Need help from the bat experts- softball that is....m

I just sent an e-mail to my sister.  My niece played from about 7 years old and now plays softball in college.  I will get back to you when she replies.

Ok, her reply was any of the major brands with a -10 drop.  Whatever the heck that means.

Drop refers to length of bat in inches minus weight in oz.  I remember hearing that some leagues/organizations may have started implementing rules on maximum allowable drop, so that might be something to look into.

I can't really remember what I was using at her age, but in my teen years (at 5'2 and 130+) I was using a 32" (-10) and 33" (-11) bat, both 22 oz.

I don't know the rules for softball, but you might want to check so that she gets used to htting with a legal bat.  All high school aluminum bats will now have to be BBCOR compliant which is a drastic change.  I don't know if the same applies to softball.  There's a much smaller sweet spot and the feel is different with a BBCOR bat.

This is basically what I was going to say.  I know for the adult leagues I play in, all bats have to be ASA approved and not on the banned bats list - and the umps check the bat bags before every game.  I don't know about kids' leagues, but would imagine that they would have similar rules.  It will be very important for you to check these things before making any purchases, as the consequences for getting caught with an illegal bat can be pretty severe (depending on the timing/ump/league/tournament).

Find out the league she is in and what is being used.  From an old coach, I have very good hitting girls that can hit with three or four different bats with the same length/weight.  It is more about the proper bat size for the person, and then the proper hitting technique.  Once they are a little older you can take them to a hitting coach, just like you can a pitching coach and they will work on many different things to make them stronger and work on bat speed. 

Buy what is legal and keep checking on the legal bats.  We used to check bats at every tournament, and as an umpire, we did the same thing even at the younger ages to make sure they were all following the rules.

Good luck and have fun with the sport.  Both of my daughters played, and we spent many hours watching softball.

I coached softball for years.  I've always felt like picking a bat size using those tables was like sizing a bike based on your height.  It may work sometimes, but.......    I've found that  the best way to size bats for youth softball is as follows:

   -  Length - Have hitter stand with arm down the her side, and palm facing down.  The bat length should go from ground to just touching the palm.

   -  Weight - Have her hold the bat with one hand near the knob out to the side with arm and bat parallel to the ground.  Correct weight is the heaviest bat she can hold like this for 10 seconds.

As far as quality goes, you usually get what you pay for.  The best value is to buy previous year's models (like bike shopping).  However, this is when it is important to know which bats are legal.   http://www.asasoftball.com/about/certified_equipment.asp

Also, as a hitting coach, I've always thought that investment in technique outweighed money spent on a bat.  Here is a list of three widely accepted hitting models dominating women's softball today at all levels (youth nationals and Women's College World Series)

http://www.englishbeyhitting.com/  Best - dvd series

http://www.rightviewpro.com/products/instruction-series  Better - computer software

http://www.mikeepsteinhitting.com/  Good

Hope this helps. 

I really agree with the above and we made it 15 seconds on the recommendation from the University of Nebraska coach during a clinic we were attending.

My daughter is 14 and has played softball since she was in 2nd grade, first in Rec league then Traveling and now Club and High School (JV this year probably as a freshman).  I second a lot of what has been said already with 1) know the bat rules for your league/association, 2) look for "last years" model to save a lot of money, 3) use the “hold out for 10/15 seconds” rule for bat weight, 4) for length, we have the girls stand up straight with their arms hanging down, fingers pointing at the ground.  The bat should be placed business end down and the knob should come up just past the palm so it touches the beginning to middle of the wrist.  We usually erred on the long side when buying new so it could last  at least all summer and into the fall-ball season.  We bought cheaper ones when she was small as I don’t think little kids swing fast/hard enough to make much compression difference, but once they hit 12s or 14s, you can really tell that a good bat has more "pop".  Enjoy!

Get a nice composite bat.  Pop the cap, shave it, then roll it.  Just tell your daughter not to "shoot box".  If you ain't cheatin, you ain't tryin.

Ok...seriously...don't do that. 

Just had to post a pic of my niece with the bat that she put a hole in during her freshman year in college.

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