blue flame credit union

If you're wondering why the Louisville Slugger Blue Flame pitching machine is considered the ultimate pitching machine choice for parents who want to work with their own kids you've come to the right place. In this article we'll discuss the myriad of pitching machine choices parents have and examine their differences.

Pitching Machines are a great investment.

If your child is going to play baseball or softball investing in a pitching machine will be one of the best investments you can make. Sports like baseball and softball are considered "technique sports", meaning that there is a specific set of technical skills you need to master in order to be consistently successful at that sport. It also means you'll need to spend lots of time repetitively practicing the techniques in order for you to execute them at game time.

Batting is one of the single most difficult skills to master in sports, and requires lots of repetitions to become proficient (you'll never master it, remember even professionals fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate).

Your child will never get enough batting time at practice or during games, so you'll either have to spend a lot of money at the batting cage, spend lots more on a private trainer, turn back the hands of time and go through 100's of practice pitches yourself, or purchase a pitching machine and save yourself tons of time and sleepless nights because of arm and shoulder pain.

Which type of Pitching Machine is best for you?

If you're coaching you might want to purchase a powered machine, Atec, and Juggs are two of the better known brands that offer a full line-up of products from which to select. Most of the machines from these brands are fairly bulky, and require a power source. While these machines are a great resource for team practice, and most of them are considered to be portable, you'll probably find yourself dreading the idea of lugging it to the park for a batting session with your child.

Battery type machines are a good alternative, but while they are not as costly as the full powered machines discussed in the previous paragraph they will still test the budgets of most families. In addition, you usually won't get as many pitching options as you would with a full powered machine, and many battery type machines force you to use special types of balls instead of real baseballs and softballs. One of the best machines in this category that will allow the use of real balls is the ZOOKA.

There is another type of pitching machines which require no external power source, so you'll never have to worry about finding an outlet, or forgetting to recharge it. The best of these types of machines use highly tensioned springs to provide power, they are lightweight and easily portable, and are priced with the family budget in mind. These often overlooked machines can throw pitches just as fast as many of their more celebrated powered competitors and are easier to operate.

They are perfect for tossing in the trunk or the backseat of the family car for quick batting practice at the local park, they're great to take to the field on game day to get in some pre-game hitting practice, and they're rugged enough to be used as the main machine for team practice. These machines will throw fly balls, and grounder's in addition to perfect precision pitches. The Louisville Slugger Blue Flame pitching machine is considered one of the best machines in this category.

Where do you purchase these pitching machines?

There are many places where you can purchase pitching machines. Most sporting goods retailers stock at least a couple of different models. You want to do your research on the internet first so you'll know which brands and models have the features you need most, and it's probably the best way to compare prices.

Don't ever look at the time you spend practicing sports with your child as an obligation, it is a great opportunity to get some one on one time with them, time you will really appreciate in the future.