How to Start Teaching Your Child to Hit a Baseball
When winter turns to spring, there are a lot of kids all over the place who are all thinking about one thing. They want to get out of the house so they can start playing outside. One of the things they most want to play when the weather finally starts to break is baseball. Some kids just want to play, but others really want to start working on their skills so they can get better. For these kids pitching machines and other types of baseball training aids are the things they are looking forward to the most. There are many different skills that you need in order to become a good baseball player. You have to be able to field, throw and catch a ball as well as run bases. If your goal is to be a pitcher, there are special skills you will need to work on for that as well.
However, the skill that is arguably the most important for a young player to work on is hitting. Except for people who specialize in pitching, hitting is probably the most high profile skill too. A player’s batting average is one of the most important statistics that is used to showcase the kind of skill that they have. If your child is excited about baseball and will be playing all through his high school years, a pitching machine is something that would allow him to improve his baseball skills. The best place to start teaching your child to improve their hitting skills is with a batting tee. While many kids think these are boring, it will allow them a chance to hit the ball every single time they swing. Using a batting tee allows you to set the certain height of the ball so your child can work on fundamentals.
Since the ball is not moving, they can focus on their stride, watching the ball and keeping their swing level. More advanced hitters can change the position of the tee so they can work on handling inside or outside pitches more effectively. A great idea is to set up the tee so they are hitting into a fence of some type. This allows them to hit more balls in a shorter period of time without having to spend so much time chasing the strays.
Once they master the basic mechanics, it’s time for them to start working on hitting a ball that is moving. There are two ways to handle this. You can pitch to them yourself (or find someone to do this) or you can get them a pitching machine.
The benefits of pitching yourself is that you can do it anywhere you can find a big open space. However, the drawback to this is that it is sometimes difficult to pitch at the correct level and speed for your child. You do not want them to practice swinging at bad pitches because it will make them develop many bad habits. The other option is a pitching machine. Using this means they can still focus on their swing without having to worry as much about what is a ball versus a strike.
Author Bio: Penny Lane owns and operates a top ranking website to help people find pitching machines to improve their baseball skills. She offers baseball training aids to improve baseball skills.
Category: Sports
Keywords: Pitching machines,baseball training aids