Fun Softball Activities for Young Kids


June 13th is World Softball Day (Did you know that was a thing?) It's the day the Olympic Committee decided in 1991 that Women's fastpitch softball would be added to the summer Olympics. Every year the day is celebrated to bring attention to Softball and inspire girls and boys to become empowered through the sport. 

The best way to observe this day is to round up some friends for a fun game of softball.  You could also watch a movie with softball, like "A League of Their Own" or "All-Stars" 

A League of Their Own (1992) - Plot Summary - IMDb

Teaching Kids How To Play

When teaching young kids (age 3-6) how to play, you may run into some challenges as basic skills like throwing and catching are not yet developed. Developing these skills through fun games is the best way to lay out a foundation. (The more we make things fun, the more kids want to play!).
For softball, the 3 skills to build early on for kids are: Throwing, Catching and Striking. 
With striking, make sure your child is holding the bat with the proper hand position. (Dominant hand on top and both hands close together). Dominant elbow should be raised up. Have your child step towards the ball with their front foot (use a marker on the ground to help them). Show them how to follow-through with the bat swinging around their body. 
With Catching, things can get tricky for kids who have never caught a ball with a glove (mitt). Have them first practice just opening and closing the glove. Once they get the motion down, first start with just dropping the ball into their glove and have them grab it facing up. They will get the feel of the ball landing in the webbing and will feel more confident with each catch. 
Once you feel ready, start taking some steps back and tossing the ball directly into their glove (have them hold the glove steady). This way they don't have much to do but open and close the glove. 
From there, move on to some rolling-catches. Roll the ball on the ground and have them catch it in their glove and grab it with their opposite hand. 
Check out our Youtube channel for more Softball/Baseball games! 

Introduce Your Child To Softball The Easy Way

With the Pickup Sports Softball/Baseball box, we've made it super easy for you to introduce your child to the sport. All our fun games are included in the game cards and will help you develop fundamental softball skills for kids. You also receive all the equipment you need and some fun things (like baseball cards!) that your kids will enjoy!
 

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