So you’ve got all the pitches, Curveball, Rise-ball, Sinker, speed and accuracy is no problem. What if I backed you up 3 feet?

Effective in the 2010-11 season that is exactly what the NHSF intends to do.

Softball has long been a game where the best pitchers have dominated the competition. With this in mind, and with the hope the batter will put more balls into play giving rise to better overall defense, the NHSF has decided to move the pitchers back 3 feet to 43 feet. This will give the batter a moment longer to hit the ball. “Our main thrust is getting the defense more involved…When more balls are hit into play, the defense is more involved in the game, thus enhancing skill development.” Says Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Softball Rules Committee.

This has been a rule that has been under much debate for the last several years on whether or not this is better for the game. On the whole, this move could drastically alter the game at a High School level. After talking to several local softball coaches about the move, I have a feeling that even they have a mixed reaction to the change. “We have played at some tournaments where the mound was at 43 feet and it really didn’t affect our pitchers much. They are changing their pitches based on position in the batter box already, so that’s a couple feet there.”

Some states have already made the move to 43 feet, testing it over the course of the past several years. It seems that on a whole the coaches and players who have played at the 43 foot level have embraced the change. Will it alter the game to become an offensive game, most likely not. However, I do think that it will put more of the plays in the hands of the fielders instead of the pitcher.

• Do you think the rule change will affect pitchers?

Tagged with: nfhs ruling, pitching from 43 feet, softball pitching

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