Softball Advice Needed!

I just signed up for the company softball team. While I'm in good shape and active in martial arts, I haven't played softball for over 15 years! I need some advice from anyone with more experience, which means just about everybody. What are some good techniques for practicing and honing my skills? What are some of the common injuries, and how can I avoid them?

I haven't seen the rules, but it is a 14 inch ball with "arc" or rainbow pitch. If the ball hits the plate it's considered a strike. The players are using a glove but I wonder if I really need one. 14 inch seems awfully big for a glove. Can I go without it, or is it considered necessary? Do you have any other pointers? Thanks for your help. :bigthumb:

You need a glove or enjoy broken fingers from line drives.

oo i love softball! i played for 15 years now. first things first. you are not playing with a 14 inch ball, whoever told you that probably isn't your friend :p what you mentioned so far is right about slow pitch softball. some of the guys can smack that ball a fieldlength and a half away (i've seen it done) so be prepared if you're in the outfield.

you will for sure want a glove. if you're buying a new one, make sure you get glove oil and when you first get it constantly be flexing it and rubbing in as much glove oil as you can to break it in. if you don't, good luck holding onto the ball in there. another good thing to do is store your glove with the softball inside.

you probably won't be needing your own bat. i recommend going to the batting cages to get back into stuff and work on your swing. every cage i've ever been to has slow pitch machines to practice on so you should be set there.

make sure you stretch well, and since ur a dude..probably your groin area so you don't pull anything there running.

as far as field practice, just work on fundamental skills like grounders, pop-ups, line drives, where to go with the ball when there's specific situations for runners and amount of outs.

hope you have fun! PM me if you have any questions

oo i love softball! i played for 15 years now. first things first. you are not playing with a 14 inch ball, whoever told you that probably isn't your friend.

Wow, 15 years... you must be pretty good! So you're saying there is no 14 inch ball? The email to sign up clearly said 14 inch, so you'd think they knew what they were talking about! I used to play 16 inch without any glove, that's why I asked about needing a glove. I figured 2 inches less wouldn't make much difference. Thanks for the tips. I'm excited to start training. The teams are co-ed with people of all levels, so I'm sure I'll do fine.

would it be 16 inches measureing all the way around? that's the only way i could see it possibly getting close. hmm oh well. but yeah i've been playing since i was 3 years old. my dad started me young. do you know what position you're going to be interested in playing? cuz i can give you more position-specific advice then :)

i think you should just go have fun w/ it its cnt be that competitive of a laeuge no worries or QUIT

i can give you more position-specific advice then :)

Does anyone else find this as humorous as I do?

Started playing last November. Play with a bunch of friends on a city league. Tons of fun, especially since we all can play good. Just go out and have fun. It's good for your health. You'll pick it up pretty quickly.

Since you're on a company team I'll assume it's coed. That can be fun from what I've seen,but I'd get pissed off playing with people who can't do anything.

Does anyone else find this as humorous as I do?
not all of us have our minds in the gutter :p lol i can't believe i didn't catch that when i typed it

danielle knows her positions best.

not all of us have our minds in the gutter :p lol i can't believe i didn't catch that when i typed it

Haha. Can't help it...

I have no sex life :frown:

Since you're on a company team I'll assume it's coed. That can be fun from what I've seen,but I'd get pissed off playing with people who can't do anything.


I would get frustrated with the "bad" people. Im not into the whole softball thing yet. I still play amature baseball, but im sure when im a little older and out of baseball ill be in softball for sure. I just love competition.

Aside from the positions *cough cough*

My advice would be to make sure you can throw and catch well; since you're out of practice those are the skills that have degraded the most. Also, work on catching flies. There's nothing worse than an outfielder who lets the ball get over his head, then can't throw worth a crap.

And the difference between the 14" and 16" is a bit of diameter, but you'll still need a glove. Swing by a sporting goods store and you'll see the difference.

Haha. Can't help it...

I have no sex life :frown:

PM me....:naughty:









yes i am pathetic...:frown: .....now i'm emo..

Aside from the positions *cough cough*

My advice would be to make sure you can throw and catch well; since you're out of practice those are the skills that have degraded the most. Also, work on catching flies. There's nothing worse than an outfielder who lets the ball get over his head, then can't throw worth a crap.

And the difference between the 14" and 16" is a bit of diameter, but you'll still need a glove. Swing by a sporting goods store and you'll see the difference.
yes there is something worse than an outfielder who lets the ball get over his head. the ones who let it hit their head :uhoh: ok it was only one time..

yes there is something worse than an outfielder who lets the ball get over his head. the ones who let it hit their head :uhoh: ok it was only one time..

Well, that might explain a few things :cwm27:


(but at least it didn't roll all the way to the fence.....or did it? Did it??)

Well, that might explain a few things :cwm27:


(but at least it didn't roll all the way to the fence.....or did it? Did it??)
lol no it didn't, it just fell there in front of me. well more like next to me cuz it knocked me to the ground but i was only 9 years old. and they kept asking me what day it was to make sure i wasn't delirious. hell if i knew what day it was. then they gave me a capri-sun to drink and it was all good.

i've always been an infielder, mainly 3rd base and shortstop. i loved being a catcher but even tho i was the best on my team they only let the fat girl do it cuz she couldn't do anything else. they wouldn't cut her either because she was such a good hitter. good thing she was since with how slow she ran she'd never make it to first if she hit any less. :shakehead

Thanks to everyone for all the tips! Well, I have since learned that 12, 14 or 16 is the circumference of the ball, not the diameter. I went to a store and they had 10, 11, 12 and 16 inch softballs but no 14! :dunno:

Ours is just a recreational co-ed league for fun, and there are people of various skill and fitness levels on the team. I'm fast and have good coordination, so I'm thinking that with a little practice I will have no problem being at least somewhat decent. Once we start to practice I assume we would then decide who would be best in each position. Someone with all Danielle's experience would probably be good in almost any position. :p

EDIT: There is a such thing as a 14 inch ball, which is what we are using, but apparently it is very uncommon, as no store I've been to sells them.

Someone with all Danielle's experience...... :p



Leg humper.


:rofl:

yes there is something worse than an outfielder who lets the ball get over his head. the ones who let it hit their head :uhoh: ok it was only one time..


lol. that happend to my friend playing right field once. Funny thing is he threw the kid out at home trying to get the in the park homerun.