Outfield "HIGH FLY" ball practice

Fly Ball practice is often overlooked in youth sports since it often the less talented players who get relegated to the outfield.
Great idea with the tennis balls.

cong

I've used tennis balls and a racket (normally racketball racket) for years for outfield work.
The only downside is the case of tendinitis (tennis elbow) I developed a few months ago. Shaking hands feels like a crocodile is chewing your elbow.

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Originally posted by rbinaz:
The only downside is the case of tendinitis (tennis elbow) I developed a few months ago. Shaking hands feels like a crocodile is chewing your elbow.

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I have developed that as well... My Doctor gave me an Air Castand it really relieves the symptoms without drugs... check it out..

cong

Slider24,
Yep. Used it with my son to get over fear. Switched to baseballs he was fine. Then he spaced on a fly ball and took one off the cheek. He still won't get completely under a ball to his left unless he's certain he has time to set up under it.

Yup, used them w/ our whole team last year. Really helps w/ the little guys.

I've sinced moved onto this one w/ my son:
We take our Instant Screen and set it up just beyond 2B, facing LCF. Then he goes to LF and I go to HP and hit fly balls w/ real baseballs and a bat. He catches them and throws a one hop to the "cutoff" screen. He loves when they're not right at him and he has to chase 'em down and gun 'em down, or even dive a bit. Then he moves to CF, then RF for the same, and I adjust the screen accordingly. He'll last through about 100 balls sometimes, but usually 80 or so is a good limit over 45 mins or so (of course w/ ample breaks for water/rest).

Lotsa fun tho and precious father/son time!

Yes, tennis balls are great fly ball practice, but be careful that they don't hurt their arms throwing them back. Throwing a ball hard that is that light weight may not be a good thing for the arm.
What does everyone else think?