A description of swing parameters and their relationship to in game batting performance in Division I softball players

The purpose of this study was three fold: First, to describe swing kinematics in Division I female softball players, second, to describe the interrelationships that exist between these swing kinematics, and third to analyze the predictive power of these swing kinematics to game statistics. Swing kinematic variables included bat velocity (BV), bat quickness (BQ), and a novel variable, swing index (SI). These bat parameters were compared to performance variables which included hits per swing (H/Swing), total bases per swing (TB/Swing),balls in play per swing (BIP/Swing), and total bases per balls in play (TB/BIP). Video data were collected for all swings during a 15-game softball tournament in which six NCAA Division I teams played. High-speed video cameras filming at 300 Hz were located along the first and third base lines recording every pitch. Only data from trials in which a swing was made were kept, resulting in 1,099 swings. BQ and BV were calculated by video analysis and digitization. All swings were rank ordered by SI. After rank ordering, each swing was assigned a percentile and secondary analysis was performed on the data. All swing kinematic variables were compared to statistical performance variables. Descriptive statistics (mean  SD) were calculated for all swing kinematic variables and all statistical performance variables. Pearson product moment correlations were used to examine relationships among the swing kinematic variables as well as between the swing kinematic variables and the statistical performance variables. Alpha was set at (