Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Mon Dec 9 09:17:37 2002

>I've watched the Womens College World Series. > You are pitting the best pitchers against the worst hitters in your question. Not a fair comparison. Good rotation will NOT produce 52 mph swings. My daughter is 5'1", 115 lbs and has 70-75 mph batspeed. It is not size, it is technique. Rotation produces faster batspeed.
> >
> > Is that true, that a 5'1 115 lb. female have a 75 mph bat speed? What's the secret - - tell us what you did to get those results?
> >
> > Is 75 mph bat speed the norm for females? Any studies or numbers on females who use the "right mechanics" other than this guy's daughter? It's hard to understand why with those mechanics and that kind of bat speed as only a senior in high school why she would end up at a D3 school.
>
> Perhaps softball was not the MOST important factor in her choice of schools. Perhaps the D3 was the best educational "fit" for her.
>
> Mark H.

My daughter and I use the Setpro batspeed computer. This, like the swingmate, measures batspeed. The measurements were from dry swings, not live pitching. Most if not all hitters' batspeeds drop from dry swing to live pitching.
I have NEVER seen a batspeed reading of a Women's Fastpitch swing in a game. I suspect the good D1 players can swing 80-90 mph with dry swings. But that is all conjecture. Pitch speeds get measured, not batspeeds.
As for why my daughter is playing D3- there is a lot more to playing D1 than batspeed mph. Probably the most important is a 'jock' mentality - very competitive, driven, mentally tough, etc. in addition to being very athletic.
As much as my daughter loves to play, she has never been a great competitor, doesn't have the overwhelming self-confidence to overcome a base package of good (not great) athletic ability, smaller size, excellent hand-eye coordination and pretty good strength for her size. She has medium speed, etc. Good enough as a package to compete and contribute at a D3 level, but not a D1 level athlete or competitor.
She can hit the ball hard, and makes good contact frequently. She's broken up her share of no-hitters. But her good batspeed numbers come from taking her natural strong points (hand-eye and strength), teaching her good rotational mechanics, and using excellent training regimens to create a pretty good hitter and a nice third baseman.