A push bunt is executed just like a sacrifice bunt except instead of “catching” the ball with soft hands to reduce the distance the ball travels, the bat is instead pushed out at the ball. The goal is to push the ball between either the pitcher and 1st baseman, or the pitcher and 3rd baseman.

The slap involves a shortened chop swing combined with a crossover step. The ball is driven down into the ground, causing it to pop up over the heads of the charging/shifting infielders.

If the runner is on 2nd, she will break for 3rd as if she is trying to steal the base. When she gets about two thirds of the way there, the 3rd base coach will yell for her to go back. This creates the appearance that the runner on 2nd made a mistake, which will often cause the catcher to throw to 2nd. When she does, the runner on 3rd scores.
 

The base runner must be fully committed to doing this and always go in sliding (preferable sliding by and reaching around to touch the base).  This is always a tag situation, so that extra .5 of a second will almost always result in a successful steal attempt.

Moving Slower Runners and Avoiding Force Plays – When coaches find themselves in a traditional sacrifice bunt situation (less that 2 outs, with a runner on 1st and/or 2nd) with slower runners on base, they will sometimes call a bunt and run.  Having the runners steal on the pitch gives them extra time to advance to the next base, which reduces the chances of them getting thrown out. When using a bunt and run to move runners, the batter will attempt to execute a sacrifice bunt. (Square up early).

Scoring a Run From 3rd aka (Suicide Squeeze) – A suicide squeeze play will be used in a non-force situation where the batter is ahead in the count, (2-0) and you have less than 2 outs.  In a nutshell, the runner on 3rd is stealing home. When executing a suicide squeeze, the batter needs to use the delayed bunt technique (wait until the last possible moment to square up) to lay the ball down.

In both situations, it is extremely important for the batter to understand that she absolutely, positively must make contact with the ball, regardless of the location of the pitch. The runner(s) will be stealing at the pitch, so failing to make contact with the ball will almost certainly result in the runner being thrown out.

The worst thing we can do in a squeeze situation (other than miss the ball) is to bunt the ball directly back to the pitcher.
 

A)    The batter needs to wait as long as possible (at the point the pitcher releases the ball) to come around into a bunting position.

B)    Contact is made with the weight on the front foot while the back foot is pushing off towards first.
 
Left-handed batters will use a drag technique.  “Dragging” involves a crossover step with the back foot as the batter moves into a bunting position.

In both cases, the delay prevents the corner infielders from charging forward, which means it will take them longer to come forward and field the ball. The batter moves from a normal hitting stance to a forward moving bunting position very late in the delivery of the ball. The lack of movement by the corners combined with the early steps toward 1st increase the chances of reaching first safely.

The most common reason attempted bunts for a base hit fail is poor placement of the ball, or contacting the ball too hard. The goal is always to create that perfect “slow roller.”

Key Points to Remember:

• Wait as long as possible to come around
• Use soft hands to “catch” the ball with the bat
• Only bunt a strike
• Keep the bat at the top of the strike zone
• Try and place the ball near the foul line where it will be difficult to field
• Push off towards 1st at the point of contact

More Tips on Bunting:

See Sac Bunting 

Key Points to Remember on Sac Bunt:

• Come around early
• Use soft hands to“catch” the ball with the bat
• Only bunt a strike
• Keep the bat at the top of the strike zone
• Keep the barrel of the bat above the knob
• See the ball on the ground before running

More tips on bunting:

Bunting for a Base Hit

In a perfect world, you’d have 3 pitchers  2 catchers and speed on the bench.  12-15 players is a number that you can manage.  Typically most of the girls will see the field in most games.  You can utilize base runners and the DP/Flex rule to get another girl an at bat.  Often times, you’ll have someone hit for your pitcher (Pitcher=Flex).  This usually works out pretty well, although surely some parent will be pissed at you about something.

Keep in mind that when the season starts, if you have 15, you will more than likely be down to 12-13 after a few weeks.  It’s totally normal for people that want more playing time to leave for a better offer.

As the girls get older (16s and above) it is not uncommon to see teams with up to 20 girls on their roster in the beginning of the season.  Same scenario though, they will most likely trim down to 15-16 after players determine whether or not it’s a fit.  Girls playing in 18G need more players because they will usually depend on a deep pitching staff and base runners for their pitchers and catchers.  They will also have a handful of younger girls eager to earn a starting spot when the seniors leave.

Keep in mind that when the girls get older, some tournaments could easily have them playing 4-7 games on a weekend, especially if you get in the losers bracket.  The girls get tired, so having back up players to sub in can really help you when you need them to cross the finish line. 

It does take a lot to manage more players, but believe me, when you go out there with 10 and one gets hurt or one is sick, you’ll be wishing you had more girls. 

At the younger ages, the pin is one of they most important aspects about going to a national tournament and there is typically an event scheduled just for the girls to trade.  The girls/parents spend quite a bit of time trading and frankly, if your pin is cheap and cheesy, girls won’t want to trade with you so be prepared.  I’d advise investing at least $2.00 per pin if you can.  Anything less than that and girls may want you to trade 2 pins for their 1 pin.  I am serious, they really do that. 

So here’s a couple tips:

1) If you are on a budget, make sure you go for size before anything else or consider getting about 15 nice (impressive) pins and then get a cheaper version made as an alternate.  That way you only trade your expensive pins for other expensive pins, etc.

2) Blinky lights are popular.

3) Moving parts are very popular. 

4) If at all possible, plan ahead and get these done 6 weeks or more ahead of time.

5) If you have more than one age group in your club, try and get the same pin because most companies give volume discounts.

6) Triple check your final proof.

7) When picking a theme, think of what’s trendy.  For example, if I were designing a pin right now, I’d go for something like an iPhone or MySpace, etc.  Of course, you can always stick to the traditional softball related pins, those are also fantastic, but the unique ones tend to be popular albeit expensive.

Get a pin bag or something for the girls to keep their pins/on. (towel, sash) 

BTW-ASA is having a pin contest for 2008.  Click here for more information on that.

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Well, if you’re still willing to move forward, keep a few things in the back of your mind.

• You will never please everyone.  No matter what, at some point during the season, there will be a parent if not many parents ticked off at you (including your spouse).
• If your daughter is on the team, you will argue.  Please know that ahead of time.  Don’t take out what happened on the field at home.
• Communicate!  Build a website.  Build an email loop.  Tell your parents what’s going on often.  Nothing annoys people more than uncertainty.
• Keep records of all money that has been paid to you and how you spent it and COMMUNICATE it to your team.
• Involve your coaches in your thought process and decision making.  This isn’t a one man/woman show here. 
• Never guarantee playing time.  Creating favoritism like that will surely lead to resentment from others.

That’s enough for now, I’ll add more later.