Helping slappers learn to stay in on the plate

[Ken Krause]

Converting a right-handed hitter into a lefty slapper has any number of challenges -- not the least of which is it's awkward as all get-out. To get some small measure of just how tough it is to make that move, take one day and do everything with your opposite hand -- eat, write, deal cards, whatever.

Now picture that in addition to those things you're doing them while moving, and while whatever it is you're trying to do is moving too. Hey, hitting is tough enough. But doing it opposite-handed while running toward the pitcher? That's just nuts.

Yet it can be worth all the effort, because a girl who can put the ball in play and get up the line fast enough to put pressure on the defense is highly valuable. After all, as Coach Candrea says, speed never has a slump.

So yes, there are lots of good reasons to do it. But it takes a lot more than just moving the hitter across the plate and saying "watch how Natasha Watley does it."

One of the toughest parts is learning to keep the shoulders closed toward the plate so the hitter can drive the ball toward the left side of the infield. That's important, of course, to make the throw take longer and give the hitter the best chance of getting on base. But after taking the crossover step, especially for a righty that is being converted over, it's very natural to turn the shoulders along with the hips as shown in the first video. When that happens, the hitter is far more likely to pull the ball to the right or hit it back at the pitcher than to drive it to the left.

You can tell her to keep her shoulders in, but that's easier said than done. So here's a more specific instruction. Tell her that as her left foot crosses over her right, she should pull her left shoulder back. When that occurs (as seen in the second video clip) the shoulders stay closed and she's in a good position to slap.

It's simple, but it works!

More...

 

[Ken Krause]

If you want to see the two video clips, you have to go to Life in the Fastpitch Lane

 

[SBFAMILY]

USA Softball Merchandise Ken good post. I found this site by Candrea and Lowe as a useful video on how to teach the short game. DD was switched to the left side at 12 by Howard/hitter, but she was taught to hit first. One thing I have found is the benefit of using the TCB balls with a slapper. It forces the YOU to hit a normal softball harder into the ground, since these balls stay on the bat longer and do not have the trampoline effect a ball has.

 

[Ken Krause]

I've been doing it in reverse. I have a girl who is lightning quick but was right-handed. That's the girl in the video. She never hit particularly well from the right side (she was on a team I coached this summer but I hadn't worked with her before), so she seemed a natural candidate to make into a slapper. She had trouble even getting comfortable putting her right hand over her left at first, but in a few weeks has really gotten the hang of slapping. I was working with her tonight, and as long as she pulled the left shoulder back as she did the crossover she did well. She's even learned to hit the inside pitch to the opposite field, which isn't easy.

After I started her on slapping (and bunting) we started working on hitting. In my experience, she needs to swing the bat well enough, and hit the ball hard enough, to be credible. I doubt she'd be a power hitter from either side, but if she can hit hard ground balls and sharp singles with a full swing it ought to be enough to keep the defense honest. Learning the full swing is taking a bit longer, but it's coming along. She actually has good mechanics at this point, just no power. But that will come in time. I'm really pleased with her progress.

 

[druer]

The back shoulder, and the natural desire to pull out too early is always the 2 key things that separates the great ones from the average ones. Posting the video clips is a great way for people to clearly see the difference.

My approach is like yours ... make them lay it down softly and slap first. Slapping is all about controlling where the ball goes based on the defense. Once they get comfortable with seeing the ball from the other side and getting used to the timing then I will start them taking real swings as a leftie. After they develop their leftie fundamentals and approach to where to take each pitch I start working on the power slap.

So if you are a coach and you have a player who is "developing" please allow them the time to actually develop and help build their confidence as they learn to do the hardest thing in the world "hitting a moving ball with a round bat" all while now seeing the ball differently and exploding their feet at the same time.