Catching and Catchers discussion Foot work on throw downs?

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I have been to three different instructors and have learned to different ways. Two of the instructors were mostly baseball and one was all softball. Both my daughter and my son are catchers so I try to combine classes whenever possible. The baseball guys all seem to step and throw, and the softball instructor all seem to teach pop and throw. I have also noticed that all of the guys in MLB take a step to throw. That may be because they have 90' bases. To me it seems like the step is more effortless and more accurate with all of your weight naturally behind the ball, kind of like a crow hop. Where the pop and throw method may be a little faster until your body gains the core strength to take a step. the "POP" seems like it could be a little wild and technically its farther from the base. I have also heard of people saying not to step on the plate because it is slippery, and that makes sense but I think it is easy enough to step around it. I was just looking to get some thoughts and/or reasons behind the two different methods.

 

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They all are working methods. You've already analyzed them very well. You understand the pro's and con's. Now simply pick one that seems to work for your child. The step is the easiest on a catcher's body. The snap throw is quicker.

My opinion: Catchers are worthless with knee and back issues and until a girl is older and more developed she probably is better off stepping to her target. Snap throws to 1st and 3rd for girls 8th grade age or above can be expected if they are capable physically. Teach what's right for the individual and her ability.

 

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Teach what's right for the individual and her ability.

I just wanted to add that the above is solid advice for virtually ANY aspect of the game. Whether we're talking about Pitching style, Hitting style, or whatever. Taking all things in to consideration...age, experience, physical makeup, arm strength, agility, yadda yadda...realize that there may be different needs due to those differences, whether it involves simple efficiencies, or possibly a more advantageous technique to reduce injury.

For example...Catcher A has a strong arm and is 16 years old, but has a slow transfer when forced to wind up and step. Maybe she throws down from her knees. Catcher B has a weaker arm, but quick feet and transfer, and happens to be 12 years old. She can probably benefit most by stepping.

I think any coach's best approach in teaching a skill is to learn and understand a few different methods, which can be passed on to their players. Once the players understand those different methods, and have taken the time to try them and decide on what works for them, they seem to come up to speed quicker and with more confidence. It's a great use of your practice time to talk with the player about some different techniques, have them try a variety, and convince themselves what they think they can be most successful with.

 

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Having her push off foot already in place offset from the front foot in her squat saves those valuable tenths of a second as well when that runner is on....

 

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These are all great points. I agree with the comment about teaching into teaching into the individual's strengths. I personally teach & subscribe to the pop & throw method because of the distance of the throws we deal with and the speed of the game. I will sacrifice 4 MPH throw velocity in exchange for a .2-.4 seconds early release. Let's do the math:
Distance from home to 2B: 84' 10.25". Add 2' for catcher's offset behind the plate for accuracy. 86' 10.25" or 86.854 feet. Look at the following data to see the time it takes for the ball to get from the catcher's hand to second base at each throw velocity

45 MPH 1.316 seconds
50 MPH 1.184 seconds
55 MPH 1.077 seconds

So, here is the true test. Measure your kids. Measure their pop time using pop & throw & compare it to their pop time using the step method. IMO, the 5 MPH reduction by NOT taking the step towards 2B is worth giving up. The pop & throw is easily .15 seconds faster to release. Probably more like .2-.3 seconds faster! If it takes the runner 3.2 seconds to get from 1B to 2B, then saving that .2 seconds is like gaining a 6% advantage. .3 seconds is 9%...from 4-6' distance on the base path, or two steps and that is using a runner who gets from 1B to 2B in 3.2 seconds. This is exactly why I teach the girls to get the ball airborne as quickly as possible. That runner cannot outrun the ball in flight! This is a game of speed & quickness, not power & strength.