Softball Hitting Tips: Increase softball power with an overlap grip using these 8 steps

Another video on softball hitting tips. Ready to improve your slow pitch softball hitting power by changing how you grip the bat from the traditional baseball grip, to the drop-down overlap grip? Follow these 8 steps and be on your way!

[@brianduckfan]

I'm a 65 year old senior softball player. I've been playing slowpitch for at least 35 years. I didn't hit a single home run last year, but this year I switched to the overlap grip and at my last tournament of the year I hit three out. I really don't feel like I lost any bat control either. Old dogs can learn new tricks!

[@bathound]

Wow that is great to hear!!! Congrats on multiple levels!

[@jrey6186]

Same boat this year after a decade or out playing tennis - new tech new grip we'll see -

[@bigtom888881]

Great video. I switched to the overlap grip a few years ago and never looked back. My bottom two fingers are completely off and my top hand is just along for the ride. I moved to this grip after watching a Brett Helmer video where he talks about it. You gain power but lose some control. Like anything else in life, it takes practice, but when you square a ball up it is amazing.

[@GlennHanna8]

Heading to some bp.... My first attempt, it wasn't too bad when hitting an actual ball. Swinging freely without contact with a ball felt like I was going to break my front wrist. To be continued...ok back.. it already feels less foreign. The forefinger on my lead hand was getting raw, doubling up on gloves on that hand solved that issue. Lot's of popping up. I tried different bats, the lightest 25 oz I had some of the most pop. My white j3 27 oz was smoking the ball as well though. The bat flew out of my hands one time, hit the back stop and knocked over some other bats on the fence, that was amusing. It feels like I'm mostly focusing on my arms and hands but my legs and hips are not doing as much as usual. A few more sessions and I think I'll feel confident with it.

[@bathound]

Great to hear! Sorry I'm just getting to this now. How is it going?

[@GlennHanna8]

@@bathound Some days it feels great and I'm smashing the ball, some days it feels unstable. I think my last 2 at bats a light bulb went off, hitting a homerun over the fence and then an inside the park homerun... the top hand pushes directly down on my fist like I'm holding a rock that I'm going to smash into the ground.... this feels a lot more stable and powerful and ensures I'm rolling my top hand instead of what I tended to do was rest my top hand on my fist and hold on with my fingers on the side.... which feels unsecure and wimpy.

[@bathound]

@@GlennHanna8 Great to hear!! This is still the top adjustment I made in my swing to gain more power. I changed something this season that has been able to give me additional pop. I'm hoping to do a video on it in a couple weeks. Always looking for a little more help haha.

[@GlennHanna8]

@@bathound I've been wearing a leather work glove on my front hand. Last night during one at bat I forgot to switch from my regular batting glove to the work glove, I chased a short pitch and missed, the bat flew out of my hands, over the spectator area behind me, and into the another softball field at their first base. It was hilarious, but it's a good thing there was no game going on there at the time. Chasing bad pitches with this grip is going to get me in trouble..... but when I'm not throwing the bat, I'm hitting the ball about as hard as I did 20 years ago.

[@bathound]

@@GlennHanna8 hahahaha oh wow! Funny story. I'm glad to hear you are seeing results from it!

[@RacersUnited]

Tried this tonight at BP, hit over 300 feet for the first time! Thanks!

[@bathound]

Great to hear!!! Thanks for the update!

[@markmorgan7450]

Planning to work on this from the left side while I play this season from the right. I’m right handed, but this swing feels much more natural from the left side for me.

[@bathound]

Thanks for watching! Have you been able to give this a try? Curious how it has gone if so.

[@joeroche4040]

Have been playing with overlap for a month or so. Went all in today and hit one HR and 3 doubles that hit the fence. I get a way better wrist snap

[@bathound]

Nice! Great to hear - thanks for sharing!

[@zoololana3629]

Last weekend was my first slow pitch game, I was frustrated!! I have always being a power bat but not this weekend, but this sunday😎 I'm ready

[@bathound]

Thanks for watching! How did it go the second time around?

[@1977TA]

I just started practicing with a overlap grip and I can already feel the difference the extra bat leverage gives me. I fee like I have better control of the wrist snap and improved hand control that gives me the ability to keep the barrel stable as I whip it through the hitting zone. In addition I noticed the overlap grip promotes loose and relaxed hands and less chance of early wrist rollover. The traditional baseball grip allows you to grip the handle too tightly and it’s easier to roll your wrists over too early. It also reduces critical wrist snap because your wrists can lock if your grip is too tight. Using the overlap grip I feel like I can do what I want to with the bat and even if I don’t hit the ball squarely the increased whip of the bat will still produce a hard hit ball. So far I’ve just been taking dry swings without hitting a ball. The feedback I can feel tells me the results will be satisfactory when I hit a ball which I plan to do after a few more weeks of getting use to the overlap grip.

[@bathound]

Those are all good points. Thanks for taking the time to share them. Let us know how things progress.

[@1977TA]

The results are in. The overlap grip works. I played a series of games and noticed I was hitting the ball very very hard consistently. Got under a few hits due to chasing low pitch’s and miss timing but when the pitches were in my wheel house I didn’t miss them. Even my pop flies hung in the air longer because of the increased energy I put into the ball. Like you said there will be an adjustment and learning curve so I don’t blame the overlap grip when I don’t get a good hit. I know that once I completely master it I will be a force to recon with. I just wish I had discovered it 6 years ago when I first started playing softball.

[@bathound]

@@1977TA Great to hear! Thanks for the update!

[@jimpeterson3806]

Good video. I use a semi overlap for more control. Took awhile to get used to, like you said... swing, swing and swing some more!

[@bathound]

Nice! How long would you say it took you to get used to it? What did you do to make the transition (i.e. to get comfortable enough for game swings)? What sort of results have you noticed?

[@jimpeterson3806]

The Bat Hound I started with dropping the pinky, then the ring finger. Moving on to an overlap of the pinky then ring finger and pinky. I'm not a masher and I found more consistency with the pinky drop/pinky overlap. Took about a full season to get used to the timing/feeling of the grip. Definitely paid off though!

[@mikekrieglmeier5846]

Your a beast. Completely turned my hitting around. What difference. Still in 2020 your the shit! This works! Thanks for the tip!

[@bathound]

Glad to hear you saw good results! Thanks for watching!

[@ottosophia4095]

This is a tremendously incredible instructional video. Absolutely perfect if anyone wants to make the switch You should do exactly what this guy says. Exactly like For me I’m sticking with my traditional baseball grip with knuckles lined up. My power hitting days are over. I enjoy top-hand heaters way more than homer’s When I was in my 20s and 30s It was all about the Home run. I used to hit over 100 every year. 4 nights a week plus tournaments every other weekend. Those days are over lol I’m 50 now and love hitting top-hand heat and love super high batting average Super video. I highly recommend what this man says if you want to hit bombs. Exactly what he says

[@bathound]

Thanks for watching and for the comment!

[@howardjohnson5734]

thank you for a simple explanation ,whenever I have tried to make it work there is a major loss of control and bat speed, some of my problem is trying to do a major change like this at the age of 56 . several years ago I went to a hitting show that had Jose conseco hitting softballs at some very long distances .he still is using traditional grip . I am trying to use my upper hand more to maintain more bat head speed through the ball impact . I am not against the overlap grip what ever a guy can make work is what matters

[@bathound]

Thanks for the comment. I totally agree with that last statement - if it works there is no need to change. I looked into it because I noticed the consistency of my pop was decreasing. It took thousands of swings for me - literally - but I now love it. Everyone once in a while I pick up the bat like traditional baseball style and it feels super strange :)

[@markmorgan7450]

Love the intro!

[@bathound]

Thanks for watching!

[@anthonylopiccolo6145]

Man.. your voice is so pleasant when you aren’t screaming lol Love your vids bro

[@bathound]

hahahaha. Thanks for watching! I can't help but cheer on the bats haha. Keeps me feeling younger like I'm playing the world series in the backyard as a kid haha

[@anthonylopiccolo6145]

Hahaha definitely. You've helped me make a few decisions that gets me to pretend I’m in the series too, so I appreciate it

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

Hey Buddy I told you I would give you an up date and here it is I started with a .467 Batting Average. I now hit .888 and .675 on my two teams my ..888 I'm second in the league with Average . I shared this with two guys

[@bathound]

Danny Shibley Jr right on!! Great to hear! Good work! And thanks for sharing 👍

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

@@bathound is there any recommendations for my buddy he's 6 foot has baseball swing but I'm patient. He is backing out of the box as he swings. I've tried a few methods of what I know . He has my Louisville solvo bat the orange one and did well.

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

@@bathound Thanks again I will keep you posted I hit three doubles as my hits back to back weeks

[@nickb2912]

I first saw this with Brett Helmer. I decided to try this and I did notice an increase in exit velocity and bat speed. how I grip is I have all of my bottom hand on the bat and overlap my top hand over my bottom hand. I'm not sure about taking two fingers off of the bat, I get worried that I'm going to lose the bat in my swing. How I worked it in was I started with overlapping just my pinky finger and then the next finger and then the next finger now I had an overlap. I advise people to work the overlap the way I did. I still do the baseball grip because I feel that I have more control over hitting the ball. I also take baseball batting in the batting cages to help increase my bat speed and reaction time. I don't use my softball bat for that I use a baseball bat for that

[@bathound]

Thanks for all the tips!

[@nickb2912]

@@bathound I might make you a video to show you what I am talking about

[@ProfessionalSutton84]

I would love to see

[@markfraser9121]

Great tips. I tried it out in BP and the ball was flying off the bat. I'm a smaller dude and I was hitting 250+ consistently with this technique. It feels awkward and uncomfortable, but it works.

[@bathound]

Great to hear! Yeah I remember it feeling real funny. But it is even funnier to me now when I try the traditional baseball grip it feels totally strange, and every ball goes straight into the ground :) In time it will feel natural if you see good results and want to stick with it.

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

I'm trying that today

[@bathound]

Danny Shibley Jr nice! Let me know how it goes. Just keep in mind it takes lots of swings for some of us to get used to it. Perhaps it won’t for you but it sure did for me 👍😂

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

I popped out once doubled twice I'm a line drive hitter with speed and it helped

[@jairosoler7074]

This overlapping works just do it if you want more distance on your hits the bat will do the work

[@Vincent-lt3fi]

Hmm I’ll give it a try 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@bathound]

Let us know how it goes!

[@dannyshibleyjr145]

My fingers get stiff allot any suggestions

[@daniellehman1]

How tall should I have my tee when practicing? I have watched a number of videos on hitting tips and it seems the tees are always different heights

[@bathound]

Good question. I generally have mine somewhere between my waist to my chest. I'm sure it can be a good thing to vary it from time to time, but I don't pay too much attention to it. Sorry, hopefully that can be of some help...

[@daniellehman1]

@@bathound That was going to be my next question should I vary the height so I'm not just hitting the same spot over and over. Just trying to figure out the range. I'll try the waist to lower chest. Appreciate the feedback

[@bathound]

@@daniellehman1 For me I tend to try and work on just one or two things at a time. So if I'm working on my foot positioning, or using my lower body, or getting my hands back, etc., I tend not to focus too much on where the ball is but more on that aspect of the swing until I can try to get that to feel as natural as possible. I know for when I worked to get the hang of the drop-down full-overlap grip, I did do a decent amount of reps with the ball higher at the chest because it helped me to work on being able to control the bat better with the new grip. Have fun! I personally love hitting off the tee!!

[@daniellehman1]

@@bathound Okay thanks for the advice. Appreciate it.

[@forthelord77]

I love your videos but that shirt gots to go. Da bears. But yes my power has increased by at least 10ft using a overlap

[@forthelord77]

One more thing being a chicagoan if your gonna be a Cubs fan u can't be a Packers fan😎😉

[@bathound]

Macho CM LOL!! Thanks for the support! How long did it take you to develop the grip? Do you do a partial or full?

[@erik041982]

This is the grip for me when i imagine the softball is the devil's face then unload a power swing an give him 2 black eyes!! Otherwise a baseball grip wrenches to hard on my wrists when i swing like its my last time at bat.

[@MattyM424]

What t is that?

[@bathound]

haha!!

[@beaunelson6386]

Jeff Hall doesnt overlap and he does just fine...

[@bathound]

Beau Nelson I wouldn’t argue with that. For some this grip will give the added pop that is desired. I started it in my upper 30’s when I noticed my pop decreasing in consistency. Have you given it a try? I certainly know guys that don’t like it.

[@beaunelson6386]

Not yet but I'll give it a try next time we do some BP, thanks

[@bathound]

Beau Nelson let me know your thoughts. I’m telling you it took me thousands of swings to be fully comfortable (it doesn’t take everyone that long). But the results for me and my swing were definitely worth it. Then just yesterday I trying holding the bat with the traditional baseball grip and it felt as strange as could be 😂

[@re1ko]

@@bathound its harder to hit but once you get a full control it definitly goes further my longest ball was that way

[@ac-ir9gs]

8,000 views. I can't believe I know this guy!