the right bat

i'm soon 15 and in need of a bat. after consulting with various coaches i learned that the right bat for me would be 32 or 33 inches, 22 oz. with a -11, -12, or -13 swing. around here (i live in PA) it's hard to find any bat with a -13. does anyone have any good suggestions of a bat i should try?????

Just curious where you learned that you need a -13 bat? I don't know ONE 14 or 15 year old that has less than a -10, and I know a lot of softball players.

The 2 most common bats that I have seen are the DiMarini cf3 or cf4 and the RocketTech bats, all of them with a -10. My DD swings a CF4 32/22 and loves it! She is 5'10" and near 220

i think you ahve your specs a litte twisted . the minus nuber refers to the differnce betwen the lenght and weight

so a 32/22 is a -10 bat
a 33/22 a -11

lots of 32/22 ou there , not many 33/22

I've never seen anything that is less than an -11.5. I wouldn't want anything less than that, it would be like swinging a really long, hard toilet paper tube it would be so light!

What are your teammates using? Try them, so what you like. Generally, with a team of girls you'll get to try at least 6 different kids of bats and in there you should find something you like.

My dd is 15 uses a 33-23 and is 107 lbs. I'm not a fan of any 2010 bats. Save money and buy any of the older bats. Read the ASA web site and you will find out why none of the newer bats will match up with the older bats. Not a fan of end loaded bats for most girls, unless they work with a hitting coach and he has told them they can handle the bat.

-13? I'm with the others, I think that's waaaaayyyyyyy too light.

I think -10 is actually a bit light too, but many like the balanced feel that -10 usually have. I wouldn't even go any further on a drop than that.

I'm only 5'2" and the longest bat I'd use is a 33in. I honestly like the heavier bats and prefer a -8 or -9, but I also don't care for the end loaded feel. Just doesn't feel right in my hands. Unfortunately it's tough to find a -9 or -8 that swings "right" for me.

I'm also not a huge fan of any of the newer bats. Each year I like to buy something and this year none really jumped out at me.

15yo? I'd just go to better sporting goods store and swing a few bats and see what size/weight feels right. I'd completely forget about -11 or -13, that's ridiculously light for someone your age. Not sure how tall you are... My daughter is 12 and short, and swings a -10, so I'd say at least a -10. Get yourself a composite if you can, they have the best pop. Since you're new at picking bats, maybe once you find a size/weight you like, get on craigslist or ebay and find a lightly used Demarini or Anderson or Miken. Swing it for a season, then spend the big bucks and get something you really want (new), later in the year.

The -13 helps me swing faster. with tournament ball, i sometimes have a hard time getting the bat around and the -13 allows me to do that. the one i tried gave me a good pop too.

What bat are you using that is a negative thirteen? What brand/model/make?

Worth sells the Prodigy batline at -13. May be some others.

Softball_chick - I think you are in sort of a catch 22 situation. If you haven't been taught how to swing fast enough then you are always at a disadvantage in fastpitch. Usually it starts with "stand in the back of the box so you have more time", but the coaches leave off the rest of the sentence ".... so that you'll have more time to take the same slow swing you've always taken." Then as the pitchers get even faster it becomes "You need to start your .... same slow swing you've always taken .... sooner." Then when the pitchers start throwing balls that you swing at by starting sooner it turns to "You need to swing a lighter bat so that ... you can take the same slow swing you've always taken and be able to wait longer." None of those things actually helps you become a better batter. They are all designed to merely help you make some contact and avoid striking out, and really just plant negative thoughts into your head. "I'm not good enough to hit this fast pitcher I need more time than others, I need to start earlier than others, I need to use a lighter bat than others."

The real problem is that there is a scientific formula that explains hitting. It is F=M*Ac or Force = Mass * Acceleration (speed.) If you take a slow swing, there is littler force. If you drastically reduce the Mass just to increase the speed a little bit, again there is going to be little force. That's why so many are encouraging you to swing a heavier bat, so that you'll have more force. I find that a slow swing comes from a few, very easily correctable things:

1. Desire to be a goalie - In other sports as you know the goalies job is to keep the object from getting passed them. In softball many girls have grown up and been encouraged to become goalies as well. They are taught to take late, slow swings to avoid letting the ball reach the catchers mitt. The fear of striking out greatly overrides the desire to rip the cover off of the ball. That is something only the player can control, but it is something where they don't need a hitting coach. They can choose to just say "Hey that sounds like me ... I'm going to choose from now on to try and attack the ball instead of just protecting the catchers mitt. If I strike out, I strike out, but if I hit the ball I am going to kill it."

2. Thought that hitting is about strength - Notice that in the formula there is nothing about how strong a player is. I'm sure you see lots of really big strong players that have weak ground balls and little players that kill the ball. It just goes back to the formula. Problem is that most girls ignore the evidence before them and incorrectly assume that they can "muscle up" on the ball by squeezing the bat really tight. Because when they tighten up on the bat they feel their bicep get really tight so they feel "strong." The tighter you squeeze the bat the tighter all of your upper body becomes. The tighter your upper body is the more resistance that you encounter as you try to swing. The more your body resists your swing, the slower the swing is. Then after strike 1 blows by, that batter usually squeezes the bat even tighter on the next pitch with even worse results. After strike 2 the batter can usually not even breath because they squeeze the bat so hard. My advice to those girls is to do something that forces them not to squeeze the bat hard. It can wiggling the fingers on their top hand when they hold the bat, wiggling the bat a little bit or whatever. Just something that makes it impossible to grip the bat with the grip of death.

3. The thought that hitting is about the arms - Most girls have a tendency to swing the bat with just their arms. When that occurs their lower body, since it is connected to the ground encounters a ton of friction as the upper body tries to turn for the swing. That friction produces a lot of resistance just like squeezing the bat too hard will do, and resistance slows the swing down. Again typically after strike 1 that type of player uses her arms even more and her lower body resists even more. Players have to realize that to overcome that resistance and get the fastest swing they must get their lower body involved in the swing in some way so that it isn't just causing resistance and slowing the swing down. I won't use any terms as that would just start a firestorm, but I think it is safe to say that any hitting instructor would agree that batters must involve their lower body to get the bat moving its fastest.

Not sure if you fall into any of the above 3 categories or not, but if you do I hope some of the advice will help you make some changes. I've got NO PROBLEM at all with you using a -13 if it helps you get some confidence that you can attack the ball early. If that confidence then enables you to relax more at the plate, your swing speed will increase and you can gradually work to a slightly heavier bat that will give you more Mass and thus more force if you keep your speed up.