Just how important is your softball bat in your overall game? Hint, VERY important. This will actually determine how good a hitter you are, how accurate, and how fast your home runs are going to be. Yet, this is only possible if you can choose the correct one for you and your body type. We also have to look at this equipment’s “sweet spot” to be able to determine how well it will work for you.
First up, understand your body type and be as realistic as possible with your abilities. That being said, it also follows that it will vary from player to player right? It is very important to know how far the reach of your arms is. How tall you are and your posture also needs to be taken into consideration. In addition, do not follow your teammate’s preferences and pattern them to your own, there is simply no shortcut but you have to try out, and measure the bat’s performance by yourself. Furthermore, give the bat a few swings as well, with these, you can determine if the bat is either too heavy or too light for you. Some might say it is an art form rather than science, but here are two ways to personalize the bat that is specific to YOU.
The Wingspan method:
A player may determine the appropriate bat length by placing the knob of the bat in the middle of their chest and in doing so the tip should reach the player’s fingertips. This length should be the correct size for your body and would be the most accurate and comfortable to swing.
The Age Method:
Age is also a major factor in choosing your bat, as follows ages 5-7 should be with a 24-26″ inches, ages 8-9 would be 26-28″, age 10 should have 28-29″, at age 11-12 it should be 30-31″, ages 13-14 would be 31-32″, ages 15 to 16 would also be 32-33″ and lastly at 17 above, it should be 33-34″.
The Sweet Spot:
The sweet spot, where is it? Defined, the sweet spot for most players is the location which produces the least amount of vibration when hitting the ball and generally this is between 4-7 inches from the tip of the bat. This “sweet zone” means that an impact within this area would not cause the bat to vibrate as much as it would when registering a hit in other places. But then again this would vary from athlete to athlete with factors like their arm length and palm size and grip, so getting this information would require you to do some real world testing with your equipment of choice.
Playing around and experimenting with these three methods should let an athlete choose the bat that is best suited for his size, height, palm grip and swing. You can also use the power of the internet to do your own research, especially on sports forums. Here you can get feedback from actual users and there are tons of information on the home page https://www.aroundthebats.com of websites across the World Wide Web.
