If you’re looking to improve performance, a quality pitching platform can be a key piece of equipment. It can make practice more productive and fun, and pitching platforms can also help build better skills and work habits for both younger and older players. Many coaches and players don’t know much about pitching platforms, though, which can make it hard to find the right one.
At Victory Mounds, though, we’ve been building specialized baseball equipment for both collegiate pitching and high school pitching for years. Whether you’re looking for a batting practice platform or the best pitching platform for both adults and youth, this blog can be used as a basic guide when you start shopping.
Why You Need Pitching Platforms?
For those who are new to the world of pitching platforms, it’s helpful to start with the most basic question of all: why do you need one? There are several ways to answer this question, but let’s start with the most basic one—because your time is valuable.
- Unless you have hours on end to spend building a pitching mound at your practice facility, then spend even more hours restoring that mound after games and practices, you need a portable pitching platform.
- Unless you already happen to work as a groundskeeper and you have surveyor skills to boot, you need a pitching platform to make sure you’re practicing and playing the game the right way.
- Another reason pertains to the basic measurements of the game. Pitching mounds have to be an exact height, and they need to have a specified slope as well.
The Quality Question
Now that we’ve convinced you that you need a pitching platform, it’s time to help keep you from falling into what we’ll call “the quality trap.”
What does that mean, exactly? It means that when you start shopping, you’ll find some significant price differences that may lead you to go with a cheaper product. Be careful! Some of these products are built overseas from cheaper materials, and there are even some made from cheap wood and styrofoam.
You can probably guess what will happen when you buy one of these products. You may be happy that you’ve saved a few bucks initially, but once you start using these kinds of portable pitching platforms constantly, you’ll find that they quickly succumb to the ravages of constant use. That’s especially when it comes to younger players who use the equipment hard, but really, it applies across the board.
The phrase “caveat emptor” applies here, as does that other old phrase, “you get what you pay for.” So check the materials carefully, and read the reviews. Do some homework about what the best materials are, and take a close look at what level of baseball pitching platform you’re interested in is built for.
When you check the reviews, look for longevity. At Victory Mounds, we have coaching testimonials at all levels who have sworn by our products for years, in many cases because they’re still using the original product they bought when they started shopping.
Get the Right Pitching Platform
Now let’s take a deeper dive into some of the things that you’re dealing with in a high-quality product.
Are you buying a pitching platform for indoor use during off-season practices? If that’s the case, you need a platform that can grip the gym floor without scratching it, and you need to make sure it has enough grip to keep your pitchers safe when they’re working on their deliveries.
Grip is important on the platform itself, too. Many high-level pitching platforms have a strip of heavy-duty artificial turf on top of the platform, which prevents slipping or sliding when a pitcher’s front foot lands. That turf also serves a dual purpose. It helps the platform itself from getting scuffed up, and it also prevents marks that will eventually compromise performance, and the turf provides plenty of landing space for pitchers who are working out the kinks in their deliveries.
Does it Meet Your Needs: Price, Portability and Mound Size
There are various factors that you need to keep in mind when purchasing a pitching platform. Considering these factors will help you make the best choice for your game and will help you make sure that you’re practicing and playing the game the right way.
- Mound Size
- Portability
- Pricing
Mound Size
While pitching mounds come with standard sizes and dimensions, pitching platforms definitely aren’t a one-size-fits-all product. Pitching mounds can be 6, 8 or 10 inches tall, so you need to be able to adjust your pitching platform to give your pitchers the right height and the proper landing zone. Some are built specifically for youth baseball, while others are designed for college baseball, and there are even products for softball as well.
Portability
Another important requirement for your pitching mound is portability. Most pitching mounds are portable—that is part of the point of making them, after all—but some are better designed for portability than others. Some come in two-stage designs, which allows them to be taken apart to move them from field to field, and this also makes them easier to store as well. Keep in mind that you’re going to be carrying your pitching platform in all kinds of weather and conditions, and a well-built platform that’s easy to carry will make your life exponentially easier over the life of the product.
Price
Now let’s talk about pricing. We’ve already discussed what happens when you buy a cheap pitching platform, but the reality is that every team, coach, and program has a budget. Look for a company that will work with you and offers discounts, and make sure they back up their product as well. That brings us to the warranty. Obviously, you want one that lasts for as long as possible, but you should also ask how long the platform you’re buying is built to last, and what the tradeoffs are if you try to legitimately save a few bucks versus buying a high-end product.
Buy a Pitching Mound & Start Your Baseball Practice Today
A good company will give you an honest answer to these questions. At Victory Mounds, we’ve worked with a lot of different programs at all levels, and we always bend over backward to meet the needs of our clients when they come to us to buy a pitching platform.
The Victory Mounds Solution
We’re obviously proud of the pitching platforms we make, but we make a lot of other baseball-related products, too. We even make clay to help stabilize the soil used for the base paths and the mound, along with the machines and gear at indoor facilities that are used to enhance basic skills.
We do consulting, too. If you’re having a problem with field issues related to poor condition, drainage, or other issues, we can help your fields look pristine. We can also outfit your program with whatever you need to improve performance, and we’ll work within your budget limits as well.
To up your game with us, call us at 800-835-9460, or email us at info@victorymounds.com. You can see our products at victorymounds.com, and we’ve got some great blogs to help you understand what they can do for you and your program.