Softball: a Great Sport

Imagine being in the batters box getting ready to be pitched a ball and feeling confident you can hit the ball over the fence. Over 16 million people in the US have that feeling every time they step into the batter’s box. The game of softball is a game played by a lot of America, first you need to learn the basics of softball and the history of softball, then the differences between slowpitch and fastpitch softball. What is Softball?

On a diamond shaped field with two competing teams, a ball, and bats the sport we call softball is played. There are nine to ten players on the field at once. First the pitcher will pitch the ball to the opposing team using an under armed pitch. They will then hit the ball using a softball bat and the players in the field will try to stop the ball. As they do so the player that hit the ball is running around all three bases until she thinks she will get out so she stops, she gets tagged, or she makes it to home plate. If she reaches home plate that scores a run for her team. The team at the end of the game that has the most points wins. History of Softball Softball has been around for many year, but know one really knows how they came up with the idea for softball. Unintentionally at a Chicago Farragut Boat club in 1887 the people thought they were just there watching a Yale-Harvard football game ended up creating softball. The fans were hitting boxing gloves that were thrown at them with sticks. The goal was to hit the ball into the air.

The game began to be played throughout the US and in 1926 it was officially named softball. In 1933, Newark, New Jersey, Amateur Softball Association was established. It quickly came up with the rules and organized a tournament in Chicago World Fair. They now have over eighty different levels of play for any ages. Differences between Slowpitch and Fastpitch Softball There are many differences between slowpitch and fastpitch softball. In fastpitch softball there are nine players on the field but in slowpitch there are ten. In fastpitch womens softball the field size is about 225 feet and for adult co-ed slowpitch it is usually about 275-300 feet. In slow pitch the bases are 65 feet apart but in fastpitch they are only 60 feet apart. One last thing, as it states in the name fastpitch and slowpitch, fastpitch is pitched from 43 feet off a pitching mound with a great amount of speed. In slow pitch the distance is 50 feet and the ball must travel slower and have a minimum height of six feet but cannot top the height of twelve feet.

But they both have some qualities that are the same. They are both played with the same sized ball and the rules are the same. In both of them you are wanting to hit the ball and run the bases and you want your team to end up with the most points by the end of the game. In new wording softball is a well played game among America. There are softball basics, history of softball, and difference between slowpitch and fastpitch softball. Before you start to play softball you need to know the the basics and if you want to play slow pitch or fastpitch. Now the ball has been hit over the fence, running the bases you feel like you are on top of the world.

Works Cited

1. Barakat, B. (2015). Softball. The Rosen Publishing Group.
2. Bennett, R., & Bennett, J. (2012). Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully. Human Kinetics.
3. Decker, D., & Mitchell, S. (2005). Softball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics.
4. Diethorn, K. (2008). Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide. Baffled Parent's Guides.
5. Dotson, M., & Lantz, J. (2016). Softball: Steps to Success. Human Kinetics.
6. Gover, A., Hanrahan, S., & Eddins, R. (2012). The Softball Coaching Bible, Volume II. Human Kinetics.
7. National Fastpitch Coaches Association. (2002). Softball: The NFCA's Official Guide to the Game. Human Kinetics.
8. Price, G. (2019). The Fastpitch Softball Player's Guide to Success: Speed, Agility, and Quickness. Price World Publishing.
9. Stanton, B. (2004). Softball: Steps to Success (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics.
10. Wells, A. (2016). Softball: Steps to Success (4th ed.). Human Kinetics.