Bunting isn’t glamorous or exciting but doing it successfully can be the difference between winning or losing a close game. Like freethrows in basketball, bunting seems almost too simple and even boring to practice so it can become a lazy skill.
Fortunately for all of us there are some things we can do to help our bunters really concentrate on the simple details involved in a successful bunt – we’re talking Sacrifice Bunt. Before we look at some ways to add competition to bunting let’s first review the basics for a successful bunt:
1. Start at the Chin – To avoid popping up the bunt have your bunters start their bats at the top of their strike zone – which is just about at their chin. Too many hitters start their bats around their waist so they have to move up and down for pitches and when they move up it’s much easier to bunt the bottom of the ball – which is what causes a pop up. You can see in picture 1 how the bat is up by this bunter’s chin which puts it at the top of the strike zone.
2. Start Out, Give In – This means that the bunter should start her hands OUT away from her body, as in picture 2, and then Give IN as the ball hits the bat in order to soften the contact and keep the bunt from being too hard and going right back to the pitcher.
3. Move Down with the Knees
– The bunter in picture 2 also shows you how a bunter should bend her knees
in order to bunt a low pitch as opposed to reaching down with her arms
for the ball. Your bunters should always try to keep the bat near their
eyes and then move their knees down to the ball instead of moving their
bat and keeping their body still in order to avoid popping the ball up
or missing it completely.
Stay Wide and Solid – Bunting
involves absorbing the impact of the ball and in Fastpitch, that can be
a lot of impact. So a bunter needs to keep her feet wide enough to keep
her balance and stay solid no matter where the pitch is as a loss of balance
is a great way to mess up a bunt.
On the Ground & Fair
– a bunter’s goal, at first, is simply to get the ball on the ground and
in fair territory. Don’t get too fancy with beginning bunters on what side
of the field they bunt to, just get them to bunt it on the ground and fair.
As they get better then you can get more detailed and have them bunt to
different locations on the infield based on the defensive coverage.
Practice Under Pressure
– Bunting in a game is all about pressure so practicing it in a relaxed
and goof-around atmosphere in practice won’t go far in helping your players
bunt better in the clutch! Adding pressure in bunting practice can pay
huge dividends when it comes to creating great game bunters!
For adding more pressure or competition to your bunting practice try these drills: