Sports Product Review

We love solo training aids that allow kids to practice when there's no one around to work with them. We've reviewed many over the course of the past five years, some better than others, but all effective in their unique way. One of the things we've learned is that the simpler these aids are, the more likely they'll be used. And if you can find one that can serve more than one function, you've hit a home run.

Or, in the case of the RBI Pro Swing, make that you'll be more likely to hit one. The RBI Pro Swing is an ingenious device designed to improve baseball hitters' swings. The Pro Swing slips on to any bat and provides instant audio feedback so you know if the swing you just took was good, or needs some help.

Inside the Pro Swing, thousands of tiny pellets of steel shot slide from the top to the bottom as the bat is swung. A quick, “swish” sound means that the shot was released at the moment of impact, that all of your power was stored until the last possible moment. Hearing a longer, “swoosh” sound indicates a longer, looping swing which loses power early and does not hit the ball with the same force.

My 14 year-old daughter has this problem of swinging “around the ball.” We've been trying to get her to correct it for years. She, and one of my sons who plays at the collegiate level, took the product out into the garage and tried it out. The difference in the sound was instantly recognizable, with the swooshing audible before my daughter even broke the plane of the plate. I'm guessing a few hundred cuts with the Pro Swing are just what the doctor ordered.

This device also adds weight to the bat so it is a great replacement for the traditional “doughnut” hitters often use in on-deck circles. Youth league coaches who want to create hitting stations for their practices might want to consider buying two or three of these to keep players active at all times. But again, best of all, a kid who is motivated and wants to improve doesn't need to hope dad has time to pitch to him today or spend fifty bucks at the local cage to get in some practice. All he needs is a bat and a garage or backyard, and he's on his way. If you listen closely, you can hear him getting better.

Source: RBI Pro Swing