SKLZ PitchBack Baseball and Softball Pitching Net and Rebounder, Black/Red, 2' 9" x 4' 8"

I bought this for my nephew both as a thank you gift, as well as to help him since he is trying out for varsity baseball. This is a terrific tool, especially for him, because he wants to practice being either a pitcher or an outfielder. This device help both at the same time. The concept is simple, throw at the red box and the ball bounces back to you somewhere between a 30-45 degree angle, enabling you to catch some good pop-up balls. Though some energy is lost in the physics of the ball bouncing and reversing velocity, it basically pops back to you. If you throw it too high, then the angle is deflected higher and you have to scramble to catch that fly ball. If you throw too low, it comes back to you as a grounder (great if you want to play shortstop). The best part about this is that you can play by yourself as long as you want. A pitching machine means virtually the same pitches each time, and you must constantly reload if you are by yourself. If you want to stop in the middle of pitches, you will inevitably have balls to chase. With the pitching net, you only catch what you throw and unless your aim is really bad, you can play for hours with a single ball (hardball or softball). As a pro tip, if you are as bad at throwing and catching as I am, stand close to the net and practice lighting tossing at the red square. They say practice makes perfect, but in reality, practice makes habit so only perfect practice makes perfect. Hone your technique and aim at shorter distances, then over time start stepping back and increasing power -- all while maintaining your aim and technique. Practice correctly and you can expand your range later with less effort.

This is a great item for a child to start learning the game of baseball. My 5 yr old took to it right away and has really gotten into it. The net is of good quality as well as the poles used to build the frame. Its one of the easiest things to put together and you need absolutely no tools to do so. You get the grounders, fly balls and line drives all in one with this rebound net. Im extremely pleased with this purchase. Everything is of good quality and easy to assemble. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to introduce a young one to the sport of baseball. P.S. I wanted to add this little remark....when putting the net on the frame, it does take a little pulling to get the hooks set in the net. READ THE ENTIRE SECTION ON ATTACHING THE NET BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ATTACH THE NET. The easiest way to attach it is by the picture in the direction. 4 hooks on top. 4 hooks on bottom. 8 hooks on each side as follows. \\\\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\\\ This layout of hooking the net up is absolutely the easiest way to attach the net to the frame. Good luck and PLAY BALL!!!!!! Apparently, the layout doesnt look right after I publish my review. But you all should get the idea.

Fairly easy to assemble once you get started. Works fairly well for my 7 year old. Not the most heavy duty but it is decent for the price. You will need about 13 zip ties, sold separately to keep the bars together. The bars are held together with D compression clips. They come apart very easily. You can solve this by running a zip tie between the bars and the D clip so the D clip can't compress. (See picture) If you angle the ground clips backward when putting in the ground it will hold in place longer. Overall a decent product with a cheap modification.

Most nets cost around $40 or $50. I saw this and thought, "hey, a good deal". Well, it wasn't. The problems start as soon as you open the box. The directions weren't easy to follow. Then we went to put it in (you can't use it on cement). We tried to put the stakes in the ground and it took quite a while, several different spots of grass, and a malet to finally get them to go in. I throw a ball - very lightly - at it and it tipped over. We put a few large cemement blocks and placed them on the two base tubes. If you throw it too high, it starts to collapse again and the ball comes back slowly. When you throw it too low, the ball bounces twenty feet behind you and way to high for you to catch. When you throw it in the middle, you get a line drive, but you it's not fast. So, I tried moving back farther, and I threw the ball literally no faster than 40 miles per hour and it collapsed. That's why it can't be used for pitching. If it's used for hitting balls into, the balls go all over the place instead of just falling. Well, I put it together again and threw another ball. This ball was even slower but it hit the side, and that side collapsed. I put it together, AGAIN, and threw the ball. Now, this ball was thrown around 30 MPH, and I've only been using the product for a minute or two. And the net literally rips. I threw a ball - only 30 MPH - and it rips! You may be trying to save money by using this product. But don't! Either buy the more expensive product, don't buy one at all, or make your own -- you can probably do a better job with your own hands and a $10 budget. The product wasn't worth the money at all. Five minutes of fixing the net until it broke was not what I expected.

Honestly, I’m not sure this will last long. The whole unit is light weight and easy to move around, but it’s flimsy. The bottom half disconnects and we had to keep pushing the stakes back into the ground when our older kids played on it. It gets the job done for our 5 year old to play while the older kids practice. We ultimately bought a nicer, heavier duty, pitch back for the older kids to practice with. I would say this is a good starter for small kids that can’t throw very hard, but it’s low quality and too flimsy for any sort of longevity.

My grandnephew is beginning T-ball this year, and I wanted a pitchback to help him learn to throw and to catch... or at least keep his eye on the ball (I think he'd rather chase it than catch it). This SKLZ Youth Pitchback is perfect. It is a great size - small enough to move easily, but big enough to provide plenty of rebound angles. At 5, he is small and doesn't have much of an arm (either in strength or coordination for throwing to a target). Having the target area to aim for and net to rebound his throws at different angles is great for keeping him (sort of) focused. And when he's done, the adults have just as much fun with it, too. The net seems to be well made, so will hopefully last (with proper care, of course) for years to come. It has 4 slip-on stakes to help secure it to the ground. They are small, so I am not sure they will stand up to hard pitching practice, but seem to do well enough even when we "older kids" are throwing. This is an inexpensive practice tool that I think would work well for anyone who wants to work on hitting the zone or catching. It is a youth pitchback, however, so regardless of how well it appears to be made, I'm not sure I would recommend it for someone older who wants to really hurl the ball.

My daughter just started softball 10U and this has been the best thing to help her. So easy to put together! Only complaint is the hooks don’t hold it in the ground good AT ALL but otherwise great purchase!

Mostly easy to assemble but absolutely cheap and not sturdy. Even with the stakes it falls over so easily.

I would have liked a little more of an angle on this. My beginner daughter throughly at it has to throw it real low so that it pops back up. If throwing hard at it it comes back straight, but a beginner arm could do with a bit more lift on the return to make them easier to catch.

This pitch-back baseball net is really useful for practicing at home. The ball bounces back well, and the strike zone helps improve accuracy. It’s easy to set up and feels strong. Overall, it’s a great tool for beginners and solo training.

Muy buen producto para la práctica de lanzamiento. Cuando no tienes con quien hacer lanzamientos, la red te ayuda a continuar practicando. El único inconveniente es que debe estar bien anclada, de lo contrario va a bailar mucho el marco.

もう少し、説明書の書き方が違っていれば良いと思う。 このコスパでどれくらいもつか 気になる・・・

La fijación al suelo no lo sujeta bien, al lanzar la pelota contra la red se mueve con facilidad y en ocasiones se cae. He tenido que fijar a un árbol para que no se mueva.