When you talk about stances
there are basically two. The open stance and the closed one. This is another part of the swing where every individual is different. What might work for one hitter won't work for the other. For myself I prefer the open stance. The reason being that I want to make sure that I open my hips. With a closed stance you will get the same results but this is up to the individual's swing. So this is where you practice the open vs. the closed. Everybody is different. Now once you have established what stance you feel is right for you, you need to decide where to stand in the box. I believe that with the different arcs for the different associations it is of major importance on where you stand at. There are 4 different association of slo-pitch softball. USSSA, ASA, ISA, and the NSA..The USSSA's arc is 3 ft to 10 ft. So naturally with a arc of 3 ft from the release the pitcher is trying to throw the ball as low as possible. The ISA's arc is on the same level as the USSSA, 4 ft to 10 ft,. So I suggest that you stand with your back foot even with the middle of the plate, as shown in photo A below.
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A
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B
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With your stance this far up in the box it is going to be real hard for him to get pitches by you. By standing with your feet like this anything that you can't reach with the bat in front of the plate has got to be a ball. I should know because I had my share at swinging at low pitches. What people don't realize is that you might hit the farthest home run off a low ball but you will be more consistent with a pitch at your chest. And I think all hitters want to be more consistent.
So we know that the ASA and the NSA arc is a little different than 3 or 4 ft. to 10 ft. arc. They make the pitcher kind of "put it in there" for the hitters. With ASA and the NSA you should be back in the box to where you front foot is in the middle of the plate. As is in photo B. With these arc limits the pitcher tries to keep the ball deep. He isn't allowed all the fancy stuff to try and break your concentration. This why I think that the pitch at your chest is the easiest to control. All you have to do is "ride the pitch out". What I mean by riding the pitch out is you don't have to bend down to hit a low pitch and you don't have to tomahawk the ball over your head. You don't have to move your hands too much. The less movement in your hands can only help you put that extra energy towards hitting the ball. So the next time you take batting practice try using some different stances plus try adjusting your position in the box. From the back to the front and see if it makes a difference.
There is one more thing to know with where you position yourself at the plate. How far away should we stand? Once again these are things that have to be tried during batting practice . My rule of thumb is once I am in the box I will take a couple of practice strokes, just to make sure I am where I want to be. I want my bat to at least cover the whole plate area. This should leave you about a foot away from the plate. The reason for me standing so far away from the plate is to get proper arm extension, but this once again is what ever does the job for you. All I can say is that the more leverage you have the farther the ball is going to fly. When I am asked the question of whether or not I should use a 33 in or a 34 in bat? I would suggest the 34 in for the simple reason of leverage. When I played in the Pro Softball League in 1982 there was no size limit on the bats. I had a 35 1/2 in bat that weighted 41 ounces. Now that was a bat. Bats have changed over the years. Now the bats are end loaded so you can actually use a lighter shell and still get the same effects as the older bats. I have played with and against players that crowded the plate and have unbelievable results, but there was tons of batting practice involved with these players. I have always said "practice like you would play"...
