Posted by: Ronnie (rwynn@comsouth.net) on Fri Sep 24 18:54:39 2010

> > I have seen pitching machines with wheels destroy timing
>
> Hi Ronnie,
>
> Can you be more specific about this comment, please?
> What are the symptoms that you are talking about here?
> What are the batters doing wrong when they are facing a live pitcher in a game?
>
> Thanks..
Hi Joe,
I saw a really good LL All Star Team destroy 10 of 12 kids swings with a wheel pitching machine about 6 years ago. What worked for my son was playing with the Personal Pitcher which throws about 44 mph, he started out hitting the wiffle balls; then when he went to kids pitching he started playing dodge ball with it at different distances until he got in to about 16 feet. He also hit the balls anywhere from 25 to 15 feet (using a plastic bat), reaction time of about 80 mph at 24 feet up to about 135 mph reaction time at 15 feet. I did not encourage this - he just did it because at 8 he did not know he couldn't do it. At the 15 feet distance he could only hit about 10 balls because of the extreme concentration level required. I could not believe what I was seeing, but I knew it was special. I tried it one day when nobody was watching and I couldn't come close to hitting it at 15 feet.
He got to where he would get in to about 20 feet and have the wiffle balls throw at him and he would stand there and foul them off. I saw him do this in LL, MS, and this year in travel ball (he is 16 now).
Every time his Coaches have used soft toss or tee drills they don't watch nor understand the quality mechanics of full shoulder rotation so his swing would break down to linear again.
The symtoms the kids showed on pitching machines with wheels were they had no timing and they could not relax in the box, so as soon as the pitcher changed speeds they were toast. When the batter is in the box he has three choices: hit, take or get out of the way. The rotational swing mechanics allow one to see the ball much longer before having to swing or take, so to become comfortable in the box they must learn to roll and get out of the way. I recommend you buy a Personal Pitcher - they are about $200 on line and will throw FB, curves from left or right and sliders. You would have to set it for every pitch but it is practice. My son hit his first A league HR when he was 9, hit a HR every 4 ABs his 12 yearold season, 1 every 5 ABs the last half of MS season and hit 2 as a 15 yearold in HS (note there were 4 kids in our region that get it up there at 90-92 and my son faced them all, hitting .700 against those). If you want to see the kids relax this is a good way to do it. Add some heavy bag work and a little BP and your team will hit. Get an L screen because an 8 yearold 4'6" kid can hit balls 300 feet, I had several bruises before I got smart and bought an L screen. Remember if they enjoy playing with the thing (Personal Pitcher) they will get better and have fun.
Best wishes to you and your son.