Practice Batting Cages

The premise of this site is to share ideas about batting cages – not only things to look for if you are interested in purchasing one for your backyard but also how to get the most out of your batting cage.

Practice Batting Cages covers a variety of topics that are ultimately focused on helping your child become a better hitter. It is often said that if a player can hit, then the coach will find a position for him to play. There is no doubt that having access to a cage can bring a tremendous advantage to your ball player, after all who wouldn’t like to walk out their back door and take a little batting practice. However, you also want to use your time effectively all the while making it fun and enjoyable.

As you look around the site, you’ll notice that the structure is laid out into four distinct topical areas:

Batting Cage Frames
There are many decisions that need to be made in regards to buying and building a cage with the first one being what kind of frame do I need. Frames come in all shapes and sizes and you can either build your own cage buy purchasing a frame independently or go the route of buying a ready made kit which typically comes with a frame and net together. Either way, it comes down to your budget and available space in your backyard. One thing to keep in mind is that the size of the cage should be the last thing to consider when looking at frame sets. You don’t necessarily need the biggest cage available. You can still maximize its use with proper equipment and well thought out drills.

Batting Cage Nets
Just like frames, nets also range in variety. Once you’ve decided where to put your cage and decided on a frame, be sure to choose a net that will meet your needs. When in doubt go with a heavier gauge (thickness) net and smaller size if space and money are tight. The gauge will help determine how long the net will last and provide many years of use.

Training Equipment
You’ve got your batting cage built now you’ll need some tools to help maximize its usage. Just taking batting practice off of a live arm is not enough. You’ll want to encourage proper technique with the use of certain tools like a tee, l-screen and possibly a pitching machine.

Hitting Drills
This portion of the site describes a few drills to use while in the cage. The key to hitting is repetition and these drills encourage good fundamentals while making it fun for the hitter.

It is the hope of this site that you find this information helpful in your quest for acquiring ideas in not only purchasing and building a batting cage but how to most effectively get the most use it as well. Remember – one of the hardest things to do is hit a round ball with a round bat. There is a reason that 3 out of 10 gets you into the hall of fame! It is very difficult. Encourage your young ball player; make it fun and they will be a better hitter.

A very important aspect of getting the most out of practice time, whether in your backyard or at a training facility, is the batting cage equipment.  The right equipment coupled with appropriate and highly focused drills will allow you to maximize the use of your cage as well as your time while at the same time making the practice time fun for the young player.

Home plate
This is an obvious piece of equipment.  Having a home plate available allows the hitter to align themselves up and maintain a proper hitting stance.  Effectively used for soft toss drills or actual batting practice from a live arm or pitching machine.

L-screen
An L-screen is simply that – a screen in the shape of an L that allows the pitcher to throw batting practice while providing protection from line drives.  If you can afford one piece of equipment then this would be the one to buy.  Having an L-screen will not only provides protection it will fully allow you to maximize the size of your batting cage.  You can place the L-screen closer to the hitter while still maintaining a very effective practice session as well as open your session up to many different types of drills.

Tee
A batting tee is often an overlooked piece of equipment but still needs to be a part of your training regimen.  There are, of course, many varieties of tees on the market today.  Some contain one single post or stem while others enable you to move the post around the area of the plate to work inside or outside pitches.  The ability to move the post is not essential for effective hitting practice.  You can simply move the tee itself around home plate to get the same effect and is really more cost effective.   No matter which type of tee you choose, be sure to work it in to your practice as it is still the best piece of equipment for instantaneous feedback on mechanics and the development of repetition.

Pitching machine
Of all the pieces of equipment listed above, this is the one piece that you could really live without if need be.  Pitching machines come in a couple of various types including wheel based and “arm” based.  Wheel based machines use a rotating wheel to throw the pitch while an arm type machine will catapult the ball towards the hitter.  It really comes down to preference and budget as to selecting the best type of machine.  A pitching machine is non-essential but there is also a lot to be said for predictability and consistency of pitches in practice time for developing young players while more experienced hitters can benefit from hitting high velocity and trick pitches.