Read what a pro hitting instructor says about the Net Marker:

"The Solohitter’s Net Marker has been nothing short of an awesome addition to the SoloHitter hitting device. As a Professional Hitting Instructor, part of my goal is to give instruction on not only how to generate bat speed and accuracy with a good balanced swing, but also how to teach my student on how to hit the pitch or put the ball in play in relationship to where the pitch is delivered into the strike zone.

Situational baseball requires for the batter to hit the ball to a particular area of the field in order to advance runners. With that in mind, hitters need to practice directional hitting. An example would be; runner on first base, less than two outs, batter needs to hit the ball towards first or “behind the runner” in order to advance the runner to second and possibly third base.

When instructing a hitter, the batter needs something to focus his eyes on before his swing, simulating a pitch being thrown from the “pitcher”. This way he is able to train his eyes to go from the release point of the ball being pitched (simulation) to the ball being hit. The net marker serves the purpose as the “release point” of the pitcher.

The Net Marker also serves as a visual guide for feedback based on the ball being struck by the hitter. The “tick-tack-toe” grid on the net gives the hitter targets to hit into based on what part of the plate or strike zone the ball is being pitched. For example:

• Inside pitch is taught to be “pulled” thus practicing “Pull Hitting” towards the inside vertical squares of the Net Marker grid.
• Outside pitch is taught to be hit to the “opposite field” thus practicing “Opposite Field Hitting” towards the outside vertical squares of the Net Marker grid.
• Hitters are taught to avoid hitting “pop fly’s”, which is the easiest out in the game of baseball. Therefore, they must avoid hitting the ball into the top three horizontal squares of the Net Marker grid.
• The best hit in baseball is the said to be the “line drive” up the middle. The center three horizontal squares of the Net Marker represent the target for line drive hitting.

Of course the Solohitter with Net Marker will never replace the instructor or coach, as is not meant to. However, it is the next best thing to having a coach standing beside the hitter while a player is taking swings on his own; because of the instant feedback you get by seeing where the struck baseball hits the Net Marker grid."

Written by Mark Przybylak
Professional Hitting Instructor
ProKids Baseball Academy