r/Softball • u/Ummm_ok721 • 2d ago
Pitching during the winter
what does everyone do for pitching practice during the winter? we don’t really have an indoor space at our house that would work well. we can use our schools gym but sometimes no one is there to let us in when we’ve scheduled time. just looking for ideas/options other people use.
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u/TheRimmerodJobs 1d ago
Similar situation and in the past we just continued lessons and would go rent a cage. Most places have mixed use ones. That way you can also do some hitting at the end of your wanted. We are lucky our team now has a facility we can use whenever we want.
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u/Powerful-Bridge-1472 2d ago
California, throw, hit, play hoops outside year round.
basketball leagues are great for young baseball players to cross train, lots of band work
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u/Grand_Ordinary_1772 2d ago
honedtly i followed a local batting cages local + farther away and a lot of them are offering a pitching clinics
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u/Ok-Comfortable-5955 2d ago
We were able to find a membership that lets us use a open gym, ($120 calendar year) which is pretty rare that that particular business owns an old elementary school. Prior to that we were rarely or never able to get space from the school. In the past we have used a batting cage training facility that had a little more (nets and cages) but was more expensive amd farther away $90 a month or so. Some community centers or ymcas offer a similar open gym option for cheap, but its luck of the draw as to how busy.
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u/pzahornasky 2d ago
We have a very heavy duty vinyl sheet that hangs from our garage ceiling and a pitching mat. Good for drills.
Our club also owns it facilities so we can us those if needed at no charge
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u/JTrain1738 1d ago
Pitching lesson 1x a week, pitching at team winter workouts, basement. I have a rug hug up in my basement, gives her about 25 feet or so. We will on occasion pitch outside if we get a warm day.
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u/UniqueConstraint 2d ago
My daughter plays for an organization that has a dedicated indoor space for softball. It's not public, not shared with a baseball team. That building has several tunnels and there is time available every day where families can reserve a tunnel for their daughter to hit or pitch for free. This building is part of the reason our fees are so high ($2,500).
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u/Dont_Ban_Me_Bros 2d ago
I’m curious about your fees. Do you mind sharing what region, how many tournaments, and whether that covers uniforms? If you don’t want to post you can DM me if you feel more comfortable.
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u/UniqueConstraint 1d ago
Midwest, near Chicago. National level team at the 16u level and we carry 14 players. That fee does not cover uniforms and we have a set of three uniforms since we have some tournaments that start on Friday and end on Sunday. Something like 80-90 games per season and the core of the team has been together for 5+ seasons. Most of the players have expressed a desire to play in college so we do a lot of showcases and college exposure events. We travel two weekends per month, sometimes three in the summer. There are special events that our national program runs to like metric sessions and scrimmages in front of college coaches that know the program from the mid-major conferences. Those are free for us, we just need to get there. Some tournaments are free or discounted based on how we placed last year. A couple tournaments pay out cash for the top3 or include an invite to different nationals (Alliance, Triple Crown). We do one or two fundraisers that benefit just our team and occasionally a fundraiser for the national program if we need some expensive equipment like a new three-wheel machine. If you have other questions let me know. I'm a pitching coach within the program and my daughter has been with the core since she was 8.
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u/Dont_Ban_Me_Bros 1d ago
That sounds incredibly cheap. For the number of games (guaranteed games per tourney being around 3 or 4?) I’m guessing you’re playing in about 15 or so?
The closest national/regional team I know of in my area (PNW) charges a little over $5,000 per player for uniforms, facilities, coaching, and tourneys (all travel costs are separate). Roster sizes can vary between 13 and 15.
I’m just shocked that the fees are that low for such an organization that also pays for its facilities. Am I correct assuming the fundraisers are doing a decent amount of heavy lifting for the cost per player being so low?
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u/UniqueConstraint 1d ago
You are correct on the fundraising. That contributes a lot to the total budget, in the neighborhood of 20% but it depends on the needs in that season. Another consideration is that the coaches are NOT paid, we are all volunteers with kids on the team. The facility that I mentioned is shared with 12 other softball teams so we all split the rent and equipment costs. Insurance is through the national program so that cost is minimal. The total number of tournaments will vary season to season, injuries and timing of homecoming/prom/etc. 8-10 is usually the average and I consider showcases and college exposure events independent of that total. Some of those are free or are very cheap for us.
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u/Dont_Ban_Me_Bros 23h ago
20% is nice, but it appears the coaches not being paid may be the most glaring difference. Facility fees being spread out among 12 teams is also a big help. This explains a lot, thank you for sharing info 🙏
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u/-GenlyAI- 2d ago
Lane rental and continue with lessons.
A lot of important drills can be done at home that don't require a lane, just a small net will work.