Franklin Sports Kids Baseball Pitching Machine - Pop A Pitch Baseball Batting Trainer with Youth Bat & 3 Plastic Balls - Perfect for Backyard Practice, Team Training & Birthday Gifts - Red/Blue Baseball Toy for Boys & Girls

Mixed reviews here. I suspect misassembly is the problem. There are NO assembly instructions included. So here they are: On the base unit are three yellow hinged pieces. They must be opened straight up!!! Unit will not work otherwise. A sticker tells you this. After opening the yellow hinged pieces, take the red connector. Again, look carefully: There is an arrow molded into the blue base and an arrow molded into the red connector. Align the arrows, pop the red piece into the base. There should be no movement now, a solid connection. Now take the two red feed basket halves, align all the little nubs and points and snap together. The feed basket has two slots to push in to the red connector and then a slight turn to lock in place. Make sure the slots are correct and not bent sideways. Done.To use, the problem most people seem to have is that they think it is foot powered like a stomp rocket. NO! It is a simple trigger. Forceful jumping will NOT make it work. Simply press down until you hear a click, release and the whirring of the mechanism starts. A few seconds later, the ball will pop up. Beautiful! This is a Great toy to practice hitting or just catching the ball.Others complained of no extra balls available that fit. THERE ARE: The Franklin Aero Strike balls in an eight pack are a perfect fit.