Not sure if I should post here or over in the field maintenance forum but here goes. I have an old falling down gazebo in my backyard, and I'm thinking about tearing it down and building a batting cage for son in HS. Here's a few questions.
1. Dimensions - My space is limited and I don't have room for a full 60' or 70' ft length cage but given my son doesn't pitch, I don't think that's a deal-breaker. So given this is going to be hitting only, I know I can get a 12 x 25 ft. cage put there without a problem. I may be able to get squeeze a bit longer length, maybe 30-35 ft. And maybe, another foot or two of width (14 ft. max). Will that work, or too small? Anyone care to venture an optimum size?
2. Cage - I'm thinking of this as a "semi-permanent" cage, with maybe a 2 - 3 year life span (with the kid maybe going away to college by then, yeah I know keep dreaming..lol). But I really don't want to hassle with sinking concrete footers, and looking on the interweb there seems to be cages avaiable that meet that criteria. Anyone have any recommendations? Also what about height? My son is 5' 10" at 16 so I'd say 10' minimum?
3. Ground Cover - Given I've got to rip out a bunch of ivy under this old gazebo, should I rototill then leave dirt or put in sand or chipped bark or something else?
4. Lights - Given that we're here in temperate NorCal, (and hoping it doesn't rain all winter like last winter) the plan is for me to get home at 6:30 - 7:00p, turn on the lights and hit for an hour over the next few months, but of course we'll need lights. Any moderately priced lighting recommendtions?
5.Pitching Machine - Given the short distance, I think mostly we're looking at soft toss and cheeseball pitching from behind an L-screen but given my arm aint' what it used to be (and wasn't that great even then) should I consider a pitching machine? Maybe "small ball"?
Any and all comments, suggestions, links would be appreciated.
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