Across every age group, the same three things are behind them.
Just want the options? Five ways to get more batting →
- A father who throws to his son in a park, four evenings a week.
- A family who books the same coach every Tuesday, and has for two years.
- A kid who has been in a 1:1 most weeks since he was nine.
Fathers throwing, coaches throwing, dedicated 1:1s. Different arrangements, same thing underneath.
It's not a Strikers pattern either. Find a kid scoring runs anywhere in this region and you'll find the same setup behind him.
For years I looked at these kids and thought about talent. I don't anymore.
Three ingredients
Every batter I'm describing has all three. Miss one and it doesn't work.
- Volume
Hundreds of balls a week. Not dozens. For scale — two group sessions give your child about 40 minutes of batting. The kids who are improving are getting two or more hours on top of that, every week. Sometimes from a coach, often from a parent in a park. The source doesn't matter. The hours do.
- An eye
Someone watching who knows what they're looking at. Volume without correction just makes the flaw permanent.
- Years of it
Not a season, and definitely not the two months before a tournament. There's no version of this that gets crammed.
That's the whole thing. Everything below is just how you get them.
But he just needs a chance up the order
I know some of you are thinking it, because you tell me every weekend.
When the runs don't come, nobody asks me about the skill. They ask about the order.
I've given kids six and seven innings up top and watched the runs not come. And then we're talking about the order again.
I understand it. If only he got the chances, he'd take them.
But it doesn't work that way. Opportunity doesn't build skill. Skill unlocks opportunity. It only runs in one direction.
Chase the skill. It's the only scarce thing in this game — every team here is hunting for a kid who can score runs in buckets.
And there's no way around the three ingredients. There's only how you get them.
So how do you get them?
Volume and an eye are the two things you can pay for — the years are on you — and each of these buys a different mix of them. Five ways in, most expensive first, so you can see what you're comparing against.
1:1 coaching
$45per session with a senior coach$60 if you're not in a program
For a kid who's close, with one fault that keeps costing him his wicket.
Throwdowns
$30per session$45 if you're not in a program
For families who need the hours and have nobody at home who can throw.
Start here
Small group
For almost every family reading this.
$25per seat, per session$40 if you're not in a program
Two to four kids, one senior coach. The same coaching eye as a 1:1, shared — and the other kids in the net push yours harder than a coach can.
This is the one I want you to book. It's the most affordable way to get a real eye on your child every week, and for most families it's the piece that's actually missing.
Lane rental
$11per 30 minutes on a pack
For a parent with an arm, or one who'll let the machine take over.
Throw to your own kid
Free
For every family, every week, alongside one of the above.
Prices shown are what families in a program pay. Not in one yet? Join a program →
Thinking about a backyard net? A few families here have built one. Come talk to me.