How to Teach Someone to Hit a Softball

Teaching someone to hit a softball can be one of the most frustrating activities in the world. Face it, some people just don’t have hand-to- eye coordination. While this is a factor in ability to hit a ball with a bat, it isn’t the only factor. The mechanics of proper body position and swinging a bat can often offset any lack of hand to eye coordination. There are two movements to hitting a softball. One is the line of the swing and the other movement is the rotation of the body as it moves through the motions of hitting a ball. Teaching these fundamentals from the beginning will help your hitter become confident in their own ability to hit and later, to adjust their swing to improve their batting average.It’s extremely important for the teacher to be patient. Make the batting practice fun for your student. Don’t criticize too much and make sure you carefully watch your hitter to make any necessary adjustments. Also remember that half of batting is mental. Encourage your hitter to clear his mind and focus on the ball.

Things You'll Need

  • Bat
  • Softball
  • Helmet
  • Pitcher
  • Gloves
  • Home plate
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Teach proper positioning. Have your batter stand sideways to home plate in what is called a closed position with the feet shoulder width apart for balance. Hitters can modify their stance after successfully and consistently hitting the ball. Knees should be slightly bent and weight should be resting on the balls of the feet.

    • 2

      Hold the bat with loose hands. If the hitter is right handed, the left hand should be higher on the bat grip. If the hitter is left handed, the right hand should be highest on the bat grip. The grip should be flexible as the batter is going to need to flick the wrists to send the ball flying.

    • 3

      Lift the bat to a position at shoulder height of the back shoulder. Weight should be balanced on the balls of the feet with just slightly more weight on the rear leg.

    • 4

      The batter’s head should be turned to face the pitcher with the chin on the front shoulder. The full range of head motion will move the batter’s head from the front shoulder to the back shoulder as they move through the motion of a swing.

    • 5

      Have your batter swing through without pitching a ball. One of the hardest things to teach is the shifting of weight from the back to the front leg when moving through a swing. Instruct your batter to swing his rear hip forward as he moves through the swing. Make sure he keeps that rear elbow close to his body.

    • 6

      Make sure the batter is keeping his back shoulder up and making a level swing. Don’t drop the bat. Don’t swing up or down. Swing through the center.

    • 7

      Remind your batter that he is aiming to smack the ball hard with the barrel of the bat (sweet spot). Swing with forearms extended. Half of the battle to hitting the softball further is actually connecting with the ball at the correct point on the bat.

    • 8

      Instruct your batter to keep their eye on the ball throughout the swing. Aim to swing directly through the center of the ball. This is often the one thing that causes many batters to miss hitting the ball.