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It Pays to Know the Rules
When I was coaching teams, one of my yearly rituals was to read the ASA (now USA Softball) rulebook from beginning to end before the season started. Including the applications scenarios in the back.
I would also scan the rules for other sanctions my team was playing in just to make sure I knew about any variations so I didn’t embarrass myself or my team on the field.
Why would I do that? It wasn’t for fun, I can assure you. The rulebook is pretty dry.
No, I read it to make sure I was ready for those little odd things that can happen that, if you don’t know what you’re doing, could cost you a game. Or even a championship.
With the college softball season getting under way, the high school season about to start in many parts of the U.S., and travel and rec ball not far off, it seems like reading the rulebook and understanding it thoroughly would be a good use of coaches’ time.
What made me think of this is what happened in Super Bowl LXVIII (58 for those of you who don’t read Roman numerals).
ICYMI, the game was tied at the end of the fourth quarter so it went into overtime. Which means the Chiefs and 49ers had to do a new coin toss, with the winner deciding whether to take the ball first or let the other team have it.
The 49ers won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Under ordinary circumstances that might seem like a good decision because usually overtime is “sudden victory,” the politically correct term for what we used to call “sudden death.” In other words, first team that scores wins.
But what the 49ers allegedly didn’t realize is that the overtime rules changed this year, which meant both teams would get a guaranteed possession, i.e., a chance to score. That rule change gives the advantage to the second team to get the ball because by then they will know what they have to do when it’s their turn.
So after the 49ers notched a field goal (worth 3 points for those who don’t follow football), the Chiefs knew they could tie the game with a field goal if they had to or go for the win with a touchdown, which is ultimately what they did. They succeeded, which meant a lot of third world children are looking forward to receiving free San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl LVIII Champions t-shirts.
After the game, it was brought up that where the 49ers weren’t aware of the new rules, the Chiefs had been going over them twice a week or something like that since the preseason. While it might have seemed boring at the time, it paid off.
There are always new additions (and subtractions) to the rulebook, so taking the time to understand them is critical if you want to serve your team best. Of course, one of the biggest examples here in 2024 is the change to the pitching rules which now allows leaping – although not crow hopping supposedly.
We’ll see about that, but that’s a topic for another post.
It would be pretty embarrassing for a coach to complain that a pitcher’s foot is coming off the ground on her drive forward when that’s now allowed. It would also be pretty risky for a coach to allow or encourage a pitcher to crow hop (replant the drive foot before the stride foot lands) thinking that that is the same as leaping, only to have it get called correctly in a critical game.
Knowing the rules can also help you prevent an umpire who doesn’t know the rules from costing you a game. I can speak to that from personal experience.
A team I was coaching was on defense in a “national” tournament. The other team had runners on second and third with one out so we elected to intentionally walk the current hitter to create a force at home.
My catcher moved behind the left hand batter’s box to receive the ball as I had taught her, and our pitcher threw a pitch. The umpire immediately called an illegal pitch saying the catcher was out of the catcher’s box, which meant the runner on third would score and the runner on second would advance to third. Not exactly the outcome we were looking for.
I went out to argue the call. I explained that unlike baseball, where the catcher’s box is narrow, in fastpitch softball it extends from the far edge of one batter’s box to the far edge of the other.
The umpire disagreed so I asked him to ask his partner. His partner also disagreed so I asked them to get the umpire in chief, which to their credit they did.
After about 10 minutes of consultation between them (and a rule book), they conceded the point, sent the runners back to their original bases and wiped the run off the board.
I’d love to say we got the out at home and went on to win the game. That would be a nice topper, wouldn’t it?
Unfortunately, the next hitter got a ground ball through the pulled-in infield and we went on to lose. But hey, at least it wasn’t because of a rule problem.
The fastpitch softball rulebook is filled with plenty of rules, some common, some obscure, but all worth knowing. Because you never know when a situation will come up where knowing the rules can change the situation immensely.
I know it’s boring, coaches, but do yourselves a favor. Either read the rulebook cover-to-cover yourself or assign someone on your staff to do it.
You never know when a season might turn on it.
Pros and Cons of New Pitching Rule on Leaping
By now you’ve no doubt heard about a very significant change to the fastpitch softball pitching rules in the NCAA, NFHS, and various travel ball level organizations. The rule involves leaping, i.e., having both feet in the air during the stride-out portion of the pitch.
Up until this rule change leaping was illegal, which meant if a pitcher was called for it the batter would automatically be credited with a ball, even if the pitch came in fat and happy down the middle. That collective sigh of relief you heard a few weeks ago came from pitchers, their parents, their grandparents and other relatives, their team coaches, their pitching coaches, and other interested parties when it was announced that leaping will now be allowed.
Of course, no change occurs in the fastpitch softball world without some level of angst being generated, and this rule change is no exception. Some are in favor, some are against, but whatever their point of view most are passionate about whatever they think.
That’s why I thought it might be a good idea to go through the pros and cons of leaping while pitching in a more dispassionate way to help everyone understand this change a little more.
But First – Leaping v Crow Hopping
Before we get into the pros and cons I think it’s important to distinguish between leaping, which is now legal, and crow hopping, which remains illegal, because many use the terms interchangeably. Especially coaches who are complaining about an opposing pitcher.
Leaping is what happens when a pitcher strides off the pitching rubber, her back foot loses connection with the ground, and both feet are in the air at the same time until the front foot lands. Often this is the result of a late push or drive off the pitching rubber by the drive leg.
Most people consider there to be no particular advantage to leaping, and in fact it might actually reduce a pitcher’s speed a little. Leaping is now allowed since the rule change.
Crow hopping starts out the same way as a leap, with both feet off the ground. The difference, though, is that the drive leg lands first AND THEN there is a second push-off. This gives the pitcher an advantage because she is essentially starting her pitch from a much closer distance – generally six to eight feet.
This shorter closing distance gives the batter less time to react, essentially making the pitcher appear to be faster than she actually is. Crow hopping is still not allowed by the rules.
Pros of the Leaping Rule Change
The biggest pro of the change to allow leaping IMHO is it theoretically eliminates opposing coaches trying to get a successful pitcher pulled out of a game, or get into a pitcher’s head to the point where she is no longer effective, by complaining that she is leaping (or crow hopping as most say). Because what can be better than a grown man or woman playing head games with a 12 year old?
Think of all the time and animosity that will be saved by not arguing about whether a pitcher is legal or illegal because her back foot came an inch or two off the ground. In today’s world of timed games that alone will be a plus.
Another pro is it gives pitchers the opportunity to learn their craft without having to worry about whether their back foot is coming off the ground. Pitching is hard enough; removing a meaningless obstacle to learning it enables budding pitchers to focus on the mechanics that will help them develop and grow.
Finally, it saves the umpires (especially the ones working solo) from having to watch for and call pitchers for leaping. With that off their plates they can focus on things that are far more important to the outcome of the game – such as calling balls and strikes or runners leaving early on a steal or a fly ball.
Again, in my opinion and the opinions of many other pitching coaches there is no real advantage gained by a leap, so it’s essentially no harm, no foul.
Cons of the Leaping Rule Change
The biggest con to the rule change is that leaping is kind of a gateway to crow hopping. If you stop calling leaping, umpires may eventually quit calling crow hopping, which will then give pitchers an unfair advantage.
We’ve seen this in the men’s game. Many of the top men’s pitchers crow hop and don’t get called for it because umpires seem to have given up worrying about it.
Will that happen in women’s fastpitch as well? Time will tell.
Another con to leaping is that mechanics are not as efficient, which means pitchers may actually be giving up a little speed, accuracy, or movement. Many will not be able to transfer as much energy into the ball because their posture or timing (or both) is off, and they may not be able to get their arms and/or hands into the optimal position for delivery.
If no one is worried about proper leg drive because pitchers won’t be called for leaping it could lead to pitchers not achieving their full potential. Pitching coaches will quit looking for it and pitchers will never make the effort to correct it.
I fully believe that a pitcher who can keep herself stacked properly over the back side will pitch better than if she strides in a way that pulls her back foot off the ground prematurely. That’s just biomechanics and physics.
Finally, there is the health and safety issue. Pitchers who leap, especially if they go after with with enthusiasm because it’s no longer illegal, will put themselves at greater risk of ankle, knee, hip, and back injuries, particularly in the lower lumbar region.
The weight-forward, body-forward posture most leapers have will cause more strain as they collide with the ground. Over time, those repetitive out-of-balance landings can lead to injuries that could put a pitcher out of action for a month, several months, a year, or even longer.
And then she’ll have to relearn proper technique anyway to avoid future injuries. Why not just start from a safer technique and go from there?
Choose Wisely
The bottom line for me is that the rule change is a good thing from a practical, in-game point of view, but it shouldn’t be considered carte blanche to use poor technique.
I will still strive to teach my students how to drive more efficiently, with their drive foot on the ground. But if they do come up a little, I’m glad to know it’s not going to cost them the game anymore.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 