Hello, a friend had a radar gun today and we were testing our exit velo off the tee. We were getting reads from behind. Should the reads be from behind or in front? And if so, what is the difference?
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While it can be taken from behind the hitter, every showcase my son did had them gunning it from in front of the hitter. I have Pocket Radar and never had a lot of success gunning from the back. Lots of misreads. If you're trying to get the highest reading, I'd shoot from the front and have the hitter hit the ball right at the gun. The straightest line between the ball and the gun will produce the most accurate and highest reading.
Your time would be much better spent learning how to hit a fastball away to the opposite field. Nobody gives a sh$t what your exit velocity is off a tee in a controlled environment. It literally means nothing.
wear a helmet, take out insurance. Can he hit a curveball off tee? Place tee chest high.
Bob
Tee EVs makes a great SM post and engaging convo/bonding with the team. I strongly urge following adbono's advise. Good hitters can pull, the exceptional can go oppo with power
I'll never understand why people measure how hard u hit a ball before u measure "if" u hit the ball!
Swing as hard as u want but u still missed it!
@DanJ posted:While it can be taken from behind the hitter, every showcase my son did had them gunning it from in front of the hitter. I have Pocket Radar and never had a lot of success gunning from the back. Lots of misreads. If you're trying to get the highest reading, I'd shoot from the front and have the hitter hit the ball right at the gun. The straightest line between the ball and the gun will produce the most accurate and highest reading.
@DanJ you forget to mention the net!!! That part is really important!!! You also need to make sure there is a little extra distance in the net between the gun and the ball, just saying.... I may have broken a pocket radar in the past 
FWIW: The reason there is some much push back on EV readings off a tee is because the MAX readings for a kid pretty much require a Happy Gilmore approach. Which obviously doesn't bode well for live pitching. Even then you get higher readings on rolled over 12 hoppers to the 5-6 hole.
However, knowing your average EV numbers can be advantageous as 1mph is usually the difference of about 5ft. Kids can see that time in the gym is worth every penny. I guess like anything else in life the key word is moderation. Taking wild daddy-hacks off the tee is pointless, but taking controlled game time cuts and knowing your averages... now that's a different story!
@adbono posted:Your time would be much better spent learning how to hit a fastball away to the opposite field. Nobody gives a sh$t what your exit velocity is off a tee in a controlled environment. It literally means nothing.
I mean absolutely no disrespect, @adbono, as you are one of the senior members of this forum and certainly more experienced than I at recruiting... but the entirety of my son's recruiting journey the last 12 months indicates exactly the opposite. As a junior he batted nearly .500, going to the opposite field most of the time, producing an OPS over 1.100 in one of the most competitive HS districts in SE Virginia, and nobody gave a sh$t. On the other hand, he had a college coach flat-out tell him that if he could run 60 yards in a straight line (which essentially never happens on a baseball field) 1/2-to-3/4-of-a-second faster, that he "would be recruitable." It is exactly that kind of emphasis on metrics in controlled environments that I find so prevalent and onerous about recruiting.
@NotMadeOf$$ posted:I mean absolutely no disrespect, @adbono, as you are one of the senior members of this forum and certainly more experienced than I at recruiting... but the entirety of my son's recruiting journey the last 12 months indicates exactly the opposite. As a junior he batted nearly .500, going to the opposite field most of the time, producing an OPS over 1.100 in one of the most competitive HS districts in SE Virginia, and nobody gave a sh$t. On the other hand, he had a college coach flat-out tell him that if he could run 60 yards in a straight line (which essentially never happens on a baseball field) 1/2-to-3/4-of-a-second faster, that he "would be recruitable." It is exactly that kind of emphasis on metrics in controlled environments that I find so prevalent and onerous about recruiting.
No offense taken. People have been brainwashed into believing that recruiting is all about metrics - and that includes some of the idiots that are doing the recruiting.
@NotMadeOf$$ posted:On the other hand, he had a college coach flat-out tell him that if he could run 60 yards in a straight line (which essentially never happens on a baseball field) 1/2-to-3/4-of-a-second faster, that he "would be recruitable." It is exactly that kind of emphasis on metrics in controlled environments that I find so prevalent and onerous about recruiting.
I understand your premise, and I do kind of agree with you on this. The college coach probably should have said "he would be more recruitable".
7 sec or below 60 guys are just different than 7.75 or even 7.5 guys. It's an honest objective data point that shouldn't be overlooked. Speed and power can always play up. jm2c
The coaches told us his ability to "own the mound and control batters" was the key to recruitment.
@Good Knight posted:The coaches told us his ability to "own the mound and control batters" was the key to recruitment.
Sure, but he also had a 91-93 mph fastball.
Metrics don't mean you can play but if your metrics are below a certain threshold coaches will be sceptical of your potential even if you perform well in games.
I am not a big fan of tee exit Velo and I think machine velo is better but when you are below certain thresholds it will be a red flag.
But as a 2025 I really would worry more about solid mechanics and getting generally stronger, then likely EV will increase by itself and if you need more then you still can do a batspeed program
@Dominik85 posted:Metrics don't mean you can play but if your metrics are below a certain threshold coaches will be sceptical of your potential even if you perform well in games.
I am not a big fan of tee exit Velo and I think machine velo is better but when you are below certain thresholds it will be a red flag.
But as a 2025 I really would worry more about solid mechanics and getting generally stronger, then likely EV will increase by itself and if you need more then you still can do a batspeed program
Yes, my exit velo increased significantly, as a result of cleaning up my swing and working out 3-4x per week. Not really chasing a number, but felt good to see improvements.
I think it's great to keep track of your exit velo in a controlled environment, especially when you are working out hard to achieve a goal. I don't pay much attention to exit velos posted to PG or PBR. I've seen kids with ridiculous swings at a showcase put up a big number. Then in the sim games they couldn't make contact... at all.
I find the most consistent readings are from the front. We set up a net about 5 feet in front of the tee and stand a few feet behind that.
@adbono posted:Your time would be much better spent learning how to hit a fastball away to the opposite field. Nobody gives a sh$t what your exit velocity is off a tee in a controlled environment. It literally means nothing.
Times 10!! I am infinitely more interested in how my boys hit live pitching than hitting off a stick.
2025
when you are at bat, what are you thinking? What is the pitcher thinking?
Bob