JUGS Lite-Flite Machine for Baseball and Softball

I'd been considering a pitching machine to help my 8 and 10 year old practice their batting skills with. After moving a Jugs Jr around a baseball complex for a couple of years as a Little League coach, my biggest concern was the mobility of the machine that I buy. Transporting a Jugs Jr, or a bigger two-wheel machine, is by no means impossible, but is certainly not easy - even with two adults. I pretty much decided I wanted something that I could fit in a sedan and lug around to a field without weight and size being an inhibitor. I believe my kids and I will get much more use out of a machine of that is easy to move as opposed to one that isn't. That pretty narrowed my choices to Jugs Lite-Flite, Baseline Relief, and Atec Power Streak. All are right around the same price point, and when I looked at pictures on the web, the Jugs clearly seemed to be better built. My hopes were confirmed as I put it together, and saw the quality of materials to be on par with bigger Jugs machines. Putting the machine together is easy, and setting it up to pitch either Wiffle-type balls or the Lite-Flite balls is easy. Switching between baseball and softball, couldn't be simpler. I haven't tried using it to pitch curves or sliders, but in terms of fastballs it is great. At 40 feet, the pitch location varies enough to replicate a real game, and balls mostly stay in the strike zone. Both of my kids feel that, when set about 75% of the way to maximum, that the machine is pitching comparably to a 40 mph setting in a cage. They also hit about the same. My only concern about the Lite-Flite balls is that there is no bat-sting, so the boys may have some issues in real games unless I continue to give them some time in a cage with real balls. Pitching machines tear up baseballs, and at first blush it seems the softer Lite-Flites will hold up much better than a leather ball. I really like this machine and am glad I purchased it.

Ordered this for my 8 year old AAA player who wanted to work on both hitting and fielding. He is primarily a catcher, so he also wanted to practice both catching and blocking pitches. This has been exactly what he wanted. He and I researched extensively and made lists of features for many different models. We both agreed that this machine seemed too notch, and we weren't wrong. He is in love with his pitching machine, and was able to build it himself. It's light enough for him to transport back and forth to our garage, and he found it simple to power with a few extension cords. We originally were worried about using it without a battery, but now that we've tried it, we'll stick with plugging it in since it's not a problem. He's saving up for the automatic feeder, so right now either myself or his sisters feed the balls for him to hit, which is very simple to do. Moving the machine to make slight adjustments is also very simple, and all components seem built to last. We've been extremely happy with the ease of use. It's also been great for practicing pop-ups. The one thing I will say is that, even after adjusting the machine to exactly where you want it, there are occasional pitches that are just off the mark. I understand that's to be expected with something like this, and that it's also more of what he'll see in a game, but sometimes I end up readjusting the angle only to miss my target by even more. I think the accuracy of the machine is somewhat determined by the way in which you feed the balls. But in general, we've been pleased with the accuracy. If you're on the fence or confused by all the different options out there, or even if you're wary of the price, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you take the plunge and purchase this. My son has had friends over recently, and this machine occupies them for hours, and requires very little input or help from me. If it's easy enough for a third grader to operate, but is also great for my 30 year old brother, it's clearly a machine with large appeal and versatility. I already see an improvement in his hitting. We are very happy with this purchase and look forward to using this for years.

I purchased this for my 6yo daughter who had a lot of interest in getting better at softball. I did a lot of research on other products/systems as I didn’t want to spend a lot but also wanted something that would last a long time if she kept up her interest in softball. It was also hard to get her enough batting practice time through her team practice times etc. Construction: it’s a Jugs machine and built like it. The construction is solid with zero corners cut - this thing will last years! The motor is powerful, consistent and quiet. Consistency: Ince you get it dialed in it will delivers balls in the strike zone more consistently than a full sized machine. Balls: you have to use the light-weight jugs foam balls which at first made me a little nervous. These are a better practice ball than full size/weight softballs! You get great feedback on contact without the stinging etc. when my daughter squares one up the ball will take off. There is also less/no fear of getting hit. Ease of use: the machine isn’t light and be prepared to have to put a little effort in when setting it up - but once you get the hang of it there isn’t much hassle. The machine is so consistent that you can usually get it dialed in pretty quickly once its set up. It has a large band of power so you can go from pretty slow to pretty fast with just a turn of the dial. I haven’t messed with the curveball/slider adjustments as my 6yo isn’t seeing any of those in a game but have no doubt it’s fully capable of giving those looks. Cons: weight-I’m comfortable lugging it around but if you have any mobility or strength challenges you may need a second person to help. That is the ONLY con. Overall: my daughter went from an average hitter to one that now rarely misses the ball and can hit with power. This is a great investment if you have a kid(s) that are softball nuts and looking for more batting practice. You can set up in your yard without fear of bust out windows and can easily take it to your local ball field if there is a power source.

I bought this for my 11 year old son two and a half years ago when he decided to switch from casual softball to serious baseball. It is a great machine for what it does. It has allowed my son to practice consistently, achieve better plate discipline and develop a better swing due to his ability to get in more reps than his friends. When I initially purchased the product, I set it up to test and the rubber on the wheel that pitches the ball spontaneously flew off at higher speeds, leaving me with a wheel with huge gouged out sections before I had even tried to pitch a ball. Amazon told me to contact Jugs directly which I did. They knew about the problem which had affected an entire batch of machines. I gave them my shipping address, they sent me a new one. It came in a couple days and all was well. After a frustrating first year of trying to locate all the balls he was hitting in our 5 acre field, I invested in a netted batting cage and a hopper for the balls so my son can go out and practice without someone needing to feed him the ball and without constantly needing to buy more balls because he keeps losing them. He is now 13 years old and plays against 14-15 year old kids who regularly pitch in the mid 70s with the better kids able to pitch in the mid 80s. This machine just can’t quite match up to that. At best, you will get close to 60 mph. The machine says that it can “simulate” speeds up to 85 mph, but just to be clear, that doesn’t mean the balls go that fast. They don’t. Luckily, we researched how to mimic hitting faster pitches with a slower machine. Because it comes down to reaction time, the solution was to move the machine closer to give yourself less time to react. There are several websites that give the math you need to achieve the relative reaction time based on the speed of pitch you are trying to mimic. The Jugs website says that at 25 feet, you will be simulating 85 mph. Good enough for us. Overall, this is a good solid machine that has taken more than a few direct hits from the Lite flite balls and kept on pitching. This is a machine we will be able to use for years for various drills and just to work on basic swing mechanics. It is also useful for kids who hit faster pitches if you adjust to account for reaction time. No buyers remorse here.

Máquina de picheo de gran calidad, excelente para entrenamiento de todas las edades,muy versátil y fácil de transportar...

maquina con excelente calidad y buena oprtunidad recreativa

The batting machine arrived within 2 days of ordering. We purchased it without physically seeing one. It is a well made, sturdy unit. It works very well and is a great value. Our 8 and 11 year old children love it . We highly recommend this pitching. machine. A+

Mucha potencia buena maquina