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Did you just buy a brand new softball glove and have a game coming up tomorrow? Wondering how to break in a softball glove fast? One of the quickest ways to break in your softball glove is to simply play catch with it. You should try to play catch as much as humanly possible, the more you play the faster the glove will break in. Though this is a swift way to break in your glove, it will still take at least a few hours before the leather becomes soft and pliable.
Just like hitting a bunch of balls with a new bat to improve the sweet spot, playing continuous catch is one way to loosen up your glove. It is a manual option and when executing this technique you should take the following suggestion into consideration.
How to Break in a Softball Glove Fast
1. Play Catch
Your focus should be on enclosing the ball each and every time it is caught. You should apply pressure to the ball through the use of your thumb and forefingers to create a “pocket.” This results in a nice natural curve which would have occurred organically if you had the time. This action not only allows you to break in your glove fast, but it assists in the results the glove produces in the long run, as creating this curve makes catching the ball much easier.
2. Knead It
Another manual approach on how to break in a softball glove fast is kneading it. Just like a baker would bread, you can use your hands to pound, stretch, pull and squeeze the new softball glove into submission. Continuous pressure from your hands as well as the constant touching will begin to slacken up the tightness of the glove, making it more malleable. Your hands also contain natural oils which are emitted from the body. These oils act as a conditioner for the leather, further relaxing its rigid structure.
3. Beat It Up
If you don’t prefer to spend the time necessary to knead the glove continuously, as it may be boring and tedious, you may opt to give the glove a beating instead. This sounds odd, I am sure but you may find it less monotonous than kneading the glove. It may be more fun instead to give it a few punches and kicks. This also exerts the same pressures the glove will encounter in the game, therefore making it become softer, way faster than if you left it to get broken in during the course of game playing. There is only one thing to be mindful of if you decide to manhandle your glove, which is to ensure that you avoid delicate areas of the glove, like where it is connected by stitching and so on.
There are actually special mallets made specifically for glove-beating, check out some examples available online:
Hot Glove Wooden Mallet
Mizuno Ball Glove Shaping Mallet
- Solid wood mallet
- Mizuno logo
- Perfect size for pocket shaping
- Helps keep your gloves shape
- Helps breakin your ballglove
Rawlings GLVMLLT Glove Mallet
- BREAK-IN ASSISTANT | The glove mallet is the perfect break-in assistant to help soften the leather of your glove so it is game-ready in no time!
- GLOVE POCKET SHAPING | Helps to form, shape, and maintain a comfortable glove pocket so you can play your best
4. Sleep On It
A fourth and final manual way to break in your glove fast is simply to sleep on it. To do this, you must place the ball into the glove and put it under your mattress. It is important to place a ball into the glove. This allows the pocket to be well-formed. If you sleep on the glove without first inserting the ball, the end result would be a flat, useless glove. Your body weight while sleeping on the glove causes the tautness of the glove to dissipate. While this is happening, the ball on the inside creates the valuable shape necessary to make the glove well formed.
back to menu ↑How to Break in a Softball Glove with Oil
Though manual methods break your glove in fast, you may be wondering how to break in your softball glove overnight. If this is the case, you may have to use tools to get the job done.
One way to get the job done quickly is by using conditioning oil on your glove. The oil tempers the glove making it softer. When using oils though, it is important not to use too much because you don’t want the glove to be drenched as this will make it heavy and hard to use. Parts of the gloves such as the webbing and the stitching needs to be done properly as these are important parts of the glove with regards to catching.
Some of our favorite oils and conditioners can easily be ordered online with your new glove purchase:
Wilson Premium Softball Glove Oil
Rawlings Gold Glove Butter, 2 Ounce (Pack of 1)
- BREAK-IN ASSISTANT | Designed to help break-in any baseball or softball glove
- SOFTENS, PROTECTS & RESTORES | Glove treatment that treats leather ball gloves without adding weight
- EASY TO APPLY | With cloth, sponge, or hands
How to Break in a Softball Glove Without Oil
You can also break in your softball using heat. To do this, you can place the glove in the microwave after wetting it thoroughly. When you have ensured that the glove is soaked through, squeeze any surplus water out and put it in the microwave. There is a method when doing this that you should always adhere to. When heating the glove, it should be at thirty-second intervals. If you leave the glove in for any time longer than that period at a time you run the risk of scorching your glove.
back to menu ↑How to Break in a Softball Glove with Shaving Cream
Another heating method is by using the oven. This time the glove is not drenched in water, but covered in shaving cream. This acts as a conditioner. The oven must be preheated to the perfect temperature, which is 300 degrees. Once your oven has reached the optimal heat, the glove must be inserted for only three minutes. Once the oils and conditioners in the shaving cream have absorbed into the leather of the glove and cools down you should play a game of catch as soon as possible. This will allow it to stretch and form a near perfect softball sized pocket.
If the heated methods discussed previously all seemed too extreme for you, but you still need you softball glove broken in, in a hurry, you should consider steaming it.
Compared to the other methods this is relatively safe. Steaming will soften the leather in a safe way, you may even be able to have it steamed professionally, but it is quite easy to do it at home using a pot or a common clothing steamer. All you have to do it bring the water in the pot to a boil and hold the glove over it so that the steam hits it. The glove must be turned so that the steam hits every part of it.
As with most of the other techniques, it is best to place a ball in the pocket so that the glove gets the correct shape. It may even be best to place the glove on your hand while steaming as well. This way it gets to meld into the shape of your hand as it is being broken in. This method works without having to soak the glove in water or rub it with oil. The hot steam works its magic in a noninvasive way.
We recommend using a classic style of foam lather shaving cream and not any of the more new gel kinds if possible, similar to the Barbasol shaving cream below:
Barbasol Thick and Rich Shaving Cream, Original 10 oz (Pack of 3)
How to Break in a Softball Glove with a Break-In Kit
You can find some kits which include oil and other tools to help break in your new softball glove. Use the same method as oil shown above. Some of the best selling kits on Amazon are listed below:
Rawlings Glove Break-In Kit
- Sport type: Softball
- Glove break-in kit
- Made for players at every level
- Glove Break-In Kit
Hot Glove Bundle Deluxe Glove Care Kit with 1 Minute Microwave Steam Glove Break-in
- The deluxe glove care kit includes Everything you need to break-in, maintain, and preserve your glove.
- Break-in your glove with the steam in 1 minute! The steam and the Hot Glove material work together to soften your glove Instantly.
Conclusion
There are many different ways to break in your softball glove overnight efficiently. Some ways are more radical than others but which technique you choose to undertake is dependent upon how fast you need your glove ready for your next game.
