A batting cage is the only place a 13-year-old can face live pitching safely and get 40+ swings in 30 minutes. Cage time builds confidence and teaches pitch recognition.

Equipment needed: A batting cage, a pitching machine or a coach who can throw strikes, 50-60 baseballs, helmets, bats.

Setup: Hitter at the plate in cage. Pitcher (machine or coach) at 50 feet (Little League distance). Balls cycle automatically or a feeder loads between pitches.

How to run it:

  1. Hitter faces 10 fastballs down the middle at 45-50 mph. Focus: contact and line drives.
  2. Rest and regroup. Next 10: mix fastballs and changeups. Focus: adjusting to different speeds.
  3. Next 10: pitches in and out. Focus: staying balanced and hitting it where it’s pitched.
  4. Final 10: your choice (fastballs up, changeups down, whatever they struggled with).

What to look for: Swing path consistency and decision-making. Do they chase pitches out of the zone? Do they adjust when the pitch is faster or slower? The cage reveals pattern recognition problems that don’t show up in soft toss.