The Bare Facts About Batting Cages
It is not everyday we hear people talking about batting cages. Yet when you look at all the professional athletes, it is not hard to see that the ones of professional calibre are the ones who have put the hours and hours into practicing. Unfortunately when it comes to batting cages they are not as readily accessible as other sports facilities.
The best way to improve your batting average is to practice, but not just to practice hitting balls. You should also practice hitting balls in specific areas, in specific ways. The easiest way to accomplish this is to score your sessions in the batting cage. Take three points for a line drive, two points for a grounder and one point for a fly ball. This also will give you a target to aim for on your next session.
If getting access to a local batting cage is difficult or impossible, one solution is to build your own. A typical batting cage would be twelve feet high, fourteen feet wide and seventy feet long. Some batting cages have been built as small as ten feet by ten feet by twelve feet high.
When purchasing the batting cage netting you need to consider the size of ball you will be using in comparison to the size of the holes in the net. As well if it will be outside it will probably stand up better if it is made of polyethylene than nylon. The support posts can be aluminum or wood, and to help keep it light you could use PVC pipe to join it all together.
Once you have laid out your batting cage, dig holes for the support poles. The holes should have a depth of between three and four feet, as these poles will support the weight of the nets. You may wish to pour cement around the poles for increased stability. Attach the net to the poles and drape it down.
Now all that is left in building your batting cage is to make sure your net comes all the way to the ground. You don’t want to have to be chasing balls that are escaping under the bottom of the net. Also you will want to make sure you have left yourself a way to get in and out of the batting cage.
Now at this point all you have left to do is to put your pitching machine in the batting cage and start hitting those balls. Remember to make your practice fun and challenging. You’ll be surprised at how fast you’ll see improvements in your batting average.
