switch hitting in softball???????

[pinoypride1977]

is there switch hitting in softball. about 2 yrs. ago my then 12yr daughter laid a drag bunt down from the left side and loved it, so now when ever we go to the cages she always practices it but i told her if thats all she could do i won't let her do it in a game. now she is a decent contact hitter from the left side (atleast in the cage) but is a good power hitter from the right side. i don't want to mess with her swing but she has been practicing hitting from the left for 2 yrs. now and wants to play a game from that side to see how she does i know live pitching is alot different then a pitching machine and i want to keep her in her comfort zone on the right side. is it even worth trying ???????????

[Comp]

If she has speed and can lay down a drag bunt, what difference does it make how she gets on base? Until you start letting her try it during games you will never know. As she gets comfortable with working from the left side she can integrate more things into her bunting and slapping. If she works on the complete left package, there is little a defense can do to defend against her. If they play back she can bunt, if the crowd her she could chop the ball or swing away.

[Battle]

is it even worth trying ???????????

Sure it's worth trying. Why not, she is 12 years old?
But if I were you, I would get an instuctor that knows what he is doing or one that you feel confident that he does. Either has played the game or has coached for a long time. Bad habits are hard to break once they have been practiced.
If she is a slapper, slapping is hard to defend against if she is good at it and is fast but the best defense against a slapper is the pitcher and pitch calling. If you don't learn proper technique, a decent pitcher can wear a so called slapper out. Just my opinion though.

Newb

[softballrulznut]

I will answer your question with another "How many switch hitters do you see playing at the upper Division I level in college?"

Personally, I can't think of any.

[watchtonsofsoftball]

IMO it really depends on what she does from the right side. Is she 14 now? I read 12 then practiced for 2 years, anyways I cant remember what you wrote, but if she is 14 now, she needs to decide SOON which way she wants to go.
Getting back to my original answer, if she is a great hitter from the right side there is no need for going left handed. From my personal experience, my dd was/is very fast but a right handed hitter. She hit over .400 from the time that I can remember (10?) all the way through high school and TB. We had a couple of years where coaches wanted to turn her over to the left side because of her speed. In each instance I had to explain that due to her high average and low strikeout ratio, I wasnt comfortable with switching her over. And yes, she practiced it in the cages during her "fun" rounds. But I think switching to the left side is a good idea for hitters who are just average or below average from the right side, but have great speed. Its a way to improve their worth to the team. Hope this helps.

One note... This is for converting to the left side, not a switch hitter persay. Switch hitting doesnt really exist at the higher levels.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Lets take the opposing Coaches viewpoint ... A known right handed batter comes up to the plate from the left side ... You think she is going to slap and she swings away ... You think she is going to swing away and she drags ... You think she is going to drag and she slaps .... Nope, as an opposing coach, I don't think there is any reason to teach her anything else but hitting right handed ...

[softballrulznut]

Lets take the opposing Coaches viewpoint ... A known right handed batter comes up to the plate from the left side ... You think she is going to slap and she swings away ... You think she is going to swing away and she drags ... You think she is going to drag and she slaps .... Nope, as an opposing coach, I don't think there is any reason to teach her anything else but hitting right handed ...

If someone could be extremely skilled to do ALL of the things you mentioned well then yes as an opposing coach I'd be "worried". I've yet to meet the kid that can do all well that is a threat from both sides that can swing away and drag bunt and hit right handed. When you find her let me know I want her on my team and I want to be her agent later in life.

[TulsaEliteGold]

IMO, if a kid is going to flip to the leftside, they need to fully flip and be working with an experienced hitting instructor with proven results flipping kids. They need to learn to swing away and slap from the leftside. One thing I see happen all the time that I personally don't like is the kids who are flipped only because they are fast and then they are only taught to slap.

Before I will flip a student, I make sure the kid and their parents know, its going to take them a lot of hard work and many hours of practice to be successful and fully flip. I prefer to only flip kids who are 14U and younger and also to start the process during the offseason. I require them to learn how to swing away from the left side before we ever start to teach them to slap. We will usually spend at least 4-6 weeks building their lefthandded swing for power before ever starting any slapping and then we will make sure they continue to build their power from the leftside while learning to slap. We have had a lot of success flipping kids by doing it this way. Im not saying its the only way, but it has worked for our students.

I've also found with younger kids, alot of them pick up flipping very easy and become better hitters in a short period of time because they didn't have any bad habits from the left side.

If a kid is a .400+ hitter from the rightside or already in 16U, I wouldn't reccomend flipping them. If they are 14U or younger and either A) are fast or B) have a weak swing from the right side; I would reccomend flipping them.

[softballrulznut]

IMO, if a kid is going to flip to the leftside, they need to fully flip and be working with an experienced hitting instructor with proven results flipping kids. They need to learn to swing away and slap from the leftside. One thing I see happen all the time that I personally don't like is the kids who are flipped only because they are fast and then they are only taught to slap.

Before I will flip a student, I make sure the kid and their parents know, its going to take them a lot of hard work and many hours of practice to be successful and fully flip. I prefer to only flip kids who are 14U and younger and also to start the process during the offseason. I require them to learn how to swing away from the left side before we ever start to teach them to slap. We will usually spend at least 4-6 weeks building their lefthandded swing for power before ever starting any slapping and then we will make sure they continue to build their power from the leftside while learning to slap. We have had a lot of success flipping kids by doing it this way. Im not saying its the only way, but it has worked for our students.

I've also found with younger kids, alot of them pick up flipping very easy and become better hitters in a short period of time because they didn't have any bad habits from the left side.

If a kid is a .400+ hitter from the rightside or already in 16U, I wouldn't reccomend flipping them. If they are 14U or younger and either A) are fast or B) have a weak swing from the right side; I would reccomend flipping them.

Agreed with your assessment - big difference though between flipping and switch hitting. Again, find me a current high level player who regularly hits both left handed and right handed in college softball. I'm not sure it can be done.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Lets take the opposing Coaches viewpoint ... A known right handed batter comes up to the plate from the left side ... You think she is going to slap and she swings away ... You think she is going to swing away and she drags ... You think she is going to drag and she slaps .... Nope, as an opposing coach, I don't think there is any reason to teach her anything else but hitting right handed ...

If someone could be extremely skilled to do ALL of the things you mentioned well then yes as an opposing coach I'd be "worried". I've yet to meet the kid that can do all well that is a threat from both sides that can swing away and drag bunt and hit right handed. When you find her let me know I want her on my team and I want to be her agent later in life.

Very few around ... Hate it if she is on the other team ... Would want her on my team and work with gals who I think are capable ...
The OP states this gal is 14 now and been working on it for 2 years ... So how would you suggest finding out if she can do all these things ? By looking into some crystal ball ? Sounds like this gal is having fun doing it ( gotta watch that 'having fun' stuff - too much of that leads them straight down the road to happiness ! & then what ? ) ... If she never gets on base, think of all the hand eye coordination exercise she will be getting ...