abadrs

The fundamentals can be taught at any age as long as the child will pay attention..lol. Concentrate on accuracy at 7, make it fun set up a tire and throw throught the hole or even you and him playing catch with you telling him to throw to the glove. Any kid that can throw strikes at 8 or so is a great pitcher. Look around on the web ...try webball.com lots of info and illustrations.

Just remember that if your son is truly not having fun ( and I say this cause all kids get burnout and need a break) Its not good for him or you to keep playing.

I too built a box out of 2x4 that is basically just big enough for a normal stride when batting. If you try to step out you will fall on your butt. And for me also just the threat of the box is enough to keep them stepping forward after they have been in the box.

As hard as I tried I couldn't find anyone that had one. I looked at one in Dick's sporting goods and it just seemed it was a little cheaper built...but its cheaper in price than the Casey. If you can find a Casey 2 at a good price I would recommend it highly. After using it on my 11-12 year old team I can defenitly tell a big difference in there hitting skill.

Also keep in mind about what you said not ever getting over it. He may never get over it...My own son was the best hitter I had seen, he didn't have one strikeout during his 7&8 year old years. When he hit 9 and kids starting to pitch he was the victim of a bad pitch which struck him. He struck out every time up for almost the rest of the season. He then began stepping out in his 10 yr old season (a very habbit to break). He has gotten better but is still not the same.

Like Matt said the pros use the T every day ! Don't be so quick to judge him as not doing good, especially if he is doing badly in a batting cage. I have kids on my team that hit like a pro in the cages and do terrible in a game and vise versa. Soft toss is a great drill. Use this all the time.

I looked into the heater and even posted the exact same question you asked. I didn't get a reply, but I did talk to some people who have them and they seem to throw ok...accuracy seems to be fair. Be careful of the up to speed its probably more like 54-55 still good for 10-11 yr old. This machine will tear a real baseball up. So you may want to think about pitching machine balls. I thought about getting one but ultimately wound up getting the Atec Casey 2. It costs more but you get what you pay for. I can tell you the Casey 2 is a great machine, well worth it.

As stupid as this may sound I have question about switch hitting. If I have a person that can switch hit what is the best time/situation to have him bat left ? As a third year coach and first year 11-12 year old coach I haven't had to worry or think about this. (Making contact was all I could hope for until now)

You can buy the bushnell speedster on e-bay for like 150 brand new. I disagree and agree with the other posts. I believe how you use the gun counts. I would not encourage him to throw as hard as he can, and don't tell him the speed. I have used it for a while now with good results. My son has almost a 20 mph diff in fastball to changeup. I think if you encourage proper technique, not just using your arm you will have great results. By the way I have compared the bushnell to an actual police radar gun and the bushnell is just as good.

I agree and this is how my season starts out.

Hey just wanted to let you all know I recently bought a Casey 2 pitching machine. I have to say its a pretty good machine. It does throw close to 60 mph, about 57 actual. I did notice that the next model up the AXIS will throw up to 70 mph. I also noticed they both have the the same motor so I knew the Casey 2 had to be restricted somehow. I first contacted ATEC to ask if there was an option to pick up a little more speed for future use, of course they said no but I could buy the AXIS model for about 500.00 more. I'm a parent not a MLB coach. I located the variable resistor on the circuit board and turned it counter-clockwise. Presto 70-mph pitches. I don't really need that pitch speed now but it will come in handy in a few years. The only thing I don't care for is the ground ball use. The machine puts a back spin on the ball so when you shoot the infield (If its dirt) it kicks dirt up pretty bad and the ball stops pretty quick. But I guess thats to be expected on any single wheel machine. This is just FYI in case anyone was considering purchasing this machine.

Anyone own one of these ? I was thinking about buying one for batting practice but 500.00 is a lot of money for me and I don't want to regret it. The kids are 11-12 year olds and the speed sounds good 60mph with baseballs but I figured I'd ask here ...Thanks

First of all if she put her hands on you that is assault make no mistake she is the one that should have thrown in the towel...from jail. She and people like her are the reason for bad rap on kid sports. First practice I made a rule sheet and one of the rules were two or more late or tardy practices will result in that child not playing in the following game. But these rules have to be made prior to any infractions or you look like you are picking on someone. Greg

I posted this before but I guess I didn't elaborate enough. Where can I find out info on young pitchers ? Workout/Exerscise, drills etc. I have looked online and didn't really see anything for young pitchers. Thanks

I have been in the same situation. Grin and bear it is about your only choice. The only thing good about it is NOBODY expects you to win and when you do its great.