Posted by: Scott B (baseball@integritycorp.com) on Wed Jun 12 11:55:20 2002

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Sounds like you have the program plan down pat. We're still working our plan, and now that the regular season is over, we'll have more time to do it correctly (i.e. lots and lots of reps in "tee" and "toss" mode before we take BP with pitched balls).

The radar gun has been REAL helpful to the dad-coach. While it's an unnecessary gimmick to learning how to hit, it eliminates the subjectivity. I can tell the kid the swing was bad NOT because I saw them cast, but because the batspeed dropped 15 MPH. The response "but it felt good..." won't wash.

I generally start the machine at about 50-55 MPH and work up for my 13-14 yo's. I've been told that major league players use a 60 mph setting, which also tells you what they're using the machine for (i.e. like soft toss; grooving the swing mechanics). Less then 50 MPH for these kids is useless, because the slowest curveball they'll ever see is about 50 mph, and the best fast ball pitches top 80 mph.

(Live pitch starts at about 60 mph, and tops out at whatever I can throw that day . I can probably crank it past 70 (at 50'), but not for very long. Live pitching is best for hitting corners, varying speeds, situational counts, etc., at between 50 and 65 mph.)

Keep us all posted on how you're kids are doing.

- Scott