Winter Pitching

[Vertigo]

Hi fellow bucketdads/moms,

Anybody have suggestions for finding low-cost indoor places (less than $50/hr) that have the space which allows for full-distance pitching? Unfortunately, our basement and garage just aren't big enough and with weekly pitching/hitting lessons, renting a tunnel at a baseball/softball facility more than once per week will be tough moneywise (plus, most places around here are booked up with their indoor winter clinics/team workouts).

Winter has seemed to arrive, so outdoor pitching is hard to achieve at this point.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Changeupmom]

We use a church facility. Its big enough for full distance but dimly lit. It helps the youth pastor is a sports fan.

 

[Vertigo]

CU Mom,

That is a great idea - actually we do have a pitchers/catchers workout once per week at the local church that has a separate building with a tiny gym in it. Unfortunately, all of our TB teams have it booked up for the winter.

 

[JJsqueeze]

CU Mom,

That is a great idea - actually we do have a pitchers/catchers workout once per week at the local church that has a separate building with a tiny gym in it. Unfortunately, all of our TB teams have it booked up for the winter.

Talk to the TB teams and find out it you can practice during their time slots. pitching takes up a pretty small sliver of space. My DDs lessons are during a TB practice for another org in an indoor facility.

 

[FrozenRope]

I'll throw a couple idea's out there for you. You might want to try a local YMCA, or a youth center to see if a family membership might get you some time in an aerobics room when it's not in use...or a corner of the gymnasium during off peak hours, and you get the fringe benefits of being a member for other activities. Fitness Centers often have large rooms that I'm sure have down time.... once again, a monthly membership might be cheaper than renting a facility 1 or 2 x a week, with enough cash left over to buy a roll up pitching mat. Maybe you have a racquetball facility near you? It's only 40' wall to wall, but it's better than nothing...and hourly rates are dirt cheap. Last but not least... local baseball/softball facilities rent out hitting cages in my area for $25/30 per hour. If you tell them you just want the cage...no machine running, they may give you unreserved slots for a bit less. All stuff I thought about when I was considering finishing my basement. DD's pitching is the reason we opted not to do so...lol. Talk about taking over your life!!!

 

[starsnuffer]

Surprised no one has suggested that you find a crazy dad with a pole barn yet.

-W

 

[smddad]

My DD and I have gone to grade school just down the road from us. It has a covered play area and I bought a strip of carpeted rug-runner at the big orange for her to pitch on.

 

[smddad]

Surprised no one has suggested that you find a crazy dad with a pole barn yet.

-W

Probably because we don't want 37 pages of responses.

 

[MNDad]

Local schools often worry about damage, but I've had luck agreeing to throw "softies". Juggs makes some that feel close to the real thing.

Armories are a good place to try. We've even gone to ice arena's and thrown in the concourse.

Best bet if possible is joining a club team with access to an indoor facility.

 

[GatorGirl]

I got frustrated too and I offered a trade for the cost. If you or your spouse have a skill, plumbing, painting, lawn care, sometimes they will bite on that. You might have to think out of the box. One of my hobbies is Face Painting. I picked it up when we lived in England for 2 years and a work visa without a company backing it was too long of a process. I do all my churches events for an hour to hour trade for face painting at their events for gym use. These are my DD's



Best of luck!

GG