Batting Cage + Goalie = What?

[stinisonfire]

When I went to Pilat's camp, they took a pitching machine and rocketed balls at the cage. I was just thinking about how a batting cage could work as a goalie drill. Just stand in either batter's box for either stick side low / mid or off-stick low / mid... has anyone tried this?

[laxgod1790]

Oh my god. That must be insane!!! Lol This reminds me of happy gilmore lol.

Anyway I don't think it would be too affective because the ball would go to the same place every time.

[laxpro]

I was thinking about that just the other day with my friend. I'm not a goalie but he is. Or even get one of the tennis ball ones and put a net behind so you have your own personal one. That would be so sick.

[demongoalie]

Sounds like a good idea.

BTW how was Pilat's camp? I'm thinking about going next year.

[iplaylax22]

dude that would be cool especially working on off stick high/low

[stinisonfire]

Sounds like a good idea.

BTW how was Pilat's camp? I'm thinking about going next year.

Pilat's camp is great. I went to the one in Cocoa Beach in '04 and had a blast. Great location, Pilat (I think) was a 3 or 4x All-American and always produces some great goalies. He will give you one on one attention and if he isn't availible, has a good number of instructors to help you out if needed.

[RedBird1]

I have a better idea. I did this the other day....

Get someone to serve tennis balls at you [with hopes of getting by you of course].

I did this the other week when I was throwing the ball with friends at the tennis court because of how smooth the concrete floor is like a box floor. I asked the guy if he wanted to practise his serve while I tried to save the ball. Its great because the ball i) doesnt hurt you without equipment ii) goes even faster than a lax ball iii) bounces. Try it out and you'll find it works great.

[Barefoot]

it'd be a good idea, too bad those batting machines shoot it from like 60 feet away at like 50 mph. If i were a goalie i'd get right up on the machine to like 15 feet.

[stinisonfire]

:thumbsdow Again with the "If I were a goalie" on goalie threads...

I don't know about you, but the cages around my house can get up to the 80's.

[EphLaxPH28]

My neighbors have their very own and I've thought of doing this, or using a tennis serving machine to launch balls at different locations. My neighbors machine can rotate left-right and up and down, so you can adjust where the ball goes. Then all you need to do is replace the baseballs with something else.

[laxpro]

:thumbsdow Again with the "If I were a goalie" on goalie threads...

I don't know about you, but the cages around my house can get up to the 80's.
You can also turn down how fast you want the balls to go, I am sure that you can turn it down to you preference.

[runninandgunnin]

the only problem with it would be that the pitching machines are designed to shoot in one general area, you wouldn't need to move very much

[dillz18]

the only problem with it would be that the pitching machines are designed to shoot in one general area, you wouldn't need to move very much


As stated above: Repetition is really how you get better, going through the motions, and stuff like that.

[homerralphs]

you can just move to the left or right of the pitching zone to simulate left or right shots.

[B1ackout]

my good friend is our teams varsity goalie and he bough one of those tennis machines for this same reason. we jsut load it up with balls set it to 90 mph and shoot them at him. theres a handle on it also that allows the person controlling it to change where the ball shoots. its great practice for goalies

[middieman1]

Just go to the worst batting place you can find. The one near me is so old that the balls go everywhere. When I used to play baseball it wouldn't be uncommon to get hit by a pitch.

[brickwall]

My school uses a baseball pitching machine while shooting on the goalies, works real well, we use lax balls which i think is better than using tennis balls becuase tennis balls kind of curve with only a slight breeze, gets us real good though

[laxer07]

it'd be a good idea, too bad those batting machines shoot it from like 60 feet away at like 50 mph. If i were a goalie i'd get right up on the machine to like 15 feet.


At Pilats they werent too far and did start out slow, like fifty, however worked the speed up as it progressed, up to near 90.

[stinisonfire]

At Pilats they werent too far and did start out slow, like fifty, however worked the speed up as it progressed, up to near 90.

When I worked with Pilat 1v1, he had them just over 100 mph.

[quickslick444]

oK I WENT TO THE CAMP. never did he turn the speed up that fast,, so i think your lyin.. and they shot tennis balls.

[ReLaxin 13]

oK I WENT TO THE CAMP. never did he turn the speed up that fast,, so i think your lyin.. and they shot tennis balls.

It's different every year, I went last summer to 'Noke and it was tennis balls going in the 70's. Then I went to Cocoa Beach this winter and they used those rubber yellow dimpled balls like in batting cages and they got in the high 90's.

[O-town]

they have us do this at our school its like muscle memory really helps and gets you faster

[auslax_goalie]

i was looking for pitching machines on eBay and they are all too expensive for my budget haha how hard would it be to built your own. any thoughts on this???

[RedBird1]

I had a guy serve tennis balls at me once. I stood in my field stance. I dont think it would work as well for box practise. It was the best goalie practise Ive ever had outside of the lacrosse arena. It was good practise for me and for the tennis player's game. And the ball goes just as fast (if not faster), and it doesnt hurt you. So you dont have to wear gear. And it works better than a pitching machine cuz the ball can go wherever you want it or a different place every time.

[keep]

pitching machines work great, be creative, we have been using one for about 5 years. turn backwords to the machine and call out the turn, they are adjustable up and down,YOU can move side to side.

[POCK3Ts]

this sounds like a sweet idea i wish my school wasnt so cheap and could get a pitchin machine for me it would be amazing

[Laxgoalie4282]

i know this thread is kinda old, but does anyone know how much tennis ball machines cost? i dont have a way to get to batting cages because my parents are out doing work related stuff all the time, even on weekends. i wanted a way to practice getting shot on without anyone actually shooting on me because my parents dont like me having friends over when they arent there. i have thought about getting a tennis ball machine, but i dont know how much they are. and does anyone know if you can run lacrosse balls through them?

[EHSLAX12]

not too bad...maybe somewhere between 150 and 400...thats not bad at all for a machine. and i dont think you can run lax balls through it...or at least if you could, i dont thik itll work very well, because the machine wont launch them at a good velocity.

[meestagoaliemon]

That would be a great drill for any goalie.

[washjeff]

sound like happy gilmore anyone?

[LaxDman62]

Seems like a good way to practice along with the tennis thing. You can maybe rotate and change the directon of the ball with the machine if ya have a good one.

[TigerMiddie08]

could you do it with baseballs because baseballs curve..thats why they use the yellow ones..also for durability..

[sharpshooterFTW]

I had a guy serve tennis balls at me once. I stood in my field stance. I dont think it would work as well for box practise. It was the best goalie practise Ive ever had outside of the lacrosse arena. It was good practise for me and for the tennis player's game. And the ball goes just as fast (if not faster), and it doesnt hurt you. So you dont have to wear gear. And it works better than a pitching machine cuz the ball can go wherever you want it or a different place every time.

i'd still wear a helmet and gloves, only because you're gonna need them in a game, so why not practice with them?

[hcDevils391]

the machines at the coaco camp this winter were so hard even at the lower speeds, i dont think it helped me much or even at all cause it comes out different than that of a stick, maybe just me though

[lax21goalie2008]

its 364 days until next years hockey tryouts! Gotta Toughen UP!

[SilverZeppelin]

the only problem with it would be that the pitching machines are designed to shoot in one general area, you wouldn't need to move very much
you took the words out of my mouth

[goalygirl13]

that sounds like a great idea i mean good practice
-Goalygirl13