For girls is it best to pivot feet or square them up? where should the bat be angled ? are the elbows supposed to be in tight to their body or out in front? how do they adjust to location? bend knees or use arms? where should hands be on bat? and any other info appreciated?
bunting technique
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You will get people who are positive that their bunting technique is perfect because they get good results from it--people will talk about angled bat, hand position, pivot, whatever. I don't think the technique matters as much as the coach understanding how to teach her/his technique. I've seen very good bunters and very bad bunters with every technique imaginable.
There are five basic rules in all the techniques:
(A) There is "sacrifice" bunting and "bunting for a hit". They aren't the same thing. It sounds like a minor difference, but you'll see batters blow a sacrifice bunt because they are too focused on getting to 1B rather than on advancing the runner. Make sure the batter understands in a given situation what you want, and make the batter do what you want.
(B) Bat is initially positioned at the top of the strike zone. The batter then will always be moving the bat down on the ball, and never up, so there is a better chance of getting the ball on the ground.
(C) Bat is held in front of the batter.
(D) Batter is never to drop the bat head lower than the knob of the bat.
(E) Batter catches the ball with the bat.
Beyond that, everything else is "coach's choice". IMHO, the rest of it doesn't matter as long as the coach is consistent.
I teach:
(A) Bat parallel to the ground. Some teach holding the bat at a 45 degree angle. For me, it is half a dozen of one and six of the other.
(B) Batter pivots into position. Some coaches teach getting into a running stance to give the runner more of a chance to getting to 1B. I like pivoting into position because the batter can still pull back for a slap.
(C) Left hand stays in position, right hand moves up the bat. For me, if the hands move too much, the batter can't slap the ball.
There are five basic rules in all the techniques:
(A) There is "sacrifice" bunting and "bunting for a hit". They aren't the same thing. It sounds like a minor difference, but you'll see batters blow a sacrifice bunt because they are too focused on getting to 1B rather than on advancing the runner. Make sure the batter understands in a given situation what you want, and make the batter do what you want.
(B) Bat is initially positioned at the top of the strike zone. The batter then will always be moving the bat down on the ball, and never up, so there is a better chance of getting the ball on the ground.
(C) Bat is held in front of the batter.
(D) Batter is never to drop the bat head lower than the knob of the bat.
(E) Batter catches the ball with the bat.
Beyond that, everything else is "coach's choice". IMHO, the rest of it doesn't matter as long as the coach is consistent.
I teach:
(A) Bat parallel to the ground. Some teach holding the bat at a 45 degree angle. For me, it is half a dozen of one and six of the other.
(B) Batter pivots into position. Some coaches teach getting into a running stance to give the runner more of a chance to getting to 1B. I like pivoting into position because the batter can still pull back for a slap.
(C) Left hand stays in position, right hand moves up the bat. For me, if the hands move too much, the batter can't slap the ball.
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Bunting
Attached image is of Autumn Champion who played ball with Caitlin Lowe at Foothills HS and at Arizona. Lowe has been quoted as saying that Champion is the best bunter she has ever seen. She is a slapper so this doesn't help with some of your questions but this is about as good as it gets. Other techniques may be ok but this is what I teach and it works well.
Attached image is of Autumn Champion who played ball with Caitlin Lowe at Foothills HS and at Arizona. Lowe has been quoted as saying that Champion is the best bunter she has ever seen. She is a slapper so this doesn't help with some of your questions but this is about as good as it gets. Other techniques may be ok but this is what I teach and it works well.
Attachments
We teach the cross over step bunt, which is the same as slapper uses . It keeps young kids from hitting foul balls, since you are out in front of the plate, plus it gives the runner an advantage of a moving start to first .
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting/58-slap-bunting.html
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-hitting/58-slap-bunting.html
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- Oct 25, 2009
- 3,334
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Two of my favorites!!! Lowe IS my favorite!!
I used to love the way Autumn seemed to disappear in her helmet. Excellent slapper; as was Lowe!
You can't go wrong imitating those two--on the field and off the field. First class ladies!!
I like having both hands up at the top of the handle, either together or slightly apart. I feel this gives the bunter more bat control and helps her soften it more. When the hands are split, there's a tendency to use the sweet spot too much -- especially on today's bats with their giant sweet spots. With the hands together you're more likely to use the end of the bat, which is more dead and therefore should yield a softer bunt. You give up a little initial plate coverage, but you should be able to get the bat out there for an outside pitch. No hitter I've worked with every had trouble covering the outside part of the plate with this technique. It's also easy to pull back the hands and slap the ball into play with a shorter bat.
For bat angle, I like the head of the bat to start higher than the knob. I think it's easier to get the bunt down that way. No more than 45 degrees, though. Once you get past that you're giving up too much plate coverage in my opinion. Even with split hands. Agree you want it to start at the top of the strike zone, and then have the hitter lower herself on a lower pitch. I can't believe how many girls hang the bat down at their bellies. It's no wonder they have trouble getting it down, especially against a smart pitcher who throws high stuff to get them to pop up.
Sluggers, not sure what you mean when you say pivot. Are you talking about squaring up? I prefer bunters to pivot on the heel of the front foot and toes/ball of the back foot. That technique gives them more stability than pivoting on the balls of both feet, which creates a "tightrope walking" stance, and sets them to run once the bunt is down.
As I've written previously, I'm not a big fan of the sacrifice bunt. I'd rather not give up an out if I don't have to. So I want my bunter to have her best shot at getting on base, particularly in today's game. I've watched too many coaches get a runner on first with no outs, sacrifice her to second, and then fail to score to think much of it. Statistically, you only increase your chances of scoring by 2%, which is not enough for me to give up one of my 21 outs except in extreme situations. I won't say I'll never use it, but I'll avoid it if I can. Part of making that philosophy work, though, is having very good and disciplined hitters who get the bunt down first.
As for the arms, I like them to start out away from the body so there's less likelihood of punching at the ball. You definitely need to give with the pitch and catch the ball.
For bat angle, I like the head of the bat to start higher than the knob. I think it's easier to get the bunt down that way. No more than 45 degrees, though. Once you get past that you're giving up too much plate coverage in my opinion. Even with split hands. Agree you want it to start at the top of the strike zone, and then have the hitter lower herself on a lower pitch. I can't believe how many girls hang the bat down at their bellies. It's no wonder they have trouble getting it down, especially against a smart pitcher who throws high stuff to get them to pop up.
Sluggers, not sure what you mean when you say pivot. Are you talking about squaring up? I prefer bunters to pivot on the heel of the front foot and toes/ball of the back foot. That technique gives them more stability than pivoting on the balls of both feet, which creates a "tightrope walking" stance, and sets them to run once the bunt is down.
As I've written previously, I'm not a big fan of the sacrifice bunt. I'd rather not give up an out if I don't have to. So I want my bunter to have her best shot at getting on base, particularly in today's game. I've watched too many coaches get a runner on first with no outs, sacrifice her to second, and then fail to score to think much of it. Statistically, you only increase your chances of scoring by 2%, which is not enough for me to give up one of my 21 outs except in extreme situations. I won't say I'll never use it, but I'll avoid it if I can. Part of making that philosophy work, though, is having very good and disciplined hitters who get the bunt down first.
As for the arms, I like them to start out away from the body so there's less likelihood of punching at the ball. You definitely need to give with the pitch and catch the ball.
The key to bunting is to physically place the bat between your line of site and the ball. This is the reason to hold the bat at an angle and out in front of your body. Then all you have to do is get your head down behind the barrel of the bat and stop the ball with the bat. In this way, you do not have to rely on peripheral vision to get the bunt down. Just put the bat in front of the ball. This technique also eliminates trying to bunt a high pitch, because if it is in your eyes it is too high and you can pull back. It is much easier to catch the ball with bat when you can see the bat with both eyes in front of the ball. Too many girls look at the ball coming in but don't see the bat until the last second. Then instead of an easy thing to do ( just putting the barrel of the bat in front of the ball) the bunt becomes too much like a swing even though they are just putting the bat out. Again, the key is to physically get the barrel of the bat out in front of your eyes so all you have to put that barrel in front of the ball and stop its progress or "catch" it with the bat.
Softball: Softball bunting stance, open stance, correct stance There are many good sites on how to bunt. Like many they will tell you , softball is not baseball and bunting is not taught the same.
- Dec 28, 2008
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Sluggers - Great job differentiating the things I think we would all agree on as KEY factors and then the things that are style.
One thing that I emphasize with players that hasn't been mentioned is the notion of placing your hands/bat in the position you will catch the ball, at the top of the strikezone and then they never move vertically again. If the ball is below the top of the strikezone they should use their knees like an elevator and go up or down with their body, not with their hands. As Ken suggested I like them with arms extended for outside pitch as far as they will go (set that point for the umpire visually) and only adjust their hands back inside as needed if the ball is really inside and they are sacrificing.
I think everything has been mentioned including the fact that Caitlin Lowe is also my favorite as a slapper
One thing that I emphasize with players that hasn't been mentioned is the notion of placing your hands/bat in the position you will catch the ball, at the top of the strikezone and then they never move vertically again. If the ball is below the top of the strikezone they should use their knees like an elevator and go up or down with their body, not with their hands. As Ken suggested I like them with arms extended for outside pitch as far as they will go (set that point for the umpire visually) and only adjust their hands back inside as needed if the ball is really inside and they are sacrificing.
I think everything has been mentioned including the fact that Caitlin Lowe is also my favorite as a slapper
I don't have a super set way of foot placement and such, but I do agree with what is said above. The further your eyes are from the bat, typically, the tougher it is to bunt the ball well.
I don't really teach the square up technique anymore because it does make it more difficult to cover the whole plate.
I do think it's important to have your bat out in front of you, but also important that your elbows are not locked.
Many feel split hands gives more control of the bat, but when I bunt (and, no I wasn't a terrible bunter), my hands were closer together near the top of the handle as Ken described. It was easier for me to control how hard/soft I bunted the ball.
Legs needs to be in an athletic position so that running after the bunt is not a tough transition.
Now that I'm trying to explain with words, this is not easy lol
I also don't feel that bunting from the left and bunting from the right are necessarily exact mirror images of each other.
I also prefer that bunters do NOT move their bat UP to bunt a ball and getting the legs involved to bunt a ball that is lower than the original starting point of the ball is important as well.
