Over the next few months, wintertime weather often means moving baseball and softball training indoors for many people. Gourock ships out batting cage nets and netting panels for all sorts of indoor practice areas, for both residential and commercial applications. All of the netting options that we have available (typically nylon, HTPP, and HDPE) work very well for indoor use. The main sticking point for many people is the method of hanging their netting or batting cage indoors. You may have a very large space available that you are planning on placing an external framing system in, and then hanging the batting cage netting in the same fashion as an outdoor net. And of course, any personally preferred method of netting installation is perfectly fine – our netting products are great for a wide variety of support structures.
However, may we suggest using a cable suspension method of batting cage netting installation? Using some horizontally installed steel cables as your attachment plane provides some really great benefits:
- batting cages are clipped every 5′ or so, maximizing the inner volume of the netting enclosure
- the netting can slide back-and-forth like a curtain to move it out of the way when not in use
- a tensioned cable method is very cost-effective and intuitive
- the netting can quickly be unclipped from the cables for storage or transportation
The most recommended approach is to use 3 horizontally-installed aircraft cables that are installed from wall-to-wall or other available and stable support structures (rafters, poles, etc.). The cables should line-up with the 2 outer edges of the batting cage net, and the center-ceiling line that runs down the middle of the ceiling net. The cable should be at a height of no higher than what the netting is built to, however hanging it at a lower height is perfectly fine as well (for limited-space situations). This will provide a reliable installation plane, keep the batting cage net as “sag-free” as possible, and maximizes your available training area.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the same cable suspension materials that you use for your indoor installation can easily be taken outdoors for the spring/summer/autumn seasons. You basically re-create the cable suspension plane between either 6 poles, 4 poles, or walls/trees/etc. The Gourock.com site has some helpful recommendations to take a look at here. All of the benefits of using a cable installation for your batting cage net transfer over to the outdoor setups – especially the “curtain/sliding” attributes. Having the ability to get your netting out of the way is extraordinarily helpful for instances of:
- mowing and grounds-maintenance
- using the area for alternative purposes when not training
- wind/poor weather concerns
- minimizing the number of poles installed into the property
There are 2 popular options for your consideration: the Deluxe Cable Suspension Kit, and the Standard Cable Suspension Kit. And should you have a more unique approach to a similar design, Gourock.com also has all of the materials available in individual quantities as well.
