How to Make a Pitching Net

It can be difficult to practice pitching. You need a willing friend to put on expensive catcher's gear and squat for long periods of time in the heat. If you bounce a pitch, he'll probably get hit and lose interest. Unfortunately, pitchers need a lot of practice. It takes refined skill to throw different pitches for strikes. Professional pitchers spend long hours throwing baseballs into pitching nets. So, make one at home, take it to the field and practice all you need.

Things You'll Need

  • 114-inch by 60-inch piece of nylon tarpaulin
  • Tape measure
  • Scissors
  • White pencil or chaulk
  • T-square
  • Painter's tape
  • Orange spray paint
  • Heavy-duty sewing machine
  • Knife
  • 4 tarpaulin grommets
  • Grommet anvil
  • Grommet tube
  • Hammer
  • 4 carabiners
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Instructions

    • 1

      Lay the nylon tarpaulin out on the floor and cut it into three pieces using your scissors. The neoprene is already 60 inches high. Use your tape measure and make a mark every 52 inches on the top and bottom of the tarpaulin, starting from the left.

    • 2

      Connect the corresponding marks on the top and bottom of the laid-out tarpaulin with the tape measure pulled tight. Hold the tape measure in place and draw a straight line using the edge of the measure. Make your line with a white-colored pencil or piece of chalk in order to be visible against the dark tarpaulin.

    • 3

      Use the scissors to cut along the two marked lines. This should make two large squares on the tarpaulin (measuring 52 inches by 60 inches) and a thin rectangle (measuring 10 inches by 60 inches).

    • 4

      Think of who will be practicing with this pitching net and find someone of the appropriate age. If the net is for a fully grown person, you should try to find a man of average height; around five feet, ten inches tall. This person will serve as your reference point in marking the strike zone.

    • 5

      Pull the tarpaulin square off the ground and hold it taught near the reference person's body so that it is 60 inches tall with the bottom just touching the ground. Tell the person to assume a batting stance, which will put them in a slightly crouched position. Make a mark on the outside edge of the tarpaulin at the bottom of the person's knee caps and the midway point between their belt and the top of their shoulders.

    • 6

      Lay the tarpaulin down and use a T-square to mark straight lines at the top and bottom of the strike zone. Continue the straight line all the way across the tarpaulin.

    • 7

      Use a tape measure to measure 17 inches in from the left and right sides of the tarpaulin. Do this at the top and the bottom of the tarpaulin as well. Connect the corresponding marks with a line using the edge of the tape measure. Use your scissors to cut the middle rectangle out. This rectangle will serve as the strike zone, and this square of tarpaulin will be the front of the pitching net.

    • 8

      Lay the strike-zone piece with marked side facing down on the ground. Use painter's tape to mark off one inch in from the edges of the cut-out rectangle, making a larger corresponding rectangle. Use the spray paint to paint a bright orange rim around the strike zone just inside the painter's tape. Let the paint dry six to 24 hours, and then remove.

    • 9

      Take the bottom side of the strike-zone square and measure up five inches from the bottom using a tape measure, and make a mark. Do this four or five times across the width of the strike-zone piece.

    • 10

      Lay the tape measure tight across all the five-inch markings. Connect the markings with a line drawn on the edge of the tape measure. Cut the bottom piece off using your scissors.

    • 11

      Place the strike-zone tarpaulin over the other large square of tarpaulin. Make the top, left and right sides flush. Be sure to lay the marked side down, making the unmarked side visible.

    • 12

      Sew the edges of the tarpaulin together, but leave the bottom side open. Sew the left, right and top sides flush together. It is a good idea to double-stitch the tarpaulin because it will take a beating during practice.

    • 13

      Take the rectangular piece (measuring 10 by 60 inches) from the original cut. Measure the piece length-wise at 52 inches and make a mark. Use a T-square to make a straight line across the short width of the piece and use your scissors to cut the rectangle, making it 52 inches long.

    • 14

      Place the rectangle along the bottom front of the strike-zone net assembly. Lay the bottom, left and right sides of the rectangle flush and sew together with a double stitch, leaving the top of the rectangle open.

    • 15

      Measure one inch down from the top of the strike-zone assembly with your tape measure and one inch in from the left side. Make a mark. Do the same for the top-right side of the assembly. Then measure one inch down and 17 inches in from the left side using the tape measure. Make a mark. Do the same from the right side. Use a knife to cut straight through the tarpaulin assembly on all four marks.

    • 16

      Identify the female and male sides of the tarpaulin grommets. Line the corresponding sides of the grommets over each of the four marks. Using sufficient force, push the grommet halves into each other until they snap closed.

    • 17

      Remove the center circle of tarpaulin with your fingers after the grommet cuts it out. Clip a carabiner into each of the four grommets.

    • 18

      Take the pitcher's net to the ball field and snap it to any protective screens or fences. It's best if you snap it to a protective screen, slide the screen over home plate and line the strike-zone up with the edges of the plate. Stand on the mound and fire baseballs into the strike zone.