Catching and Catchers discussion CATCHER Questions...

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OK, so I have a new catcher who is a very solid hitter and has a very strong arm, but while I am tempted to instruct her on the skills of her craft, I don't want to teach her something 'wrong.' So, I ask you all, to help answer the following questions for me:

(1) What is a good "glove-to-glove" time for a H.S. catcher from home to 2nd base and home to 3rd base?

(2) This girl holds her mitt vertically over the plate with the tip of the mitt pointing up toward the sky, and her elbow pointing down toward the plate. I am tempted to get her to change this so her glove and arm are a bit more horizontal over the plate. To me, it seems having a mitt positioned horizontally over the plate would give the umpire a broader target to visualize as far as where the pitch is travelling, and perhaps give the pitcher a better chance of having pitches called for strikes than the norrower vertical mitt position.

Your thoughts?

Thanks!

 

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Let's see some catcher info.........they are the most important person on the team

 

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I can not offer any help on the glove to glove time. As for the way she sets up I personally dont teach the elbow to the plate method. I have been teaching a 14U catcher for the past couple of months and she started that way. When I asked her why she sets up like that she said she could last longer behind the plate before fatigue set in. Once we started working on framing all of the pitches she adjusted herself. She found it very hard to frame the low pitch with the glove up and down. Once I found her adjusting herself more to the way you were explaining I just kept her framing low pitches(muscle memory).

 

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the glove to glove time needs to be less then 2 1/2 sec. But the most important thing in this transfer is glove to cathers release, time. This time needs to be less then .75 sec. and you should try to get it to 1/2 sec. Most girls can cover 60ft in 3 sec, give or take. Which is not that far off when you consider in football a 5 sec 40yd dash (120ft) is considered very slow. So the pitcher when releasing the ball the runners are off, The pitch takes about 1/2 sec to get to the catcher, the catcher takes .75 sec to catch and release the ball, which leaves 1.25 sec to get the ball to second base. Now this will leave the girl at second 1/2 sec to catch the ball and place the take.

The catchers elbow should be outside of her leg ,above it, or pointed toward it, never inside of her leg pointing down towards the plate. This allows a more relaxed postion, and more Maneuverability.

 

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Thanks guys... Between the responses on here already, I have a better idea of how to approach her about this next time we have pitching/catching session. What made most sense to me was framing low pitches - that puts in in perspective. Thanks again!

 

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My daughter is a varsity catcher and has been catching for about 8 years. When she sets up her glove it is vertical to the plate or slightly tilted, but never turned completely horizontally. Her elbow is pointed outward not directly down. She said that if it was pointed directly down it would be harder to get a low inside pitch(right handed batter) because as you tried to extend to get the pitch your left knee may be in the way and hinder your mobility.

 

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It's late so I'll give a short answer.

1) G2G time goal should be 2 seconds or under. .5 for the pitch, 2 for the catch, throw, and catch. .5 to tag.

2) Simple answer for recieving is to keep the biggest part of the glove in the strike zone. For an inside or outside pitch the glove might be verticle. For a high or low pitch the glove might be horizontal.

See Coach Weaver's thoughts on the subject here:

http://www.catchingcamp.com/online_camp/framing/

 

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Yup. Pop to pop time of 2.0 or under for home to second. The same goes for home to third. The base distance is the same, therefore so is the time. Forearm of glove hand should be about 45 - 50 degrees from vertical and that should get the mitt horizontal to the plate, and the mitt arm should never be rigid (ie. the bicep, tricep, and forearm muscles should remain relaxed).

Len

 

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Yup. Pop to pop time of 2.0 or under for home to second. The same goes for home to third. The base distance is the same, therefore so is the time. Forearm of glove hand should be about 45 - 50 degrees from vertical and that should get the mitt horizontal to the plate, and the mitt arm should never be rigid (ie. the bicep, tricep, and forearm muscles should remain relaxed).

Len

I don't want to shoot you in the foot, but with the Bases set at 60' the distance from Home to 1st and 3rd are 60', the distance from Home to 2nd is 84'10 1/4".


FASTPITCH! Anything else, And you're playing to SLOW!

 

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The 2.0 is a well-known guideline. If you know you can do this, not many runners will be safe on a steal. It requires perfect technique and transition.

 

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It's late so I'll give a short answer.

1) G2G time goal should be 2 seconds or under. .5 for the pitch, 2 for the catch, throw, and catch. .5 to tag.[/URL]

I guess i was thinking wrong, I was going from time of pitch to the time the ball got to second base.

 

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I don't want to shoot you in the foot, but with the Bases set at 60' the distance from Home to 1st and 3rd are 60', the distance from Home to 2nd is 84'10 1/4".


FASTPITCH! Anything else, And you're playing to SLOW!

From the runners standpoint it is only 60 ft. In fastpitch, they are not going to be faster going from 1st to second as they are 2nd to third. Therefore, pop to pop time requirements are the same for home to 2nd and home to third. No shot fired at my foot.

Len

 

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I guess i was thinking wrong, I was going from time of pitch to the time the ball got to second base.

I wouldn't say you were wrong. Coaches, scouts, etc. use a "pop-to-pop" time to isolate the portion of the catchers responsibility. You just added the times of everyone included in the process. The catcher's portion you posted did add up to 2.0 seconds.

Len

 

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I highly recommend you get this DVD: http://www.catchingcamp.com/about/merchandise/dvd/ . It is from Dave Weaver from the New England Catching Camp. It shows you why you don't hold the glove vertical and how to teach a player to not do it.

 

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Here is a clip of the receiving technique we teach at our camp. The 12U catcher is in a no-runner on stance. She is receiving pitches as they cross the inside, middle, and 2 to the outside relative to a right handed batter.

For demonstration purposes she is set up in the middle of the plate to show that the glove position she uses to catch the ball is dictated by where the ball crosses the plate. When she presents the target to the pitcher her thumb is at 3 o-clock with her fingers to the sky.

Her goal is to get to the spot before the ball arrives so when the ball hits the glove the glove does not move. Hold for a short pause, then throw back to pitcher.


http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/...?action=view&current=SoftballReceivingABC.flv

Coach Weaver