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| Movement techniques that must be mastered if you want to play softball include throwing the ball, catching the ball, hitting, and sliding. Before making a throw, you must first be able to hold the ball properly. |
The technique of holding the ball with two fingers is used for throwers who have large and long fingers. The three or four finger grip is used for throwers who have small and short fingers or are usually used by women.
Look at the following picture!
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Technical Drawing of holding the ball |
1) Throw the ball
Various kinds of ball throws in softball games as follows.
a) Pitcher throw
The pitcher is a bouncer who is in charge of bouncing the ball. The pitcher's pitch must be above the knee and below the bat's chest, known as the strike zone.
How to do a pitcher throw as follows.
- First hold the ball in the right hand, the left hand holds the glove.
- Link both hands with the ball in the glove position.
- Step on the pitcher plate then rotate the hand holding the ball one full shoulder rotation, with the help of the wrist release and throw the ball forward.
Look at the following picture!
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| Pitcher throwing technique pictures |
b) Inter-base throw
This throw is made by all guards, both in the in field or the base guard, and on the out field.
The technique for throwing the ball between bases consists of the following.
- Throw technique with overhand throw.
- Throwing technique with side arm throw.
- Underhand throw technique.
- Throwing technique with a hand whip.
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| Inter-base throwing technique drawing |
2) The technique of catching the ball
The technique of catching the ball must be mastered by all guard players. The players in charge of catching the ball are the catcher and the base/field guard, including the pitcher.
a) The technique of catching the ball for the catcher is as follows.
- Squat starting position.
- The left hand wears a special catcher glove, with the hand facing forward to meet the movement of the ball thrown by the pitcher.
- The other hand wraps so that the ball does not come off.
b) The technique of catching the ball for the field guard/base is as follows.
(1) The technique of catching a ball rolling on the ground. Here's how.
- Spread your legs slightly apart.
- Bend 90 degrees for a slow ball, or squat with one knee on the ground for a fast ball.
- Both hands are ready to catch with the left hand wearing the glove below while the right hand covers the ball by closing the palm of the hand so that the ball does not come off.
(2) The technique of catching the gastric ball, the following method.
- Feet shoulder-width apart with one foot in front.
- The body is upright with the view in the direction of the ball.
- The position of the hands at head level.
- The left hand wearing a glove welcomes the ball, while the other hand covers the ball so it doesn't come off.
(3) The technique of catching a straight ball, the method is the same as catching a stomach ball, the only difference is that when catching the ball, the position of the hands is in front of the chest.
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| Picture of catcher guard position |
3) The technique of hitting (batting)
The goal of hitting in a softball game includes passing or reaching the base in front of him safely, scoring points if he can pass all the bases safely. There are two ways to hit in this softball game, namely hitting the ball with a full swing (swing) and hitting the ball without a swing (bunting).
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| Image Hitting the ball with and without swing |
The things that must be considered when hitting as follows.
- The technique of holding a bat (grip), which is to hold the stick on the handle above the knob, with the position of the second finger joint forming a straight line.
- How to stand (stand), standing in the batter boxes with both legs apart, with body weight on the back leg.
- How to move the forefoot (stride), that is, when swinging the stick, the front foot is shifted or stepped in the direction of the ball.
- How to swing the stick (swing), namely swing the stick by pushing forward while straightening the elbow. While hitting the ball without a swing (bunting), is done by hitting the ball slowly so that it doesn't fall far from the bat itself.
- Follow through, that is, after swinging with the correct ball impact, then turning the body towards the stroke by maintaining balance as a follow-up motion.
4) Sliding technique
Sliding is an attempt to reach the base quickly by launching and touching the limbs to the base. The following is the purpose of using the sliding technique.
- To reduce the running speed towards the base without losing the tempo of running between bases and being able to stop right above that base.
- To avoid the pursuit of the opponent so as to reach the base safely.
There are three kinds of sliding techniques.
- Technique of sliding straight (straight leg slide).
- The hook slide technique.
- Sliding technique with head first (head first slide).
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| Pictures of sliding techniques |