Throwing Batting Practice.

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Aug 31, 2014
24
1
I plan on on throw a lot of open field batting practice this year. My plan is to set up an L screen and pitch from about 35'. What are your thoughts on throwing batting practice to your team? I'm not going to use my pitcher . I'm a high school coach and want to get away from using a pitching machine. Any advice would be super helpful.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Open field batting practice is awesome, IMO. It's very beneficial for players to see where their batted ball is traveling.

However, is it practical for a high school practice? Will the rest of the team be standing around in the field shagging? What other space do you have? Do you have a cage? Do you have hitting nets? That's often the challenge with high school.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
I plan on on throw a lot of open field batting practice this year. My plan is to set up an L screen and pitch from about 35'. What are your thoughts on throwing batting practice to your team? I'm not going to use my pitcher . I'm a high school coach and want to get away from using a pitching machine. Any advice would be super helpful.

I assume you will not be throwing overhand and plan to turn the L screen around and toss underhand. Unless you can actually pitch, 35ft is probably too far. Get closer to approximate the same time of flight that you will be facing in competition. Nothing wrong with using a pitching machine if you are using it appropriately. High level teams use a mix of front toss, tee work, and machine pitch. Each method is great for certain aspects of instruction/practice, none are inherently bad or all encompassing.
 
Aug 31, 2014
24
1
Yes I have a cage. I always feel restricted in a cage and I keep a close eye on the rest of the team. Usually they start slacking on the drills and not focusing on form. I do have a better assistant this year that should give me a another set of eyes. I would probably have my hitting group shag maybe 4 total girls. 1 hitting 3 fielding. The rest of the team working hitting stations.
 
Aug 31, 2014
24
1
I assume you will not be throwing overhand and plan to turn the L screen around and toss underhand. Unless you can actually pitch, 35ft is probably too far. Get closer to approximate the same time of flight that you will be facing in competition. Nothing wrong with using a pitching machine if you are using it appropriately. High level teams use a mix of front toss, tee work, and machine pitch. Each method is great for certain aspects of instruction/practice, none are inherently bad or all encompassing.

Yes I throw underhand around the L screen. I've thought about moving closer. What would you consider as appropriate machine use.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Yes I throw underhand around the L screen. I've thought about moving closer. What would you consider as appropriate machine use.

Look at what a machine provides - A pitch at a consistent speed and location. That said, it is great for working on basic swing mechanics. We will do things like set it up low and away and work on hitting that pitch back side. How many of your players will pull an outside pitch? It is also great for bunting, lots of reps in a short period of time. If you can bunt off a JUG's you can pretty much bunt off anything. Is it an end all and replacement for live hitting, no way. But used appropriately it is a valuable tool.
 
Aug 20, 2009
113
0
Bristol pa
I did this all the time expect that I was about 20-25 feet away. I had better control and could put the ball where I wanted it. In a cage, I would move the plate approx. 50' from the back of the net. This way collecting the balls was faster. Front toss trains the batter better than anything. This is why major leaguers still do it at batting practice. During nationals one year, I estimated that I threw over 5000 pitches in a 6 day period.
 
Aug 31, 2014
24
1
Gosh. I would love to be able to throw that many pitches. Thanks for the cage tips. I'm a big proponent of front toss. I'm completely wiping out side toss from my practice plans.
 

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