Hey all! I’m looking to get an outdoor batting cage for our high school team. Looking to get a concrete pad poured and a cage. Looking at a 5k +\- budget. There’s a lot of cages out there but if anyone has any good experience with any cages lmk! Thanks
Replies sorted oldest to newest
In determining the type of cage and netting, you should first figure out the usage of your cage. Will your cage have public access to it and what is the wind exposure? Also, you need to determine whether the public will have the ability to use your cage when your team is not practicing. You will need to make sure that you have netting that can withstand the use. If you leave your cage up for some of the summer, that also has to be taken into account. We leave our cages up until October each year. We hold camps and then our feeder programs sign up for cage/field times.
Have you checked to see if you have resources in your community that can help build this cage? At one school I coached at, we had a group donate the metal and I built the cage. I am pretty good at welding but you need to know that you are most likely welding galvanized metal and that can be dangerous. Do you have any parents who can help have a cage fabricated? At the second school I coached at, we had two parents who worked for a local metal business. They fabricated cages in their shop and I put them together with the help of my staff. In both cages, we had to make sure that the concrete pads were a part of the design for the cages we were building.
At the third school I coached at, we had to make sure that we factored in a chain link fence. That school was in a bad area where the cages had been vandalized on a regular basis. The protection for the cage cost more than the cage itself.
Another factor that has to be taken into account that many don't think about. Are you planning on having electricity run to the cage? At the first two schools I mentioned, I was told that I could not have electricity run to the cages. I fought that at both schools and won. I had to cover the cost but got the communities at both schools to donate to the cause. At the third school, they had electricity run to the cage but had to worry about people tapping into that electricity. We had to be creative in securing the electricity.
One last thought. At the second school I mentioned, when I became the HC at that school, they had a crude framework set up for a cage. It didn't have a concrete pad and had those dangerous wires running to the ground to anchor the ends of the cages. I inherited a very limited budget and the school was going through some rough times. I found out that a friend of mine had a cage net. I called him up and he donated the first net which was extremely used. Still, we had a cage net and so a cage to use while the new cages were being built at the new high school the community was building. Again, to cut cost some, you might have a very good used cage in your area if you get the word out. DON'T try to save money on the frame. You'll regret it. Good luck.
@CoachB25 posted:In determining the type of cage and netting, you should first figure out the usage of your cage. Will your cage have public access to it and what is the wind exposure? Also, you need to determine whether the public will have the ability to use your cage when your team is not practicing. You will need to make sure that you have netting that can withstand the use. If you leave your cage up for some of the summer, that also has to be taken into account. We leave our cages up until October each year. We hold camps and then our feeder programs sign up for cage/field times.
Have you checked to see if you have resources in your community that can help build this cage? At one school I coached at, we had a group donate the metal and I built the cage. I am pretty good at welding but you need to know that you are most likely welding galvanized metal and that can be dangerous. Do you have any parents who can help have a cage fabricated? At the second school I coached at, we had two parents who worked for a local metal business. They fabricated cages in their shop and I put them together with the help of my staff. In both cages, we had to make sure that the concrete pads were a part of the design for the cages we were building.
At the third school I coached at, we had to make sure that we factored in a chain link fence. That school was in a bad area where the cages had been vandalized on a regular basis. The protection for the cage cost more than the cage itself.
Another factor that has to be taken into account that many don't think about. Are you planning on having electricity run to the cage? At the first two schools I mentioned, I was told that I could not have electricity run to the cages. I fought that at both schools and won. I had to cover the cost but got the communities at both schools to donate to the cause. At the third school, they had electricity run to the cage but had to worry about people tapping into that electricity. We had to be creative in securing the electricity.
One last thought. At the second school I mentioned, when I became the HC at that school, they had a crude framework set up for a cage. It didn't have a concrete pad and had those dangerous wires running to the ground to anchor the ends of the cages. I inherited a very limited budget and the school was going through some rough times. I found out that a friend of mine had a cage net. I called him up and he donated the first net which was extremely used. Still, we had a cage net and so a cage to use while the new cages were being built at the new high school the community was building. Again, to cut cost some, you might have a very good used cage in your area if you get the word out. DON'T try to save money on the frame. You'll regret it. Good luck.
Appreciate all the info here. Fortunately my father is a fabricator and could make a frame if need be. I’m also looking into doing a crushed gravel instead of cement as the cost is significantly cheaper. ATX Turf recommends gravel with a turf mat. I really like the idea of having a bull pen next to it. I saw one on YouTube and looks great. Did any cage you built do crushed gravel? Image below is something I’d love to do.
At one of the schools, we used crushed rock and had mats. It was a bad idea since when it got wet, my hitters seemed to create pits under those mats. We tried to get extended matts but that still didn't work. I guess if you are able to put down full turf, it might be different. At the last school I coached at, they had crushed rock underneath but, as I mentioned, it was in a bad area so they built fencing around the cage. To cut costs, they needed to fence the cage into an area next to an already existing fence. Therefore, they built that cage in a very wet area and the turf bunched up.
If possible I really suggest the hitting area be able to accommodate 60'6". When a player starts dealing with real velocity, it's not the same for their timing to work off shorter distances at slower speeds to "simulate" velo. You need to be able to see the ball and not just react to a spot where it comes out of the machine. They also want to learn to pick up spin, and despite "simulated" velo based on time/distance, you need distance to follow the ball and read spin. Not to mention a machine already messes with the magnus effect by creating more carry than a pitcher will be able to, so at even a shorter distance it's even less realistic.
Plus, you'll only need one tunnel for hitting and pitching. I also like putting the machine on the raised mound to simulate a truer release point and angle.
You can always move the machine forward in a larger cage.
PS. As far as crushed rock, I might suggest brick dust and make sure to get a roller to tamp it down.
@HSDad22 posted:If possible I really suggest the hitting area be able to accommodate 60'6". When a player starts dealing with real velocity, it's not the same for their timing to work off shorter distances at slower speeds to "simulate" velo. You need to be able to see the ball and not just react to a spot where it comes out of the machine. They also want to learn to pick up spin, and despite "simulated" velo based on time/distance, you need distance to follow the ball and read spin. Not to mention a machine already messes with the magnus effect by creating more carry than a pitcher will be able to, so at even a shorter distance it's even less realistic.
Plus, you'll only need one tunnel for hitting and pitching. I also like putting the machine on the raised mound to simulate a truer release point and angle.
You can always move the machine forward in a larger cage.
PS. As far as crushed rock, I might suggest brick dust and make sure to get a roller to tamp it down.
like the idea of just one big cage, only issue is having to buy a new frame for it. 70ft cage frame cost almost 3k on top of $1500 net. We currently have a frame and it in good shape but its only 4 sections of 16L x 12H, maybe could get it to work but not sure. If i had a higher budget of 5k I could have more fun with it lol
