by Mike Constanza
Since the first Olympics in 1996, the softball industry really grows up. Now it has a separate fan base rather than baseball. According to the Los Angeles Times, about 30 million people play softball only in the United States. That’s awesome!
But still, most of the softball players consider the hitters as the main part of this sport! How ignorant!
To win a softball match, you have to do well in every sector such as hitting, pitching, and fielding. Most importantly, if you know how to pitch slow pitch softball, it drastically increases the chances of winning that match.
That’s why I’ve demonstrated this simplified step by step guide to inform you of the easiest way of pitching.
Let’s have some fun together.
Contents
Learning to pitch isn’t an overnight process. You have to practice more and more. But, only the skill and passion won’t make you a successful one until you have the gears.
Thus I’ve listed the potential gears before start the pitching process. Here it is –
How can you play softball without a ball? It’s ridiculous! Before starting the pitching process, make sure that you have a proper-sized softball. It’s the very first requirement.
Don’t even think about heading further without getting a perfect softball!
I’ve seen lots of players who don’t bother wearing gloves in their practice sessions. That’s a huge mistake!
Always keep dressed as the real softball match even though it’s a training session. It will keep you comfortable in the real softball tournament.
The home plate is the destination of your thrown ball. Get a durable plate so that it can resist the speedy throws. It will be better if you can manage a catcher during the practice session.
Pitcher’s plate is a rectangular slab of whitened material (mostly rubber). The plate is 24 inches in length and 6 inches in width. The plate must be attached to the surface properly.
The safety gear is meant to keep you safe from any unwanted danger. But, the irony of the fact that most of the pitchers avoid these gears in their training period.
Don’t do that!
Always wear safety gear like helmet, chest protector, shin guards, throat protectors, etc. These gears will keep you safe from any unwanted accidents. Do you want to get injured before a tournament?
These are our primary safety gear for now. Before heading to the main session, make sure that you’ve collected all of these tools.
Turf shoes for softball reviews are also useful for you.
Pitching might seems like just throwing a random ball. But, the slow pitching is a tough nut to crack. Don’t think that the pitching is the same for both baseball and softball. There are lots of differences between softball and baseball.
In this section, we’ll take a look at the step by step pitching methods.
Standing in the right position is the very first requirement for pitching correctly. You have to always stand on the pitcher’s plate. There’s no straightforward rule about standing on the plate.
But, following the rules below will give you some extra efficiency on the field.
Stand by facing directly to your home plate. It helps to aim the ball towards the hitter.
Now, take your right foot one step back. If the left one is your dominant foot, keep the left one in the back. Now your body is slightly angled towards the home plate.
Keep your knees soft while moving the dominant foot backward. Don’t lock it. Locking will make your facing difficulties.
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That’s the process of holding your position on the pitcher’s plate. If you feel uncomfortable with this, just stand in a comfortable style.
To hold and throw the ball, you’ll need a glove and the ball itself. Wear the glove in your non-dominant hand and take the ball by the dominant hand.
Follow the simple trick below to hold the ball properly.
At first, make full contact with the ball by using your fingers and palms. Wrap the ball by your fingers and grip it tightly.
Press the palm against the ball surface. Place your index finger in the parallel position with one seam and the thumb with the other stitch. This method is helpful to grip the ball tightly.
By the way, you are free to grip the ball the way you feel comfortable.
Besides the thumb and index finger, place the rest of the fingers wherever it stays naturally. Just make sure that your thumb and index finger can put enough pressure on the ball. The pressure will make the ball stable on your palm.
If the process seems complicated to you, imagine holding a soda can. Hold the ball exactly like you hold a soda can.
After holding the ball comfortably, it’s time to prepare your hand for throwing the ball. Swinging is the best option for throwing the ball.
Bring your hand on the back and keep it alongside with the hip.
Keep the ball in a higher position at your waist level.
Make sure to keep your hand in a 90-degree angle with your body. It helps you to throw the ball efficiently.
Now, swing the hand to get the necessary power to throw the ball. Keep swinging the ball forward and upward until you get used to the rotation.
Whenever you feel fully ready to throw the ball, it’s time to throw it. Try to release the ball exactly when your arm passes your thigh. It allows you to keep the ball in the right direction towards your target.
Make this movement as quickly as possible. However, don’t speed up the throw excessively. It may result in an excessive speed warning from the umpire.
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You just completed your first pitch in slow pitch softball. But that’s not the end of the journey. Even if your pitching is almost pitch-perfect, you have to practice the pitching again and again.
Practice the same task for endless time is the only secret of being a master pitcher. Keep practicing!
That’s the end of our journey about informing you of the basic information about how to pitch slow pitch softball. As you’ve noticed, mastering the slow pitching isn’t hard. You just need the willingness and ability to learn continuously.
Remember, once you’ve mastered the slow pitching technique, you will be amazed by noticing how important you become for your team’s success.
Work hard to taste that success!
About Mike Constanza
For years, Mike had always told everyone "no other sport like baseball." True to his word, he keeps diligently collecting baseball-related stuff: cards, hats, jerseys, photos, signatures, hangers, shorts (you name it); especially anything related to the legendary player Jim Bouton.
Mike honorably received Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. In his graduation speech, he went on and on about baseball... until his best friend, James, signaled him to shut it.
He then worked for a domain registrar in Phoenix, AZ; speciallizng in auction services. One day at work, he saw the site JimBouton.com pop on the for-sale list. Mike held his breath until decided to blow all of his savings for it.
Here we are; the site is where Mike expresses passion to the world. And certainly, he would try diversing it to various areas rather than just baseball.
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