Starting over...right or lefty batter?

[FastBat]

If you had a right handed player and had to start all over again. Would you make your right handed fielder a lefty batter? Assuming she likes hitting right handed and left handed equally. Is there any advantages or disadvantages you have heard of or seen with right dominant players batting left handed? Is it possible for a righty to be a successful left handed batter? Do you think being a righty or lefty batter will make a difference in an overall softball career? Is there an advantage at any specific age to batting right or left handed?

 

[Coach Sonny]

I would definitely consider teaching her to go left handed. My oldest daughter is a natural right hander but I taught her to switch hit. She had great speed so being on the left side allowed her to take full advantage of that and by junior year in high school she went completely left handed and became a prolific slapper which was instrumental in her getting a great scholarship. Interestingly enough she was a better line drive hitter from the left sided too. My middle daughter is a natural right hander and lefty hitter which I think is great. It allows her the extra steps toward first at the plate and doesn't hamstring her on defense since she is right handed in the field...best of both worlds. My youngest is all the way right and I have not messed with her at all yet.

 

[bucketime]

When I coached I taught a majority of my team to switch hit; would really confuse defense sometimes. I don't mean just as slappers; I taught them to hit. There were two girls on the team that were very powerful righties so I didn't mess with them.

 

[daboss]

Coaches, with all due respect, quit wasting everyone's time teaching girls to switch hit. There is little to no advantage in fastpitch softball. If a girl has talent and the willingness to learn how to hit left handed, pursue that with every fiber of your being. Left handed hitters run to first base in less time than right handed hitters. The option list for left handed at bats are much longer and will always be welcome regardless of the age group. It is not a cure all as a slow runner is still slow. She's simply closer to first giving her opportunity.

The real answer to the question deals with vision. Which side of the plate does she see the ball better. That will help her hitting game, then be sure to get as much time in the cage as you can. FYI, teach the bunt and never stop working on it regardless to which side of the plate they bat. There's always going to be a chance for a bunt making a difference in fastpitch softball.

 

[tjsmize3]

Agree completely with Sonny and daboss... switching a kid to lefty early on opens up a world of opportunity for that player, especially in the case of a faster, very athletic type of player. A lefty with power AND speed presents a much greater challenge to the defense in softball than a switch hitter. If a girl projects to be a bigger power-hitting type who's game is to drive the ball, getting her a step or two closer to 1st probably has much less impact on her game and value to the team.

 

[cobb_of_fury]

Coaches, with all due respect, quit wasting everyone's time teaching girls to switch hit. There is little to no advantage in fastpitch softball. If a girl has talent and the willingness to learn how to hit left handed, pursue that with every fiber of your being. Left handed hitters run to first base in less time than right handed hitters. The option list for left handed at bats are much longer and will always be welcome regardless of the age group. It is not a cure all as a slow runner is still slow. She's simply closer to first giving her opportunity.

The real answer to the question deals with vision. Which side of the plate does she see the ball better. That will help her hitting game, then be sure to get as much time in the cage as you can. FYI, teach the bunt and never stop working on it regardless to which side of the plate they bat. There's always going to be a chance for a bunt making a difference in fastpitch softball.

This was true with our DD -Shes a natural Righty - As a toddeler she would always hit the wiffle ball left handed - We tried to fix her but she would always go back.
Turned out she had a VERY weak left eye and needed glasses but by then the die was cast - She was a lefty.

When she was 11 or so and the rightys were learning to switch hit she asked if she could learn to hit from the other side - ...we told her no.

She's second year 14u and will probably never be a slapper (she was never fast enough to make it worth while) she hits hard from the left and because she is not particularly fleet of foot the two step advantage does help her.

She's a pitcher - If you ask would I go back and teach her to pitch Lefty the answer is - YES!

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Mine all got my genes and even soaking wet they wouldn't weigh enough for power from the right.....so their school coaches made them all lefties and they had good success and learned allot about being triple threats from that side.....

 

[brownsfan]

We have a girl on our HS team who is a very effective hitter from both sides. I have not seen too may girls who can hit from both sides AND carry a high batting percentage from both sides. She can hit for some power from the right (no HR's) but her speed is dangerous; and from the left is a very effective triple threat.

For my oldest, I wished we would have started sooner from the left. She saw the ball so much better from the left side and could have become a triple threat. So if you're going to do it, do it early in age.

 

[goblue11]

How many switch hitters do we see in college?? I personally have seen none at high level D1...IMHO its a waste to be a switch, stick with the side that enables you to be the best offensive player you can be all things considered.

 

[Chad Strahler]

Switch hitting is non existent in softball. Baseball it is age old but I'm not sure the clear advantage there either honestly. Lefty hitters get more looks. Not sure bedsides what's already been said as to any other reasons but the ones given are reasons I like lefty if I were choosing between the two. Actually my dd was switched to lefty about 4 years ago because she sees it better now she is very awkward when we good around from the right side

 

[coachjwb]

A natural right handed hitter who has good speed can add a valuable tool if they can learn to slap from the left side. Other than that, I don't see the advantage in fastpitch that there definitely is in baseball, which I think is attributed mainly to pitching overhand from a mound.

 

[wannaplaysb]

Put a lefty power hitter in the #4 spot after 2 lefty slappers/bunters/ball placers at leadoff and #2 and a three-hole right-handed HR hitter or speed demon and you have the potential for three runs in the first no matter what. The 5 hole gets hit more than not cuz she is on the wrong side of the plate for the pitcher. It's a crazy offence to deal with! and a pitchers nightmare.

 

[bucketime]

I am reading some saying no threat....oh heck it was for me. Maybe I had the luxury of having same players for years but I taught 7 out of 10/ of my girls lefty; and my power hitter #4 was a true lefty. What a threat to the defense; because as soon as a batter came up lefty and then she swung away...defense took a few steps backs...so when defense realized we had switch hitters that can hit from both sides and slap and drag and bunt; Here is what we would hear from defense.....BUNT!! no SLAP!!! wait HITTING AWAY!! and then somewhat panic....so depending on where our baserunners were at and the batter it was sweet.

 

[coachjwb]

There is no doubt that having a lineup that consists of batters from both sides of the plate, some of whom can be effective with both power and speed can be advantageous ... but I think that is answering a different question than if you would teach a young player to either hit from the opposite side or to be a switch hitter.

 

[MD 20/20]

To answer the actual question, which was "would you teach lefty to start over again?" I would. I did. Some 12 years ago I had a little girl who didn't know right from left, nor baseball from softball from volleyball. She did have a baseball-minded father who was a lefty/lefty. I knew that she would be 2 steps closer to 1st if she was lefty vs righty, regardless if she was fast or slow, and lets be honest here, If we are talking about "starting over", at that age, who knows if she will be fast or slow as she gets older. Anyway, she was all right-hand dominant, but she batted left-handed. It's all she ever knew. She's now a Junior in HS and as it turned out, she runs like a tank. LOL She has had hits through the years that were bang-bang and I'm certain she's out if she's batting from the right side.

I agree with some and disagree with some on the slapping aspect. If your lefty wants to give it the time, TEACH HER TO MOVE IN THE BOX!!! It's not always about being fast, but with the ability to slap or drag, YOU can place the defense into a position to your advantage. My DD learned to move in the box at 12 and she really pulled her front side off the ball that year, so when moving, she seemed to actually keep her front side in and she hit the ball more solidly. She did have issues with strikeouts one year, so we moved her back right to see if it was a dominant eye issue.....It wasn't. One swing and we knew, she was not a righty batter anymore lol.

She doesn't move in the box much, but she has the base there that she can if asked. In HS games she has drug some really nice bunts the past couple years in situations where the defense never saw it coming. She has moved more in winter leagues this year more than ever. I think she will move more now just to confuse or "set-up" the defense that she wants.

My second DD was 2 years younger, and I did the same thing. When she was 5 she asked if she could bat right-handed once. I said sure. She hit it to the fence. Lucky swing I thought. Next swing, same result. I told her she could swing from wherever she wanted. She has never seen the Left side of the plate since. These 2 "sprinters" are now hitting 5/6 in the order together and just burning up the base-paths. LOL

In all the times I have turned a girl from right to left I did do 1 thing. I taught them to bunt, drag, slap, and hit. They also were never given the option to go back to righty. I thought that if struggles arose and given the option, they would always revert back to what was comfortable.

 

[CARDS]

To answer the actual question, which was "would you teach lefty to start over again?" I would. I did. Some 12 years ago I had a little girl who didn't know right from left, nor baseball from softball from volleyball. She did have a baseball-minded father who was a lefty/lefty. I knew that she would be 2 steps closer to 1st if she was lefty vs righty, regardless if she was fast or slow, and lets be honest here, If we are talking about "starting over", at that age, who knows if she will be fast or slow as she gets older. Anyway, she was all right-hand dominant, but she batted left-handed. It's all she ever knew. She's now a Junior in HS and as it turned out, she runs like a tank. LOL She has had hits through the years that were bang-bang and I'm certain she's out if she's batting from the right side.

I agree with some and disagree with some on the slapping aspect. If your lefty wants to give it the time, TEACH HER TO MOVE IN THE BOX!!! It's not always about being fast, but with the ability to slap or drag, YOU can place the defense into a position to your advantage. My DD learned to move in the box at 12 and she really pulled her front side off the ball that year, so when moving, she seemed to actually keep her front side in and she hit the ball more solidly. She did have issues with strikeouts one year, so we moved her back right to see if it was a dominant eye issue.....It wasn't. One swing and we knew, she was not a righty batter anymore lol.

She doesn't move in the box much, but she has the base there that she can if asked. In HS games she has drug some really nice bunts the past couple years in situations where the defense never saw it coming. She has moved more in winter leagues this year more than ever. I think she will move more now just to confuse or "set-up" the defense that she wants.

My second DD was 2 years younger, and I did the same thing. When she was 5 she asked if she could bat right-handed once. I said sure. She hit it to the fence. Lucky swing I thought. Next swing, same result. I told her she could swing from wherever she wanted. She has never seen the Left side of the plate since. These 2 "sprinters" are now hitting 5/6 in the order together and just burning up the base-paths. LOL

In all the times I have turned a girl from right to left I did do 1 thing. I taught them to bunt, drag, slap, and hit. They also were never given the option to go back to righty. I thought that if struggles arose and given the option, they would always revert back to what was comfortable.

Hummmmm...
At 5 hitting the fence... I have to think it was t ball with 100ft fence.
I have not seen many 5 year olds hit a ball on a fly past the infield let alone to the fence on a ladies 200ft field and that is using a 11" 47 core super green dot.
I agree a 5 year old can switch hit because they are still getting a feel for hitting but I cannot see a 5 year old gaining fence power just from a dish side swap.If one was going to attempt having DD switch hitting from right to left I would suggest start as early as possible and even then I would say its still a 50/50 or less shot if they become proficient with the change.

Over the years I cannot count how many players I had show up at tryouts that would have been better suited staying hitting from the right side. Yeah they had good to exceptional speed but that speed doesnt mean much if the ladies struggle making any contact.
You can tell the ladies and coaches that are not confident in switching sides. When they approach the dish and get two strikes and then have a coach say "ok Suzie switch over to the other side and hit" and the batter gets that feeling they may now be able to get on as they eagerly switch sides.
This never made much sense to me but over the years I seen it happen a ton (even at high profile events) and I would say 75% of the time the batter ended up striking out.

Some have stated make the batter a bunter/slapper from the left side if they have good to great speed. Yes, if they are hard workers and can get it down or make contact they have a good shot at getting on especially; at the younger ages.
However, once the ladies get 15/16U and above the batter has to be proficient slapping, dragging, or hitting from that side as they start playing stronger competition.
Over the years I can say I only had three or four ladies that I would consider to be exceptional /proficient slappers that started out a righty.

I remember at a showcase event in Chattanooga TN. We played a team that had all their ladies swinging from the left side all but 2 were slappers/bunters. They were proficient and put pressure on our D every inning. After the first inning in which they scored a couple runs we realigned our D then our pitchers and D stepped up and the team struggled putting together enough offence to keep up with our scoring.

I know of several others that have experienced this situation. We had a new HS coach take over a solid hitting team in 2009. In 2010/11 she was taking the team in a different direction on offence turning around half the team to the left side to be a slapper/bunter. Needless to say the team went from a 2009 final 4 D1 team to a sub.500 team 10/11. The year after she was relieved of her duties in 2011 the incoming coach went back to having hitters hit and left only one lady as a slapper. The TEAM small ball actually improved and the ladies made more contact allowing runners to move over and run production went back up resulting in deep playoff runs in 12/13.

 

[MD 20/20]

You are correct CARDS. It was a tee ball field. Nice job on seeing the big-picture of my post!!

 

[Lester]

I'd still base it upon the player. Nothing forced. My step DD is arguably in the top foot speed around. Ondeck camp times of low 2.6's on a regular basis and she hits with great power... not 1 regret about not switching her around because her times to first I'd put in front of most (data based reply). Time to first is important and actual capability out of the box is not "standard easy" for all... and a major factor is how comfortable a player is from the right or left side is not the same for all. I've only seen a couple players in my time that can run with her from either side of the plate... and I mean on 2 fingers. I'm not bragging, just the reality of what goes into a decision is all player based. Her future college doesn't even consider the idea of moving her over... that says alot.

Switch hitting is not a good thing IMO unless using it to drag or push (even a question in my mind). Wasting swings is my concern for those swingingaway. In my lessons and when parents say "I taught her to switch hit, what do you think she should do?" My answer is when do you spend half your time doing anything with one hand and then go to the other and accomplish the goal? Why not swing a hammer with your off hand? It's hard enough from just one side. Do the "eye tests", strength tests, review their athletic ability, foot speed analysis, and make this decision over a period of time. You know... some natural left handers should be swinging from the right side due to nose size and eye locations. I agree with daboss on his post and this comes after seeing a boat load of kids that struggle living up to the "dream" of mom/dad wanting them to hit both ways. Don't get me wrong, there are some that do great at it... most do not.

So in conclusion, it's subjective and data based for me if starting over. I stick to that in my lessons. I treat players at lessons no different than my own kids... any other way the title "instructor" or "coach" is not worthy of having and I'd be a basic daddy-ball cliche. Not easy, but how it must be for all that I work with to be successful.

 

[flygirlsdad]

Here's some food for thought. My DD was clocked 2.63 at a recent camp. She has always hit from the right side and done well (.400+ last couple years in travel and over .500 as a freshman with only 1 strikeout last school season). While talking to some coaches recently, they suggested to her that she experiment from the left side to add another element to her hitting. She's first year 16 and coaches suggest she still try to work on it now.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Her average will go down at first, don't get discouraged, but if you commit to doing it, commit 100% and don't flip flop back and forth. Great speed and a good set of eyes to lay off crap pitches goes far on that side of the plate too.....

Commit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!