Is ball machine a must?

[grace1918]

I have two boys in b12 and 10. They play almost 5 days a week and I am not sure if I should invest in a ball machine. Is it too early and if no. Which is a good one? Thanks

[gplracer]

I do not think a ball machine is needed.

[Brocolt]

If you watch the top level boys in the champs. They look like ball machines when they are grinding points. I think they are a must but sometimes hard to get kids to hit on them. They get bored pretty easy but once the technique is dialed it takes thousands of balls to develop the clean ball striking. A kid could hit up to 1,000 plus balls in a few hrs on a machine. A typical group lesson or just hitting with a few friends they wiil hit a 200-300 balls in the same time

[treeman10]

They have each other which is like built in ball machine, but even then it is nice to have one when their schedules are off or can't find other hitters. We have one and it got a ton of use on our home court. For us, it was a must. I would never drag/haul one around town however, but that's me.

[tennis-player]

Our two kids get on a ball machine once in a while. Primarily to work on a particular shot or angle. It's beneficial, but you have to make it fun at the same time.

[Number1Coach]

the ball machine is the only thing if I had to do over would be a must , i have a top player and we look now to get on one as much as possible , if you can I highly recommend this its a great tool .

[NLBwell]

Most pro players learned hitting against a backboard for hour after hour.

[Rina]

Do you have some courts nearby or your own court? Often even public rec courts will have a ball machine for rent, and it is reasonably priced. My son used to hit once in a while with it, and it was 10 dollars an hour, much cheaper than buying one. We have one and rarely use it, but used it for a while when he didn't have access to good players and needed to improve some shots.

[Tennishacker]

Originally Posted by NLBwell

Most pro players learned hitting against a backboard for hour after hour.

Repetition is a must for grooving strokes.

I'm constantly complemented about my "smooth" strokes.

As a youngster I would spend many hours on the ball machine.

[Bash and Crash]

Ball machine is a great tool. It never gets sick, tired, bored, goofs around, or is studying for finals. Also, it's great for a coach or other player to pop in to show a player what they are doing wrong and how to correct it right in front of them, and you can also stand right behind your son/student reminding them of swing keys or footwork, etc. Love my portable ball machine.

[gplracer]

I think the answer to this is, "it depends". My kids have me feeding balls but not everyone has a parent who has played a lot of tennis or the time to do it.

[Milan]

hitting against wall is good too