Softball: It Gets You out of the House 2 Nights a Week

I have been playing softball for almost 10 years now! I have always been a really good power hitter, and played baseball for 15 years. The softball league that I play and is a moderately competitive slow pitch league recognized by the ASA.( Amateur Softball Association of America)

Through the years you get a good sense of what type of equipment to use, as it is not exactly the same as baseball. I have also noticed that not everyone who is great baseball can be great at softball as well. In slow pitch leagues, the ball has a huge arc, and you don't swing exactly the same as you would in baseball with fast pitching. It's a different technique, and can be quite frustrating for the natural fastball hitter. Arcs on pitches have a ceiling of 15 feet! that's pretty high when you start to think about.

You may want to also consider getting a new glove if you're joining a softball league. Softballs are obviously much bigger than baseballs, and could make it difficult to effectively catch with your existing baseball glove.

A baseballs dimensions are as follows:

A baseball is "9 to 9.25 inches or 22.86 to 23.495 centimeters in circumference.

The baseball generally weighs between 5 and 5.25 ounces

Softball Dimensions can vary:

The size of the ball varies according to the classification of play. The two sizes of softballs are 12" (30.5 cm) and 11" (27.9 cm). In fast Pitch 12" is standard but in slow pitch 11" or 12" can be used.

For a 12" ball the min weight is 178.0g (6 1/4oz.) and a max of 198.4g (7 oz.) and for an 11" ball 166.5g (5 7/8oz.) is the min and 173.6g (6 1/8oz.) is the max.

Most Men's leagues allow female players on them. In the rare case that they don't, there are tons of really good, fun and/or competitive leagues that are co-ed or Women's only!

There are a few things you may want to consider before joining a softball league.

*League Lineup is a great web site to help you find leagues in your area. Check it out whenever you have a few minutes to get some great knowledge on softball leagues.

*Joining a Softball league usually costs money. Find out what the costs may be per player in a league near you. Finding a local business to sponsor your team may be the best way to go.

*Having the proper equipment is essential for being in a league. If you are forming a team, you will need the following item(s):

-3 Base Bags

-A clipboard with scoring book

-A few community bats for the team to use

-A minimum of 15 Brand new game balls for the season (2 are usually required for the start of every game when you are playing as the home team) Make sure you know which brand/type of softball your league uses before you go out and buy a bunch of them.