What's up, softball players.
I'm coach Dan Blewett.
In today's video, let's talk about reasons that players commonly
strike out and some strategies for reducing your strikeout numbers.
As a hitter in softball
All right.
So let's jump right into it. So.
First reason that hitters strike out is because of poor pitch selection.
So this is one of the biggest things that hitters
improve that as they climb up the ladder in different levels.
So in high school, versus college versus pros,
pit hitters don't swing at stuff that they cannot hit hard.
So say there's a first pitch on the corner of the plate on the outer third.
Good hitters are going to take that pitch because even if it's a strike
and it's early in the count, they know they can't drive it very well.
So they're just going to take it.
They're going to bide their time
and wait it out as best they can to try to get a pitch that they can drive, which
is almost always going to be more center cut in the middle of the plate.
So it doesn't matter what level you're at.
You can always narrow your focus and do what we call missing out
pitches you don't want to swing at.
So say you don't want to swing at drop curves.
Looking at, you know, watching more intently,
trying to figure out what is the spin right out of your hand.
And when you see a drop curve, you take you know, stuff like that.
Good hitters know that.
I don't want to swing at certain pitch types.
I don't want to swing at certain pitch types in certain counts.
And I want to swing in at only pitches in a certain part of the strike zone.
So pitch selection is something that you can control.
And the better your pitch selection is and the more you're letting
all of these pitches go,
the better
your strikeout totals are going to be and the more hard contact
and more and more consistent contact you're going to make as a hitter.
The second big reason that hitters strike out is guess hitting.
You don't know what's coming unless you're picking up signs and you're 100% sure.
You just don't know what's coming
So what you need to do is figure out what is your time.
You need to be probably on the fastest pitch
the pitcher is going to throw, right? Their fastball or the rise ball.
And so you need to be on that timing and then you need to adjust to offspeed.
But trying to guess, I think she's going to throw me a change at, well,
if she throws you anything but a change up, you're not going to be on time.
So really, the best hitters, they don't they're not gas hitters.
They don't guess.
They look fastball and then they adjust to everything else
because their timing is
such that they can catch up with the hardest pitch the girl throws.
They can always adjust,
wait a little longer and still get good contact.
On any other pitches, she throws, but guess hitting is a really destructive
habit.
The next reason that hitters strike out in softball
is that they don't have a good weight shift
or they have rough swing mechanics in general.
So one of the biggest things you can do
as a hitter is get your foot down before your swing begins.
When your foot is in the air, as your hips start to rotate
That's when you're going to fly. Open your way.
It's going to shift too soon.
Nothing can really happen until this foot hits down.
So no matter how your strikeout totals are, no matter
how your performance is today, working on your swing is obviously critical.
But one of the biggest pieces is your weight shift.
So if you're constantly on your front foot and you can't stay on your backside,
then you're really going to struggle with all the different offspeed pitches
that a pitcher will throw you, especially as your level of play increases
All right.
The number four reason that softball players strike out
is that they're too controlling mentally of their swing.
You have to practice and build your swing
over time through thousands and thousands of reps and swings.
But when you get in a game, you can't be up there subconsciously being swing.
I actually did that as a high school hitter.
I know that I did it
because some of my best games were games that I didn't do that.
And I was a good high school hitter.
I was a three 33 40 hitter every year,
but I knew that I was late to a lot of stuff
because I was making the decision in my head consciously
whereas in reality you need to train yourself to just react.
So my biggest hits in my high school career were when I don't remember
making any decision at all I just let my body take over
and get the barrel to the ball.
And your body knows how to do that too, if you've trained it well
and practiced enough.
And so if you're mentally up there trying to control your swing,
worrying about your swing mechanics or literally telling yourself
swing, now you're making it harder on yourself.
You're going to have less power because having power
at the plate requires smoothness and explosiveness
and you lose your smoothness when you're controlling your body.
You stiffen up and your reaction time is not going to be as good
when you have to tell yourself the swing, there's always a lag between.
So try to be take a deep breath mentally relax and then just see ball.
And to hit the ball.
Obviously it's easier said than done, but that mentality relax.
Deep breath.
See ball, hit ball That's all you really need to do.
And that taking that controlling aspect out of it is going to make you a lot
better hitter.
And last thing about this same tip is you can not be thinking
about mechanics in a game.
If you're working with your hitting coach or your dad in the backyard,
your mom in the backyard, your friend, you're working on your swing.
That's wonderful.
But by the time you get in the game,
you cannot be thinking about your swing mechanics.
Whatever you have, you have that's it.
Just like if you're going to be on stage and do a play recital
whatever you practice, whatever you're up there, you're going to do your best.
Either remember your lines, you're done or you don't.
So with your hitting,
if you go up there, start thinking about where your hands are
where your stride is, it's not going to go well.
So don't think about your mechanics, just ball out,
play instinctually and do the best you can with what you have.
All right.
The next reason hitters get themselves in trouble leading to more strikeouts
is that they're
too passive early in the count, especially when they get good pitches to hit.
You need to step in the box ready to hit from the first pitch.
You have no idea.
It's random, essentially what pitches you're going to get
and whether or not you get something that you can actually drive.
And when that pitch comes, you need to be ready to drive it.
It can be pitch one.
It can be pitch number nine after like a million 32 foul balls.
You just don't know when it's going to come
but if you get up there and you're like, I just want to see a couple of what
the best pitch you just you're going
to see the whole game, the whole at bat just went by
and now it's going to be dropped or have dropped or have dropped her
and you're done.
So you have to know, I'm not just going to swing because it's early,
but I am going to be ready to swing on every single pitch of the at bat.
That's the mindset that you need to have.
All right.
My next tip is not mentally having a plan with regard to who's pitching.
And here's what I mean.
If you're hitting against a pitcher who has a unhittable
rise ball or an unhittable drop curve or whatever,
what are they going to use when they get you to two strikes?
They're going to use those out pitches.
They're going to use those strikeout pitches. Right.
So you've got to know, if I let this girl get two strikes on me,
she's going to put me away.
She's got the stuff, she's got some nasty offspeed stuff or a nasty rise ball.
She's going to put me away.
So what do you do then, if you know that
you swing a little bit earlier in the count, you know that
I've got to put one of these pitches in play early.
And this is different than my last tip.
This is, again, just knowing what does the pitcher have
and how do I need to adjust my strategy accordingly?
I'm not going to
change everything that I do, but I know that if she's going to throw rise
balls once she gets the two strikes, I'm pretty much screwed.
I'm going to try to put something in play early
or maybe I'm a little less discerning.
Maybe if I get someone out or half right or third on the first pitch,
I am going to try to smash that the other way because I don't want
to let her get me to two strikes and take that pitch.
So it just always depends.
But knowing who's pitching, knowing the situation, in, and knowing
your strengths and weaknesses as a hitter leads to a good game plan at the plate.
And when you have a good game plan and you know what you can do
and what you can't do,
and you know what the pitcher can do against you,
then you're going to have all the information possible
to make sensible decisions about what to swing at and when.
Okay. So hopefully this video was helpful.
Obviously, this is my perspective from a former pitcher and from a coach.
I struck out a lot of hitters over my career and seeing you know,
the consistency behind some of their approaches or inconsistency,
seeing their strategy, the better the better hitters are more selective.
They're smart, they have a plan and they know themselves.
Those are the big things that lead those hitters to be really tough outs.
So if you want to be a really tough out strikeout, let's hit the ball hard.
More often and help your team win more games
than some of these strategy tips are going to make a big difference.
So thanks again for watching.
Be sure to check out the links in the description below to my online courses.
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