Too Cold to Pitch Today?

Recently we had a few people ask how to deal with pitching in cold places. Many communities do not have indoor batting cages.
This is one of those tough questions. Having raised two daughters who were serious about their pitching, we had to be creative at times due to the climate in the mountains of Virginia.

Sometimes you have to improvise.
-Garage/basement/workshop/empty room of any sort at home. If you have a space, utilize it. Unless the distance is somewhat similar to the distance she would pitch in games, I would not suggest a catcher. It is not a good situation for either of them. Instead, you can use a backstop, of various types, and let her pitch into that. Some people use a hitting net. If you have a manufacturer nearby, you might get your hands on special industrial fabrics or conveyor belts. Long ago we pioneered using a simple blue tarp that you can get at any hardware store. We like the noise that good backstops provide for feedback. Generally these sessions are limited to form, and not as useful for breaking pitches.
If she uses a short space, there are some limitations. Long workouts get boring. Have specific goals. Keep practices fairly short. Be there with her and make it as much fun as you can. Can you imagine how mundane it is to stand and throw into a net or backstop? Remember, this is only a supplement, not a substitute for full distance pitching. You will only want to do this a couple of days per week. The majority of time you need to find a better alternative.
-Abandoned buildings. We are not suggesting that you trespass, but drive through almost any small town in America and you will find empty buildings. Don’t be intimidated by size, because often you can just use a small section or old storage room, meaning you don’t have to heat the whole property. Approach the owner right and sometimes you find a person who has a soft heart for kids. You will need to purchase a space heater. Sometimes they want to charge you a few dollars rent, but it’s still a lot cheaper than the cage fees you would pay elsewhere if she pitches 4-5 days a week.
-Networking. Softball is a community. Perhaps your travel team, or just 5 or 6 friends, can go together and rent a small space. Again, cheaper than cage fees.
-Barns. We have used these a few times. Just be careful with heaters. For some reason horses enjoy watching, but make sure they are well out of the path of any errant throws.
-Unused portion of a business. You can often find a basement, or upstairs room, in a commercial building that is not being used. If it has a separate entrance, sometimes the owner will give you a good rental price. I did this for several years. If it is an upstairs room, you usually need to limit practice times to hours when the business below you is closed to avoid creating noise issues that will cause the owner to evict you.
-Schools. We were so fortunate that our daughters went to a school that actually believed they were there for the kids, so they bent over backward to make available space after school. They won a lot of championships. Yes, there are bureaucratic nightmares. It all depends on your school system. Some are there for kids and some don’t want to be inconvenienced.
-Set up carpools to a cage. Yes, it may be an hour to the nearest facility. We have driven that a million times with our daughters, but if it’s tough for you, find a couple of other people who are in your situation and take turns hauling the girls.
Get creative. It’s easy to find excuses, but I don’t relate to that. There is an answer. One of the funniest situations happened when I was on the road. I father learned that I was driving through his town on the way to an event. He begged me to stop and work with his daughter, but he couldn’t get off work. I drove to grocery store he managed, walked inside with all of all of my equipment, and the cashier paged him. He escorted me to the big storeroom in back. We did his daughter’s lesson in the section where they stored canned goods.
During the lesson, she lost a few pitches and dented a couple of cans of beans. H said that was not a problem and set those cans aside, saying he would just pay for those and take them home. I guess it was still much less expensive than cage fees.
There is always an answer, but it may be inconvenient. It may force you to ask a thousand people for ideas, but you have to find a way if she has big goals. While you are making excuses, kids in warmer climates are taking full advantage of these opportunities to move to the front of the pack.