Jennie Finch Fastpitch

Jennie Finch Fastpitch

Softball is my daughter's passion!

Since hitting is a huge part of the game, knowing what softball bat to use is critical.

I can't help but tell you that my daughter was just voted best defensive player of the year for the High School Sophomore Team.

What makes this a bigger deal is that she is only in the eighth grade.

Her ability to play softball is a gift from God as I have told her many times. The gift she can give back to God is playing the sport in a way that glorifies Him.

When it comes to hitting selecting the right softball bat is critical. I didn't always believe this since there are so very many choices of softball bats out there.

I was from the old school where you just picked out a bat that was available and went to the plate to do the best you could do.

That is just not the case anymore. Choosing the right softball bat can make all the difference in the world to how she does. I have seen her average fluctuate as much as 150 points in just a few games with the wrong softball bat.

Bats today are almost customized to the hitter or hitters. In other words there are softball bats for slow pitch and fastpitch softball.

My daughter is in fastpitch softball. If you have never tried to get a hit off a good girl's fat pitch coming in at around 50 to 60 miles per hour, you just haven't lived. It is a lot harder than you can imagine. It helps put into perspective how hard the sport really is.

By the way she plays third base and pitches. If you know anything about softball, which I am assuming you do if you are reading this article of mine, you know that third base gets some balls that are hit very hard.

This year she took a ball to the mouth that pushed her five front bottom teeth back so far they can't be straightened for six months. After she was hit, she fell to the ground, hit the ground with her fist, stood right back up. She went out for the rest of that inning with her mouth bleeding badly.

She continued to spit out blood and demanded that she go back in the very next inning. I was shocked and amazed at her dedication to this sport. I suppose it was good that she went back in since most would have stayed out and developed a fear of the ball. Once that happens you might as well give up the sport. I have seen more girl's getting hit with a pitched ball that clasps onto the ground in a heap and will develop a fear of the ball from there on out.

In her case that was just not going to happen. She got back out there and was as aggressive as ever.

Talk about a proud father. Now I was concerned about her mouth of course. The only questions she asked me was did she lose any teeth, as she slowly opened her mouth. I was terrified of what I may have seen when she did. There was blood all over and after cleaning that away I told her no.

She said I want to go back in!

How could I deny her!

Back to fastpitch softball bats and which one is the right bat for you or your girl.

In our case we learned that for my daughter if the softball bat sat on the ground on its end and stretched up to approximately her hip, it was the right size. In addition, if she could hold the softball bat out with her weak arm between five and ten seconds without any problem it was about the right weight.

Keep in mind this is not the official way to size a softball bat but it works very well.

The important thing is that you get the bat that you can afford that is right for your daughter. It will make all the difference in the world.

In my next article I will talk about our trip to the State finals, where we could really tell the difference between a composite bat and a plain old bat. Hope you tag along and let me know your experiences as well.

Fastpitch softball is a tremendous game and it breaks my heart that it was removed from the Olympics. We got a chance to work with Jennie Finch and others from the Olympic Team this past summer. What a talented group they were. My daughter even worked with Jennie on her pitching mechanics. A fantastic help, and she was a wonderful lady on top of it. Jennie is true professional who cares greatly about the sport.

Visit my website if you are looking for more stories about my daughter or on a softball bat.

Also visit my blog and find more stories about Fastpitch softball.