What Makes a Great Pair of Youth Baseball Practice Shorts?

Batting cages. Ground balls. Base running. Conditioning. Then probably another game of something when practice is over.

Baseball practice can put youth athletes through a lot of different movement in a single afternoon. The right pair of practice shorts should be ready for all of it without becoming something the athlete has to think about.

Here’s what we think matters.

They need to move when the athlete moves

Baseball isn't just standing in the outfield waiting for the ball.

Youth athletes sprint out of the box, get low for ground balls, rotate through swings, shuffle through fielding drills and run from station to station.

That makes freedom of movement important. A good baseball practice short should stretch naturally through all of those positions without feeling tight or getting in the way.

Four-way stretch helps the fabric move in multiple directions, whether the athlete is reaching for a backhand or taking off for second.

Baseball practice gets hot

There are plenty of practices spent under the sun, in the cage or moving through drills on a warm afternoon.

Breathable performance fabric helps keep things more comfortable when practice stretches from one drill into the next.

For outdoor athletes, UPF 50+ protection can also be a useful feature during all those hours spent outside.

The fit should start with youth athletes

A youth athlete isn't just a smaller adult.

The waistband, rise, length and overall shape of a short all affect how it feels when an athlete runs, bends, squats or settles into a ready position.

That's why we believe performance shorts should be designed around youth athletes from the beginning, rather than taking an adult short and simply making it smaller.

Practice shorts rarely stop at baseball practice

The pair worn to the batting cage might also show up at speed training, basketball practice, school or an afternoon outside with friends.

That's the reality of being a youth athlete.

The sport may change throughout the week, but the need for comfortable performance gear that moves with them doesn't.

Useful features should actually be useful

Practice gear doesn't need features just to sound technical.

It needs features youth athletes can actually use.

Functional pockets give them somewhere to put the things they carry before and after practice. Odor-resistant technology makes sense for gear that spends a lot of time going from athlete to backpack and back again. Reflective details can add visibility when the day starts early or practice ends late.

Every detail should earn its place.

Start with the youth athlete

A glove needs to understand baseball. Cleats need to understand the field. A bat has one very specific job.

Performance apparel starts somewhere different.

It starts with the youth athlete wearing it.

How they move. How they practice. How their gear fits. And what happens when baseball practice ends and the rest of their day keeps going.

That's where we started with Eyrx.

Built from the ground up. For youth athletes.