Fast Pitch Softball

 Softball evolved around the turn of the twentieth century as an adaptation of baseball.  Lewis Rober invented the game to keep his firemen busy when they were not fighting fires.  In the early days it was called such names as Kitten Ball, Ladies’ Baseball, Diamond Ball, and Softball. During the depression of the 1930s, the sport became popular among adults as it afforded a cheap source of entertainment.  As the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, the first national tournament was held, and both men’s and women’s teams competed for their respective championships.  During World War II, American GIs introduced the sport throughout the world, and after the war the sport flourished both here and overseas. In 1960s softball grew into an international sport, mainly played by women.  In 1965 the Raybestos Breakettes of Stratford, Connecticut, participated in a world tour to further women’s softball.  That same year, the team participated in the first Women’s World Fast Pitch Tournament, in Melbourne, Australia.  A year later, demonstration games by top women’s teams were part of the Asian Games held in Bangkok and Pan American Games in Winnipeg.  In 1977, the International Olympic Committee officially recognized softball.

 Fast pitch softball is a rapidly growing sport.  In the last 15 years it has changed from a sport played primarily by men as an alternative to baseball, to a woman’s interscholastic sport played at the high school and college levels. In 1991 fast pitch was selected to debut as an Olympic sport .The U.S. Olympic team won the Gold Medal in the games in 1996 Summer Games.  The team included players Lisa Fernandez, Michelle Smith, Christa Williams, and Dr Dot Richardson.  They continued their streak by winning gold in the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia.

 Softball is relatively well-organized sport with local, state, national, and international championships.  Players have the opportunity to travel within the city, state, and country.  There are many divisions of softball: ASA (Amateur Softball Association), NSA (National Softball Association), and USSSA (United States Sports Softball Association) softball.
There is not much equipment required to play the game.  For fast pitch you use an aluminum bat, a leather glove, and regulation 12” softball.
 
Pitching is the key ingredient in fast pitch.  Perhaps in no other team sport can a single player make such a significant contribution to the level of play or outcome of the game as the fast pitch pitcher. As a result, many people want to develop a pitcher. There are many pitches in fast pitch like a curve ball, rise ball, change up, screwball, and drop ball.
 Softball is a fun sport to play and it requires a lot of commitment and practice.  You will see many young girls this spring as they enter the softball field to play another season of the sport.