The HitTrax is a hitting simulator for baseball (and softball) that works for all ages. It’s a powerful tool that has a ton of features, and many you might not know about unless you own one too! Here are five of our favorite HitTrax features.
Our Five Favorite HitTrax Features
1. On Field Batting Practice
Ever hear the term “Cage bombs”? Instead of standing there and arguing about whether that ball you hit was a home run, double, or fly out, you can look at the screen and see how far that ball flew and what the result of the play was. Our favorite part of this is that this feature works for players of all ages and skill levels. How? For younger players, the HitTrax software takes real MLB fields and shrinks them down to little league sized dimensions (picture Yankee Stadium or Citi Field with 200-foot little league fences). For bigger kids and adults, the software does the same but moves the fences back incrementally (by age) until you get to the professional level, where the fields have true to life dimensions.
Batting practice mode (and all other HitTrax features) work well with tee work, front toss, overhand batting practice, and batting practice from the pitching machine. Best of all, it requires no extra equipment and uses regular baseballs. Batting practice mode also has fun features, like distance boosting mode (picture hitting a baseball 750 feet).
2. Stat Tracking
After creating a HitTrax account (free for people who come in and rent the unit here at Momentum), you can keep track of a ton of different hitting measurables including exit velocity (how hard you hit the ball), distance, launch angle, and more! Some of our favorite stats tracked are hot zones, (a.k.a. where in the strike zone do you hit the ball hardest on average?) and point of impact (how far out in front of the plate do you hit the ball and how does this affect your exit velocity?). We have found that keeping track of stats like this is a surefire way to keep hitters motivated and focused on improving their outcomes at the plate. There are few things more fun and exciting than setting a new exit velocity record!
3. HitTrax Games
Remember all the way back in the last paragraph when we said, “There are few things more fun and exciting than setting a new exit velocity record!”? Playing competitive games on the HitTrax might be one of the few things that are more fun than that. This is for sure the most fun out of all the Hittrax features. Games can be 1 v 1, or any combination of up to 9 players on each team. Games are just like regular baseball games, with virtual runners running the bases, scoring runs, and making plays on the balls that you are hitting in the cage. This is an awesome way to spice up practice, or just to have fun with your friends.
Another cool aspect of Game mode is that the game can be modified to make things more even like having different ages in the same game, (like having your 12-year-old play on 12u difficulty, while your 10-year-old plays in the same game on 10u difficulty), or by giving a “distance boost” to any of the players playing. Games work for players of all ages, from children all the way to adults. Just be careful to not have too much fun! We’ve seen plenty of trash talking and arguments start especially when our high school and college guys use the machine!
4. HitTrax National Leaderboards
This is one of the most interesting Hittrax features. So, when you create a HitTrax account, you can opt-in to sharing your stats to the national leader boards. This allows you to see where you stack up against some of the best hitters in your age group. This can be beneficial in many ways. First off, we always find it to be very motivating for players when showing them where they stack up with their peers. Another great benefit to this feature is for college recruiting purposes. Think about how impressive your resume would look to college coaches if you could add in “top 10 in New York State in Exit Velocity for 17u players” or something similar!
5. Slow Motion Swing Analysis
We also have a high-speed camera that links up to the HitTrax unit that shoots at 940 frames per second. This means that it shoots slow-motion video that has four times as many frames as an iPhone. This can enable coaches and athletes to see the movements that take place between movements, like your hip-shoulder separation, swing path, and more. Another cool aspect of this feature that we love is the ability to select swings to view based on the result. What was the difference between that nice line drive and that weak pop out? Comparing swings this way helps quickly identify swing flaws and bad habits. We have found great success in using the slow-motion video feature of the HitTrax to help hitters develop their swing mechanics and get better results at the plate. We typically reserve use of the high-speed camera for our members, or instructors for lessons. Want to use the high-speed camera with your team? We can gladly help you get set up with one of our instructors and get your team hooked up with HitTrax accounts.
The HitTrax is a powerful tool that can really be helpful to all players, young and old. However, as Uncle Ben wisely said: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Why do we bring this up? Don’t make yourself go crazy looking at every number and measurable that the unit shows you. Instead, we recommend using the machine while looking at a specific focus, whether it is hitting the ball harder (exit velocity), driving the ball farther (launch angle), or bat control (taking the ball the other way or situational hitting).
Want to check it out? We are ready for you when you are. You can book a HitTrax batting cage rental online at the link below.
What is your favorite use of the HitTrax? Are there any Hittrax features that we didn’t cover? Do you have any questions yourself? Drop us a message in the comments and let us know!
