch softball experienced a rebirth as a game for women and girls. Fastpitch softball was originally played with wood bats, and Rotational hitting was the dominant method for both women and men playing the game. In fact, relatively few women played fastpitch until the 1970's.

As young ladies took up the game, they used aluminum and composite bats, for the same reason their male counterparts were. Most of their coaches were men -- dads -- who were enthusiastically embracing the cutting-edge Linear hitting movement. So most ladies learned Linear hitting, which tends to create more grounders as we'll see.

Linear Versus Rotational

So what's the difference between Linear and Rotational hitting? Andy Collins has a pretty good definition of Linear hitting: "Linear hitting is a hitting style that has been used for many years in fast pitch softball and by many little league coaches, some high school, college, and even minor league baseball coaches who still prefer this method of hitting instruction.Read more.

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Check out these coaching articles at the Softball Coaching Digest:
SoftballCoachingDigest.com
• Articles from the Youth Softball Coaching Clinic Blog
• Articles from the Coaching Fastpitch Softball Pitchers Blog
• Articles from the Coaching Fastpitch Softball Hitters Blog
• Articles from the Tips for Fastpitch Softball Coaches Blog
• The Fastpitch Softball Training Equipment Blog