How to stop hitting pop ups in slow pitch softball

Gravity affects everything the same amount, all the time, so every ball/bat is affected the same way. We all know when a ball is thrown slowly, it has more of a 'hump' in it vs when a ball is thrown hard, it looks like a line.  Therefore, it's safe to make the leap that the bat head is affected the same way. Gravity will pull your young hitter's 'slow' swing downward, making him or her miss the center of the baseball frequently.  This natural force causes many hitter's bat head, to dip just before contact, as they usually have poor lower half mechanics. Their turn move is less powerful than a hitter with either better mechanics or more strength.  We must combat this with visual and verbal adjustments instead of constantly thinking of new and gimmicky drills.

I was working with a hitter the other day, and we were constantly talking about, 'lifting the ball off the tee' so that the tee doesn't need weights or fall over.  The student was really struggling with that idea, knocking over the tee and getting frustrated, so I said, "Swing Up at the Top of the Baseball".

It was like magic.

Line drive.  Line drive.  Line drive. His father was dumbfounded.  After we talked about all the drills his little league coach was having him do to 'eliminate' pop-ups (hint...they are featured above).  It can be somewhat counterintuitive to swing up at the baseball to eliminate pop-ups but think about it.  We've already talked about the 'cutting' action of a downward swing, and we know that it causes the ball to backspin up off the bat.

Ted Williams talked about how he wanted topspin on his grounders to make them 'shoot through the infield' faster.  Now, Teddy Ballgame wasn't TRYING to hit grounders, he was trying to lift doubles and home runs, but when he did miss-hit a ball, he wanted it low and hard, with topspin.

Think about how tennis players hit different shots.  Drop shorts are 'down swings' and they 'cut' the ball to give it backspin to slow the ball down once it hits the ground.  See this video below.  Do you see the downward cut right at the last second and the upward 'jump' of the ball?  The backspin then stops the ball's forward momentum upon hitting the ground.  Notice the description of the 'short swing' and how it 'cuts underneath the ball to create a little bit of backspin'.

I would switch the attention to the front elbow. In batting practice when I pitch up close from the front, I am able to see a lot of things in terms of bat path. I want to see the sweet spot disappear behind the ball and travel on the bath of the pitch/ball and follow the ball out. In other words, I don't want to be able to see the sweet spot except for when they go from their ready position to turning the barrel.

One thing I think really helps with popups it getting them to loosely take their front elbow toward my face as they swing. I think it helps keep the hands higher, thus the sweet spot higher. It's been my experience that far more girls miss-hit under the ball than over the ball, yet I'd much rather see a ball topped than popped up. I think a main reason girls miss under the ball (popping up) is that the front elbow goes down and stays too tight at their side. When they take/point the front elbow toward the pitcher, the hands don't go down as far. I firmly believe it's something to do to help prevent pop-ups.

Popping up in softball is annoying, frustrating, and everything between. The amount of training and expectations every softball player has done and has when taking a position next to the plate is often high, and when your performance goes wrong, it certainly is awful. Good thing that you came to find answers, as I can proudly say there are!

In general, popping up in softball can be a result of many things. Your stance might be too tight or too loose; you might grip the bat from the wrong position and with the wrong intensity. Also, improper swing timing, precision, and follow-up will most certainly make you pop up more in softball.

When you have waited your turn to swing and keep popping up, it is very frustrating and can make you angry or sad, depending on the day. Lucky for you, popping up is a cause of something gone wrong in your technique so that it can be fixed!

By fixing the things that I’m about to explain, your pop-ups will decrease, your swing power will increase, and you will become a more consistent hitter. That’s a lot of benefits from usually easily fixable things. So, without a further due, let’s get to work!

Contents

• How to Prevent Pop Ups In Softball?
  • 1. Stance
  • 2. Grip
    • Grip location
    • Grip strenght
  • 3. Swing
• My Favorite Softball Equipment

How to Prevent Pop Ups In Softball?

To get a hold of your popping-up habits, there are three things you need to get right to swing much better. Note that if one of these things isn’t in order, your performance will be drastically worse, and you might pop up again. So, let’s start with the proper stance.

1. Stance

Everything starts with your stance. It is the core of your performance to get stability and strength, so it certainly is important to get it right.

When you are popping up more than you would like, I suggest reflecting on your stance. Was your stance too uptight or too loose? Regardless, both are bad, and you need to have a mixture of both.

So, what does a good stance look like? A good stance is secure and strong, yet flexible and bending.

You can get the strength and stability for your stance by taking a shoulder-width standing position, keeping your back and legs in connection with each other in a line. The flexible and bendy feel comes from relaxation, bending your knees with purpose, and avoiding tensing up your neck and shoulders.

The final part of a good stance is the distance you should stand from the plate. You will get the right distance by looking at the pitcher and aligning yourself with your feet, hips, and shoulders. A good distance from the plate is usually 6-12 inches (15-30cm).

2. Grip

The grip on the bat is surprisingly often somewhat wrong, which can cause more pop-ups in addition to lack of power and inaccuracy on the swing.

The issue often lies either in the location on the handle or the intensity you are holding the bat. Let’s take a look at the location first.

Grip location

When coaches advise the players with their grip position and notice it’s too low, they often refer to the term ”choking up” the bat. This means that you should take a slightly higher grip on the handle towards the barrel, not that your hands touch the knob.

However, don’t go too up as it will decrease your swing power and accuracy. Do a couple of shadow swings and see which location is the best. Often, it’s a couple of fingers width of the gap between your first hand and the knob of the bat.

Grip strenght

The second part of the grip technique is the tightness you are holding the bat.

The goal is to get a firm grip without squeezing too hard, limiting the moveability and making you prone to joint injuries.

So, take hold of your bat and grasp it lightly but firmly. Again, it’s a good idea to do a couple of swings, and you should notice whether the bat is too loose on your hands or too tight, which limits your power, among other things.

3. Swing

Now that you have your base in order, you can start focusing on the swing. However, swinging isn’t as simple as grip or stance as there are many different areas you need to get your swing right to reduce pop-ups. These are the timing, precision, and follow-up.

• Timing – Hitting the softball at the right time is crucial to reducing pop-ups and increasing accuracy and power. If your bat makes contact with the ball too early or too late, it will likely go way off where you intended. The right way to time the contact point right is to experiment whether your timing is more often too early or too late, and adust the swing accordingly.
• Precision – Hitting the softball with the right part of your bat is very important. You need to strike the ball with the middle of your barrel. If the ball makes contact with the lower part of your bat, it will result in a ground strike, or if it hits the upper part of your bat, it will be a pop-up. This is one of the most common reasons you might swing many pop-ups, so try to focus on the ball and hit it with the middle of your bat.
• Follow-up – Following through with your swing is important to maximize the power of your swing. Making a simple tap swing isn’t enough, and it will make your pop-ups, ground strikes, and line drives easier to catch. When you swing, follow the ball with your bat giving it a boost in power.

You might have noticed that the right method is often in the middle of two extremities. For example, the right grip is found by having a firm grip, yet not too tight, and so on. That’s often the case, and with a little practice, you will most certainly get your popping-up habit under control.

Anyways, when you have your stance, grip, and swing in order, you will not only reduce the number of pop-ups, but you will also become a much more consistent and powerful hitter.

My Favorite Softball Equipment

Thanks for reading this article. I hope it brought you great value that you can implement into your own life! Here are my top softball equipment recommendations that I think will take your game to the next level.

Why do I keep hitting pop ups in slow pitch softball?