If you've got a basketball goal or a free-standing pole in your driveway, you've got all you need for the SKLZ Hit-A-Way. It sets up in seconds, the ball can be adjusted to various heights through trial and error, and it is the very definition of durable. It requires about 15 or 20 feet of space for the batter to use. We have had ours for 3+ years and it is still serviceable (though it has gotten some UV sun damage from being left outside all the time). The Hit-A-Way is *very* easy to use and very safe for kids. Probably the best testimonial I can give is that long after we bought it, my son (baseball) and daughters (Fast Pitch softball) and the neighbor kids still go out on their own and use the Hit-A-Way to practice hitting. In fact, I have talked to other parents who own the product who observe the same thing. In this day and age, ANY product that is not attached to a TV but still keeps kids entertained is worth getting.
In addition to the above, it helps kids track and time fast pitching. I've not measured how fast the ball travels, but it is fast, and the better the batter hits it, the faster it travels back to him/her. I think this positive reinforcement is the hook that keeps kids coming back to it.
I am picky about hitting aids, so I have one very small quibble. Because of the trajectory of the ball toward the batter, the Hit-A-Way can reinforce "bat drag" and make it difficult to fix because a swing with bat drag gets rewarded just like a correct swing does. This was a problem my son developed -- if your kid is crushing the ball on the Hit-A-Way but striking out or appearing to swing late in games, then bat drag is the likely culprit. Knowing this, I would still buy the Hit-A-Way in a heartbeat because, again, kids love using it on their own.
Parents, this is a must buy if you have the space (and the pole) for it.
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