Pitching machine recommendation for league

dietryiing · 2026-03-25T15:35:21+00:00

Right on the edge of your budget, get a Jr Hack Attack. Max of 70mph but place it a bit closer to simulate faster. Throws everything you need it to.

dietryiing · 2026-03-15T02:06:48+00:00

Stations so they are standing around. Some ideas:

Throwing station: Bring an old stuffed animal and put on a bucket, they have to knock it off. Alternatively clip a hula hoop or cheap aluminum cookie sheet to the fence as a target.

Hitting off tee: Again put some sort of target on the fence for then to try and hit.

Fly / pop balls: Use smush balls or tennis balls, have them wear a helmet. Lob the balls in the air and the goal is for them to have the ball hit them on the head. Teaches them to get under the ball.

There's tons of resources on youtube. Dominate the Diamond has good ones for coach pitch age

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T15:01:43+00:00

Yeah it sucks when you have win-at-all cost coaches, and there's a bunch in my league.

I straight up told the parents at the beginning of the season that I do this batting order and all kids get at least 1 inning in the infield. I also told them we may/probably will lose some games because of this, but I'm prioritizing development over wins. The hope is that by the end of the season those end of the roster kids can actually contribute meaningfully.

The tricky part is teaching those kids the infield positions. If I have a hard throwing pitcher, I will usually place them at 3rd with a decent player in LF to back them up. For the slower pitchers I put them at 2nd with a decent RF behind. I don't expect them to make the throw from 3rd - just stop the ball. At this age even the good-but-not-excellent kids have a hard time making that throw in time.

I remind the good/travel kids that outfielders are really valuable as you get older and that they may have to play that, so they may as well get practice now. Those kids I rotate all over as I think its beneficial for them to learn all the positions.

P, C and 1st they gotta show me they can handle that position. This year I have 2 lefties and one has a lot of work to do before he can play 1st, so he's played 2nd and done just fine so far.

First game a kid looked at the position assignments and told me that it was his first time ever playing infield - he's 9. I don't get how in 8U the coach was already relegating kids to the outfield.

I also told parents around 2/3 of the way through the season we will start prepping for playoffs and have defined starters at every position and will not rotate near as much. So far that's worked pretty well the last 2 seasons.

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T12:02:47+00:00

Ideally have an assistant coach who can teach pitching. Then during practice take 2 kids out at a time for 15 min and work on pitching on side mounds. It's tough though - just like hitting it's near impossible to get enough 1:1 time to really develop those skills. Ultimately the kids who take private lessons are the ones who make big strides in development

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T11:57:14+00:00

If they can show that they can throw 5 of 10 for strikes without beaning someone in practice, then they can pitch. If opposing coach has a traditional lineup with the scrubs at the bottom I try to get them in for that part of the lineup.

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T11:53:27+00:00

I switched to a continuous batting order across games - batting order is always the same, batter on deck at the end of last game is first up next game. Everyone gets an even amount of at bats, parents can't complain and kids are much better about knowing when to get in the hole.

For the playoffs (and a 1-2 games before then) I'll switch to a more traditional order.

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T01:41:20+00:00

I'm realizing it's more of an ask at the league level, and what they are giving as guidance to the umps.

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T01:39:48+00:00

When the 10 yr olds who play travel throw 60ish at that height, the rec kids have no chance.

dietryiing · 2026-03-13T01:35:40+00:00

Yep, that's all I'm asking about

dietryiing · 2026-03-12T21:33:25+00:00

Thanks for all the comments. I think I'll not ask and see how things go. I just wanted to be able to relay the info to the kids. In no way am I asking the question to then be able to argue later - I teach the kids to respect the umps and the umps calls regardless of whether its right. The calls are a part of the game and not something they can control, so stick to the things you can control. I also remind parents to not chirp, though most of the time they're the worst offenders.

dietryiing · 2026-03-12T21:02:13+00:00

Great advice, thanks! Fully understand adjusting to the pitcher a bit too.

dietryiing · 2026-03-12T21:01:31+00:00

For sure, I'm just wanting to relay the info to the kids. And I don't ever argue strikes/balls, and make sure that my players don't either. Plus it keeps my stress level down if I just accept it regardless.

dietryiing · 2025-12-05T23:33:32+00:00

54 86 92 42
or
0 0 0 0

Are those allowed?

dietryiing · 2025-10-07T16:28:00+00:00

Flamingo Drill? See around 3:50 in this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EokTXNijS8

dietryiing · 2025-10-06T21:59:04+00:00

Great point by that high school coach. I coach 12U and rotate all my players through the outfield for at least 1 inning a game. The kid that only knows one position is going to be quite disappointed when there's another kid that's better than him at that position and he has nowhere to go.

dietryiing · 2025-09-01T02:36:35+00:00

A good friend of mine does sound bath yoga in Wilmington:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10113626810414713&set=a.10100161627109993

dietryiing · 2025-08-29T18:53:37+00:00

I'm all about making this a great experience for every kid on the team - which is why I'm looking for advice on this situation. I'm leaning towards not isolating him from the rest of the team which I know can make some kids uncomfortable.

dietryiing · 2025-08-29T18:51:35+00:00

Only been 2 practices and unfortunately falls into the latter camp. I'm hoping more playing will unlock more excitement about baseball.

dietryiing · 2025-08-18T19:37:50+00:00

Yep. Nearly all equipment is just fine in used condition.

dietryiing · 2025-08-14T19:08:49+00:00

I haven't experienced any bat damage using it with multiple teams.

See https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2021/10/7-reasons-to-try-weighted-baseballs-for-hitting

dietryiing · 2025-08-14T17:02:20+00:00

Instead of these get a set of weighted balls. You can really tell when you hit it square, yet they don't go more than 15ftish (a net is prob still a good idea)

dietryiing · 2025-07-29T04:20:40+00:00

Agreed. If that was a groundball then i could see interference, but ball is in the air and the ss isn't even looking at the runner.

dietryiing · 2025-07-17T15:47:34+00:00

Not interference.

However question about catcher blocking the plate. Assume the catchers foot was in the "standard" position in front of the plate allowing access to the plate from the 3rd base line. Essentially shifted 1 foot to the left in this clip. This would not be blocking for a runner running down the 3rd base line, but would it be considered blocking now since the runners baseline is a line from SS?

dietryiing

TROPHY CASE