PITCHING
Slo-pitch
An underhand delivery is used to pitch the ball in a slow looping arc. Despite the minimal speed, an accurate pitcher can still put spin on the ball to trick batters. Slo-pitch has 10 players on a team instead of nine, and it's an easier game to play. Scores are usually higher than fast pitch.
Fast-pitch
A
'windmill' like motion is used to pitch the ball. Good pitchers have a number of pitches such as – fastball, riseball, curveball, dropball and change-up – to keep hitters off balance. Fast-pitch is dominated by pitching and is a faster paced game than slo-pitch. Generally, scores are lower than in slo-pitch.
Orthodox
Regular underhand pitches. No windmill as in fast-pitch or arc as in slo-pitch.
Three-pitch
The rules are basically the same as slo-pitch, except there is no defensive pitcher. The pitcher is from your team and each team member gets three pitches, including foul balls. You either hit the ball or you're out.
THE SKILLS
Hitting is considered as one of the most difficult skills in all of sports. And trying to hit a round ball with a round bat is no mean feat! It requires good hand-eye coordination, which means you must never take your eyes off the ball. Most of the power required for hitting comes from the legs and hips. And like most sports, technique is more important than raw power. As they say, practise makes perfect. And that's how you perfect your swing.
Catching also requires good eye-hand coordination. And once again, you must never take your eyes off the ball. Or guess what? You’ll miss it. Catching also requires good footwork and the ability to anticipate where the ball is going to land. Always catch the ball with two hands or it could pop out of your glove.
Throwing requires technique and accuracy. Like hitting, it isn't necessarily the person with the biggest muscles who can throw the ball the farthest or hardest. Use the force of your whole body, not just your arm, when you throw the ball. And remember to aim at your target. A slow accurate throw is much more effective than a fast wild one!
A good slide can mean the difference between advancing to another base. Or the difference between winning or losing the game. You can slide feet first, which enables you to get up quicker and maybe continue running. Or you can slide head first with your hands out to touch the base, which comes in really handy if the call is close.
The key to good pitching is to out-think, outsmart and use a variety of pitches to defeat the opposing team. In slo-pitch, it means putting 'spin' on your pitches. And in fast-pitch, you can just plain blow it by them. Great pitchers can sometimes win games by themselves.
| “Fun Fact: The best fast-pitch hurlers throw at approximately 129 km/h (80 mph) from a distance of 14 m (46 ft.) as opposed to 18.5 m (60 ft. 6 in.) in baseball. That means batters in fast-pitch have less time to react than if they were facing Roger Clemens or Randy Johnson.” |
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