We bought this for our 6 year old son for Christmas and were able to get everything assembled within an hour. It's a good size cage for our son who will use this a few times a week to work on his hitting. Here are a few thoughts: The Good: 1) Assembly was pretty easy, it took me and my wife about an hour to get both the cage up and the machine assembled. As a tip for those setting up, we used a ladder to throw the net over the top of the frame while my wife was on the ground spreading it out evenly - saved a lot of time. 2) The cage is actually quite large for our son, but small enough to where it's not an eyesore in our yard. 18' long is a good distance for him to see the ball from the machine and really work on his hand-eye coordination. So, great size cage. 3) The machine pitches automatically every 10 seconds and is really consistent. We've had cheap machines in the past that throw a ball everywhere but the strike zone, but this machine - once tuned in - is really consistent and a good speed. 4) The machine plugs in to our wall outlet which allows us to run a 10 foot extension cord to the unit, this makes it easy to use and easy to put away when not in use. Plus the machine is really light, probably 10 lbs. so my son can transport it with no problem. The Bad: 1) The unit included 1 green ball which I suppose is a sample for the ball it recommends using. I made sure to purchase the Sandlot balls it recommends at the same time of purchase but can see how this would be bother who those that don't know and expect more balls. I'm really impressed though with the balls, they're light weight and seem really heavy duty. Should last a long time.Well worth the few dollars we spent on them. 2) The machine has an on/off switch but does not provide a way to slow down or speed up the machine. The machine attaches right to the net with a harness so balls can't exit the cage (very smart), so we were able to move the machine further away from the cage - probably an extra 5 feet back - so our son has even more time to see the ball come to him and hit. Overall, I would recommend this machine because for the price you truly can't beat it. The main concept we hope to accomplish is to work on hand-eye coordination and I believe this set up will do a good job with that. If your kids are starting out in baseball this would be a great product. Thanks for providing us an affordable option Dick's!
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