One question I get from new clients is, "Where is the information about the fast pitch softball swing?"
The short answer to that question is, "There isn't any."
By that I mean that there are no big, and just a few small, differences between the baseball swing and the fast pitch softball swing. As a result, I teach the baseball and fast pitch softball swings the same and use baseball and fast pitch softball clips pretty much interchangeably.[1]
Yes, women generally aren't as strong as men, but women are also allowed to use hotter bats and play in smaller ballparks. That evens out most of the differences.[2]
Similarities
If you look at the clip below, which compares the swings of Albert Pujols and Megan Bush, you will see a large number of similarities between their swings.
Megan Bush and Albert Pujols
In particular, notice the similarity between the two swings in the last few frames before the Point Of Contact. The angles, and how they get to those angles, are largely the same.
Differences
There are a few significant differences between men and women that you do have to take into account when teaching hitting.
Upper Body Strength
Women do not have the upper body strength of men. As a result, they have to swing in a way that will allow them to power their swings with The Core and not their upper bodies.
Shoulder Width
Women tend to have narrower shoulders than men. As a result, you have to make some positional modifications that take this into account. That means accepting slightly greater degrees of bat wrap, for instance.
Download the High-Level Swing eBook
For my hitting clients of all levels, I have put together an ebook that goes into much more detail about the similarities between high-level swings.
Notes
[1] The only reason that I tend to use more baseball clips than fast pitch softball clips comes down to the question of NCAA eligibility. In order to not jeopardize a college fast pitch softball player's eligibility, I cannot use a clip of them until they have graduated. That means that I have to wait at least one year, and sometimes up to four years, between the time I shoot a clip and the time that I can start using that clip on my web site. I have many good clips that I can now use, but it takes time to update all of my pages with them.
[2] It's a simple fact girls are more likely to believe that they can do something if they see someone who looks like them doing it. As a result, when I am working with clients or giving presentations to women or girls, I will try to use as many clips of female hitters as i can.