Bunting help

[greg99]

My DD is having a hard time bunting. She is a pitcher and she spends about 85% of practice time pitching. She has starting to put in more time hitting/bunting. I don't know alot about bunting so I'm here asking for just the basics. She just sort of pivots when she turns to bunt, she doesn't "square up" her feet, is that correct? She seems off balance to me. Also, she almost always hits the ball to close to her hands, i want the ball near the end of the bat, which is better? Should the ball hit the bat or have the bat hit the ball? she seems to hit the ball with the ball.

Thanks
Greg

 

[Dragoncoach]

This is how I teach it.

move all the way up in the box. choke up (this is the 1 time I let them).
Pivot, slide r hand up w/fist and thumb grip.
arms out but slightly bent at chin level.
bat head slightly higher and tilted toward field
balanced.
adjust up and down by bending legs keeping bat out in front of chin
catch and drop

 

[starsnuffer]

There are a lot of different ways to do it.. .since your daughter doesn't seem to have a coach teaching her how to do it a specific way, I think this would be a great start for both of you:



-W

 

[shockcoach]

I'm similar to Drgoncoach.

BUNTING – SACRIFICE BUNT
1. Move all the way to the front of the batters box
2. Open up your stance by sliding your front foot straight back about 6-8"
3. Square around early with the bat at the top of the zone and on a slight up & down angle
4. Move your right hand up to where the bat starts to get bigger
5. Slightly bent at the knees
6. Bat handle on same level as eyes – just peek over handle of bat with the bat about 6" from your eyes
7. Move up or down in the zone by bending your knees – not moving your hands
8. Catch the ball with the bat and drop it about 5 to 10 feet from home plate
9. Control the direction the ball will go by moving the bat handle either forward (to bunt down the first base line) or back (to bunt down the third base line)

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Do's and don't of bunting:

Don't

Never just pivot on your back foot, you have no balance (try it, my DD can push me over with a couple of fingers)
Never go up with your bat, only down

Do

From hitting stance, take a small step toward the plate with back foot. Feet are firmly on the ground for good balance.
Knees are bent in an athletic position
Shoulders are square to 2B position (between 1B & 2B bases).
Bat is angled and the height is at the top of the strike zone in front of the batter (6 inches or so away from the face).
Go down with knees to adjust to low pitch
Any pitch above the original bat height is a ball and you will lay off of it.

 

[quincy]

You need to get the ball 15’ or so down the line so bat needs to hit the ball. You certainly do not want to lunge or swing at the ball but the batter still needs to hit the ball.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

You need to get the ball 15’ or so down the line so bat needs to hit the ball. You certainly do not want to lunge or swing at the ball but the batter still needs to hit the ball.

Won't it depend on whether you are bunting for a hit vs. sacrifice bunt? With a sacrifice it only needs to be put in play somewhere, the baserunner should be safe everytime because of the lead-off.

 

[greg99]

Thanks so much for the replys. looks like it doesn't matter if she squares or pivots, I prefer to square when its a SAC. What about trying to hit the ball more on the end of the bat to deaden it more?

 

[quincy]

Sure, but even a sacrifice bunt I think you want to hit the ball with the bat.

 

[obbay]

FWIW- I don't teach the thumb and fist grip anymore. That's the way we did it in baseball, but the mass of a softball is greater and I've had a couple girls hurt themselves when the ball hits the bat it yanks their thumb back.

I've seen plenty of pro ball and college players grip the bat with fingers exposed to the pitch and lay it down.
I have them locate this hand right where the bat thickens from handle to barrel.

Now you have me curious as to how my U16s hold the bat when they bunt..........They all do it differently.......