Just a quick FYI; they make a heavy duty racket that can be used for hitting actual softballs. I've used it many times as it is more forgiving and takes less energy to hit softballs to the girls, especially flyballs. I have a serious issue with my back and hitting flyballs with a bat is a no no for me. The racket doesn't hit the ball quite as far but you can get some reasonable height and ground balls are not an issue. Got mine from softballzone.com years ago and still like new.
My favorite: Rolled up pair of socks
Use: Used as a pitching aid
Function: Many girls do not have a place to practice pitching but most have a place in their house with about 12-15 feet and a high enough ceiling they can practice their mechanics. Especially for the new girls starting out, repetitiously practicing the mechanics of the windmill pitch can advance them by leaps and bounds if they can throw daily. My tip is they find an area in their house or garage of this size. Go steal all of Dad's socks, warm wool socks work best, and roll them into a ball. A pair of big wool socks will end up being about the size of a normal sized softball. Put a target on a solid wall or door. Use duct tape and put a pitcher's plate (line) on the floor and make a power line with tape towards the target. Practice their mechanics by pitching the soft socks into the target. No cost, no fuss, and little Suzie is on her way to stardom.
Hint: Help them find the solid wall or door to use because as they get better even soft socks can take its toll on sheetrock walls.
Go the extra mile: Years ago while I studied under Ernie Parker, one of my classmates was the pitching coach for Tenn.. Marty McDaniel had a pretty good pitcher at the time known as Monica Abbott. I was telling Marty about my homework assignments for new pitchers and how we use rolls of socks as training aids. A light bulb went off and Marty mentioned we should do that and have them watch themselves in a mirror so they could see when they do something wrong. He was going to return to U of Tenn. and have his girls throw socks in their exercise room which all the walls are mirrors. I don't have that luxury but I am kinda handy so I purchased the materials to make a portable mirror wall. It is 6 ft. high and 6 ft. wide. Has a wooden frame and on wheels. I made it so it could be tilted up and down so the girls could see their feet ect. It has an OSB board backing and I attached an extremely large 6 X 5 Ft. mirror to it. Now when the girls have a chronic problem and my instruction just doesn't seem to be getting thru, I simply pull the mirror around in front of them about 10-12 ft. away and have them throw rolls of socks into the mirror. This is much more time efficient than filming them and playing it back. They can see themselves in the mirror and immediately see their mistakes. Way better than instant replay. lol. Normally about 8-10 practice pitches into a mirror and they will correct themselves, then I'll move the mirror and they will continue throwing real balls. It's amazing to me how fast they can repair themselves once they see the mistake.
Dad's take note: You WILL be out of socks every morning for a few weeks as they forget to put them back but trust me, it'll be worth it!
