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Making a Portal Opening
(in our lightweight free hanging netting)
Size of the Portal Opening
The bigger the opening, the easier it will be to pitch though. Keep in mind that the larger the opening, the more batted balls will escape through the opening also.
In general, you should start with a opening that is about 1’ x 1’. This is big enough to pitch the machine through at a distance of 5’ - 10’ without too much trouble. You can make it a tad bigger if you find that you can’t pitch through the opening easily and accurately.
The lightweight netting we sell can be cut with scissors, and making a portal opening with this netting is very easy.
Hang the net in place, then mark where the opening will go. Next, cut out the opening with scissors.
Where to make the opening
As a rule-of-thumb, the location of the portal opening should be somewhere between waist high and “the letters” for best results, and inline with home plate. Be sure that the Personal Pitcher when mounted on the tripod can pitch through the opening height.
Framing the opening
You don’t have to do this, but it can add some firmness to the perimeter of the opening. If you wish to frame the opening, you can use standard 2” duct tape or masking tape and tape both sides of the opening, around the perimeter to frame it.
You can also construct the frame of lightweight cardboard and attached it to the net if you would like somthing a bit stiffer.
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Polyball Resources
How to Set Up Your Personal Pitcher -
in a Garage
Hitting Indoors - in a garage
You can use the Personal Pitcher Pro in a typical two car garage in most cases. You may want to partition off half of the garage to contain the batted balls, using lightweight netting. The distance from the machine to home plate will need to be anywhere from 15’ - 30’ depending on the pitch speed selected.
The Pro machine's top speed and curve ball pitching option will require a minimum of 25 feet pitching distance (or more) for most age groups. Using the Personal Pitcher at this distance may require the machine to be placed outside of the garage, while pitching into the garage. If this is the case, you will need to create a "portal" opening to pitch through.
Pitching through a portal opening
A pitching machine can be placed outside of a caged in hitting area and pitched through a “portal” into the netted hitting cage. This is done when the machine needs to be placed at a greater distance than what the cage itself allows. A portal is a “window” opening cut into in a wall of netting, through which a pitching machine pitches.
See the below diagram for a cage layout in a two car garage using a portal opening to pitch through.
Because the machine is placed outside of the garage, you will be limited to using the portal window to days when the weather permits the Personal Pitcher to be placed outside.
On rainy or inclement weather days, you can use the slower pitching speeds and place the machine inside the garage in the caged area -at a closer distance.
Using a portal pitching opening allows you to use a smaller batting cage. Even outdoor cages can be shorter when using a portal opening to pitch through. See the Home Run Batting Cage below.
See Personal Pitcher for more information on this Wiffle® ball pitching machine.
Improve Your Baseball Hitting
Train at Home with a Polyball Pitching Machine
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Polyball Batting Practice
The most practical way to improve your hitting skill. Serious batting practice - at home. (indoors or outdoors.) Fast balls, curve balls and sliders. Don't waste another coin at a commercial batting cage. Great for all ages and skill levels.
"If you are not doing Polyball Batting Practice -You are probably not taking enough batting practice"
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Click on the above diagrams to enlarge
A Crusher Curve pitching machine pitching through a factory-made portal in the Home Run batting cage. - an ideal backyard hitting cage which can be used with the Personal Pitcher
Lightweight Netting
for the
Personal Pitcher
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Batting Practice Special
BPS-1
- Personal Pitcher Pro
- Tripod
- 50' of Netting
$184.00 + S/H
Indoor Pitching Machine
The Personal Pitcher
How to Set Up Your Personal Pitcher -
in a Basement
Hitting Indoors - in a Basement
If you live in a northern climate, and you don’t have a heated garage, you can still use the Personal Pitcher in a basement during the off season (as well as “in season“). Basements offer the advantage of room temperatures - year round, and usually even more room to set up a hitting cage than a garage. A basement is ideal for indoor hitting with the Personal Pitcher because it can be used year round summer or winter, rain, snow or sunshine.
Clear out a hitting “lane”
You will need to clear out a hitting area of about 10’ wide - or a wide enough area to swing your game bat, or Grobat. The length of the hitting lane will need to be about 20 to 30 feet long. You can partition off the basement using our lightweight polyball netting. Often, you can use an exterior wall on one side, with netting on the other side to partition off a hitting lane (see diagram below).
Connecting the netting
You can use standard hardware from your local hardware store for hanging the netting. Hooks (like those used for hanging plants or something similar) offer the ability to “hang” the net in sections and allow for removal when you are done hitting (by simply un-hooking the netting).
Windows and light fixtures (garage or basement)
Although the small plastic polyballs are very safe, don’t take a chance with either windows or light fixtures (or any other breakable item). If you have a window or light fixture inside the hitting cage, you should shield them from batted balls with netting or corrugated cardboard or something similar.
Check Ceiling Height First
Garages usually have higher ceilings but basements can sometimes have lower ceiling heights. An eight foot ceiling height (or higher) works best for bat clearance for most situations. Much depends on the age and height of the player (and bat length). Most basements and garages will work for most players, but check and see if there is enough height and swinging clearance before making a decision on using the basement or garage for a hitting cage
See Personal Pitcher for more information on this Wiffle® ball pitching machine. See also The Best Indoor Polyball.
The Personal Pitcher being used (diagonally) in a garage
In this scenario, you would drop a net over the opening created by the drawn up door
The Personal Pitcher Pro
Four Speeds!
Holds 100 Balls!
4 Dozen Balls
2-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
AC Adapter/Charger
4-Hour Battery
Quad Pitch Speeds of
20 (Softoss), 35, 45,
& 55+ mph!
Curve Balls & Sliders
click here
Four Speeds!
Holds 100 Balls!
2 Dozen Balls
1-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
AC Adapter/Charger
4-Hour Battery
Quad Pitch Speeds of
20 (Softoss), 35, 45,
& 55+ mph!
click here
The Personal Pitcher Standard
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Build Containment Partitions
as needed.
Construct your own full polyball batting cage or simple catch net.
Lightweight netting for mini Wiffle® ball use only. Netting is 14 feet high x your choice of width. Can be cut to size with scissors. The netting can be hung or stapled into place
.
The small mesh works with the golf ball size polyballs balls that the Personal Pitcher throws.
only $1.35 - $1.50
per foot + S&H
How to Use Lightweight Polyball Netting
This netting is very easy to work with. It can be cut with scissors to desired length, or even shape. Hang or drape it over trees and bushes. Hook or fasten it to ceilings. It can be stapled with a staple gun or nailed into place, hung on hooks or similar fastening devices found at the local hardware store.
You can roll the netting up and down. Secure the netting to a ceiling using hooks, nails, expansion anchors etc..., then roll it up and down as needed. Roll it up around lengths of thick manila rope, cardboard tubing, or thin PVC tubing. Secure the rolled up netting into place with bungee or elastic cords (or other fastening hardware) secured to the ceiling framing / joists. Drop the netting down when in use, roll it up and secure it in place when not in use.
You can hang the netting in place on hooks (an endless variety of suitable hooks are available at most any hardware store) , then un-hook it, fold it up and put into storage when not in use.
You can drape the netting into place using bushes or tree limbs for framing the netting. Or simply cover over bushes with the netting, to keep balls out - so you won't have to go looking for balls in and around the landscaping at the end of the day.
You can use the shower curtain approach and hang the netting on a bar or cable, pull the netting curtain into place when in use, and pull it back and secure it when not in use.
only $1.35 - $1.50
per foot + S&H
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Batting Practice Special
BPS-4
- Personal Pitcher Pro
- Tripod
- 50' of Netting
- Grobat
$209.00 + S/H
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Batting Practice Special
BPS-9
- Standard Personal PItcher
- 50' of Netting
- Grobat
$179.00 + S/H
Note: 30" Grobat orders do not come with a weight pack (all other sizes come with insertable weights)
Note: The Home Run Batting Cage (shown above) comes with a factory-made portal opening, the other cages we sell do not have this. DO NOT cut your batting cage to make a portal opening - this will void the warranty. The above instructions are for making a portal opening are for the free hanging netting - ONLY.
Also Note: The lightweight free hanging netting cannot be returned - so please "measure twice -cut once"
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"We Know Polyball - It's Our Business"
