10u hitting faster pitchers

[Rocketech1]

To solve the problem of the ball always going to the same spot and flying straight to it, don't use the dimpled balls. Golf balls are dimpled so they will do exactly that - fly straight, true and far if struck correctly. It has to do with reducing the friction in the air as I recall. They're also symmetrical so no matter how you put them in they will always do the same thing.

Instead, use the seamed machine balls. They go all over the place depending on how you put them in. At least they always have in my experience. My guess is that the seam catches enough of the wheel to deflect the ball a bit as it comes out, so it's not always in the same location. Especially if you have it cranked up. Much more of a realistic experience.

I know some high-end pitching machines (like the one I have seen at UCLA) can do movement pitches like curves, screwballs, drop balls which is pretty cool...

 

[Rocketech1]

To solve the problem of the ball always going to the same spot and flying straight to it, don't use the dimpled balls. Golf balls are dimpled so they will do exactly that - fly straight, true and far if struck correctly. It has to do with reducing the friction in the air as I recall. They're also symmetrical so no matter how you put them in they will always do the same thing.

Instead, use the seamed machine balls. They go all over the place depending on how you put them in. At least they always have in my experience. My guess is that the seam catches enough of the wheel to deflect the ball a bit as it comes out, so it's not always in the same location. Especially if you have it cranked up. Much more of a realistic experience.

I know some high-end pitching machines (like the one I have seen at UCLA) can do movement pitches like curves, screwballs, drop balls which is pretty cool...

 

[Ken Krause]

Yeah, if you could dial all those in quickly that would be cool. But you still need to feed it correctly or it will be more frustrating than valuable.