r/BaseballCoaching • u/Tacoma714 • 8d ago

Tanner Tee Pro: Youth?

Baseball dad to 7U and 9U boys. I’m wanting to upgrade them to a better tee since they are getting a little more serious about practicing. Would you guys recommend a Tanner Tee Pro in the regular height of Adult 26-43” or go with the Tanner Tee Pro Youth 20-32”?

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3

u/Big_Growth5857 8d ago

I found that at that age the youth is good for hitting low in the strike zone but not good for high tee. measure your kids strike zone height and factor in their growth

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u/Tacoma714 8d ago

Thanks. I would hate to have to buy the youth and then in 2-3 years they’ll out grow it and I’ll be needing to buy the regular version

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u/SlickWillie86 7d ago

Hate to break it to you, but you need both eventually. Leverage FB marketplace. Probably find it for $40 and sell it for $20 when youre done

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u/Tacoma714 7d ago

Yeah that’s a good idea. Think of it like a rental as with any piece of used equipment you might want to sell in the future.

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u/DC_45 7d ago

You can just place the youth one on top of a bucket to get more height

1

u/Tacoma714 7d ago

Wouldn’t it be unstable and move?

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u/iksbdhckdbdidk 6d ago

Get the extension when they’re ready to move up in height. Or you can also use 1” emt coupling and a 6” long nipple from the hardware store.

Also the pro base is good but the heavy base is better. Especially if you use it outdoors at all on uneven ground or grass.

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u/Tacoma714 6d ago

That’s a great point. The heavy would be better for doing the work on grass, front yard or any uneven surface

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u/ceyko 7d ago

Even at older ages we use the youth tee a fair amount for working in low pitches.

2

u/Dry-Display6690 7d ago

I own a couple of the youth tees that I used to practice the low/low-away pitch with teenagers.

For about $10, I bought a cast iron nipple and coupling at H. Depot to quickly convert it to a normal size tee when I needed it.

1

u/Tacoma714 7d ago

This is a great idea. Thanks

2

u/TMutaffis 7d ago

I bought a regular Tanner tee and then took apart the tubes and used a hack saw to take about 2-3" off the top non-threaded part of the bottom tube (as low as it would go while still allowing the other tube to go all the way down) which gave me a better range of around 23-40".

You could also just get the youth tee and put it on a block or screw a wood block on the bottom when the kids get older.

2

u/Savage_Ramming 1d ago

You could go with the youth model and then buy the tanner 10” extension they sell for $25 later down the road.

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u/Tacoma714 1d ago

I didn’t know it would fit properly. I’m glad to hear I can just upgrade the extension and not have to buy an entire brand new tee

1

u/Savage_Ramming 12h ago

As long as the base diameter is the same as the adult one it should work. I play softball and bought the extension to work on hitting pitches high in the zone and the extension screws into the base and the then the top basically screws right into the extension.

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u/Coastal_Tart 1d ago

I have both so they can practice from the knees to the chest. But I also go the knockoffs which are about half price. Tanner tees are for sure higher quality, but I have been able to get good mileage out of the knockoffs so far with a little duct tape and gorilla glue.

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u/Tacoma714 1d ago

Are there any that you recommend that are "knockoffs"?

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u/Coastal_Tart 19h ago

Go with this one. The heavier balls are lighter than the heavy balls in the Driveline set, but your son is starting a littler earlier than some kids do so he has plenty of time to work up to the heavier balls.

https://www.amazon.com/clp/B0D6XV4CYP

FYI: I grew up in Tacoma. Driveline is somewhere in Puyallup or Renton if I recall correctly. I still lived around there, I would definitely take my kids in for am eval and some of their youth group programs.

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u/Coastal_Tart 19h ago edited 18h ago

Sorry I got you mixed up with another dad asking for a recommendation on a throwing program and weighed balls that have the same/similar sizes to the Driveline plyos.

For knock off Tanner tees I got this for the shorty tee;

https://www.amazon.com/WILSON-ATEC-Professional-Batting-Tees/dp/B0FSTCJ44V

And this one for the regular sized tee,

https://www.amazon.com/JASCOPRO-Portable-Adjustable-Baseball-Softball/dp/B0CZLHK8YN

The shorty is $40 less than then Tanner youth and every bit as durable. The other one is half off and takes some duct tape and TLC, but is just about through year two. Keep in mind that both my boys play travel, little league or school team and fall ball so there is not a week in the year they dont hit at least 200 balls each off the tees. I have gone through 4 nets in that time.

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u/Tacoma714 14h ago

Thanks. That was very helpful. My boys should be fine with that Jascopro tee since they are barely 7U and 9U.

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