Can a skinny girl be an effective catcher?

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Ah the sad side of sports...my DD is tall close to 6ft and every team she plays for they stick her at first...not because she cant move-she is a hell of a basketball player because of her low post moves and plays point CYO at times, but because she is tall. She would love just once to play another position---

Sometimes I think coaches stereotype players by body type without looking at ability---I bet the NBA never thought of a 6'9'' player playing point but Magic Johnson was the best!!

If your DD is good and does what a catcher should do...who cares about her size

 

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Mine has the thin build, but is quick handed and footed. She didn't catch much this summer due to being younger on an older team, but when she did, the main catcher was like "Crap, she's got Inspector Gadget arms on her" which actually was a great compliment coming from her experience.

I'll take the quickness and agility...

 

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"Quick as cats and smart. That last one being probably the most important aspect of the position. The catcher of all people has to have their head in the game at all times. ?"

ifubuildit said it all right there!! ? have to be softball smart and have their head in the game at all times. ?fundamentally sound will help all the above!!! ?
size does NOT matter!

 

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I appreciate all of your responses. DD will likley always be a "skinny" girl .. no matter how many boxes of Wheaties she consumes .. so I wanted to make sure I wasn't encouraging her and setting her up for failure on the basis of size alone. If she continues to work as hard as she has been on her skills (game smarts seems to be a given with her) she will prove those doubing Thomases wrong .. Thanks Again!

 

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Although the size of the dd doesnt reflect the athletic ability of the dd, however I have witnessed through out the summer that some of the most polished catchers weref the bigger girls, not heavy girls just big and athletic. It seems that most A teams tend to carry the larger catchers. The larger catchers seem to have better body control for blocking the plate and for making stronger throws to second. Not to say there were a few catchers that were thinner that wasnt good but in general the larger catcher seem to be more in control of the game.

 

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I have agreed with all the posts, if the evaluation is small catcher with skills against larger no skills catcher. ?But what if they are pretty much equal in skill and ability? ?Suppose they are both smart, fast and agile. ?Make that even and I would rather have a larger catcher. ?The height factor sure doesn't hurt.

Having seen several catchers run down a times or two.... ?JMHO

Please don't think I am slamming any slighter built catchers. ? I have seen some very good slight built catchers. Just posing a question equalizing their skill levels.

 

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If she can catch a ball and not drop it, she should be alright. That is the number one prerequisite. The other thing is a good hard throw to 2nd base. Usually the bigger girls throw harder and faster. But again if she can't catch a ball or even block a ball from passing her, she will not get a chance.

 

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i have been a #1 catcher for many years. and i am very skinny. but im also kind of tall (5'4)[at age 14] but i have seen many catchers that are small and very good! i dont think you have to be big to catch. ive always been small and have been a catcher.

 

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FancyFanatic - I would add one other thing to your equal in skill and ability - that they provide equal value (to each other) in their another location on the field. (It becomes too easy of a question to answer if one can play shortstop extremely well.) All things being equal, I would go with the larger girl - better wingspan as well as usually better able to take the wear and tear better.

 

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We have an awesome catcher on our 16u team, who is tall and thin. She made varsity as a freshman.

 

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LOL.

I have been reading the responses and I thank each of you. My catcher is about 6' tall and if she turned sideways, you would have thought she was AWOL. BUT.. she had such a quick release and accurate throw that she threw out 70% of the base stealers and picked of a good number more. She is "skinny" but I would not trade her for Bench. Ask the Tidal Waves. They will confirm my skinney catcher is OK.

 

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I don't think it matters as long as they are aggressive, vocal and WANT to be there and learn the techniques of a good catcher. However I am a big fan of quickness.
Cincy Magic has no problem with skinny girls wanting to catch. Matter of fact the 12U and 14U teams need another one, so if you know of a strong one, bring them to the tryouts.

 

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DD is very skinny .. 80lbs and around 5' to 5'2" ?tall. Likely 0% body fat. However, I have to disagree that small & skinny = lack of endurance. I think it is just the opposite .. the heavy girls can't handle the heat, the skinny girls can play all day. I do agree that if there were contact at the plate she could get hurt, but so could any girl really. More motivation to make the tag correctly .. and all part of the job. Again .. I am likely defensive on this matter .. please continue to keep the opinions coming. THANKS

thats not true. I'm a catcher, I have a lot of muscle mass, I'm not fat, I weigh 150 lbs. And I can play double headers in 90 degree heat. It doesnt matter the size of the girl, it's how much endurance she's built up over the years. if she has the muscle and can throw that ball to second base well and she's quick, catcher is a great spot for her im my opinion.

 

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Hey KC .. please accept my apology .. I was being defensive and should not have said that heavy girls can't handle the heat. I agree you have to build up endurance and girls of all shapes and sizes can be in great shape. I just read a great article about hydrating at least 1 hour BEFORE a sport and during as well. I think, ... in fact it is proven that hydration is a key to being able to stay focused and not have muscle aches or headaches in the heat. I really think any girl who excercised regularly and has good habits like hydration and stretching and conditioning .. will be able to endure the heat. Therefore, if they can keep the ball in front of them, and have an accurate quick throw, speed & agility and know the game .. size or shape should not matter ... as far as intimidation behind the plate .. DD has never seen a catcher that scared her .. as far as making a tag and holding on to the ball .. I've seen it done well and poorly by small and big girls alike. Thanks again for all responses!

 

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My DD is entering her 6th season as a regular catcher behind the the plate. She is 16 5'7" 130 pounds and has a cannon for an arm. I would take her anyday over bigger catchers as she makes plays behind the plate that other catchers cannot ,because of her speed and quickness.
As far endurance goes she just came back from a World Series where she caught 58 out of 68 innings including catching 3.5 games on Friday going into the champioship game.
I'll sum it up like this ,at 12U she was looking at catchers gear at the Spano Dome and the 260 lb guy that was selling the stuff told her that she looked small to be a catcher and I told him I bet she could throw him out, and that shut him up quick.
I told her not to let anybody try to knock you down like that and if you put your heart and mind into anything you can make it work. She has been throwing kids out since.

 

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Diamondrat... Your DD is not small or skinny, she is athletic and there is a difference. And she is an awesome catcher, there is no doubt about that.

 

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Why does it matter? I have seen plenty of small, skinny players that are excellent athletes. As long as they are able to get the job done size doesn't matter. My daughter plays catcher and she isn't as big as most and I have seen her block the plate at home better than most and she has only play the position for 1 summer. You can take one of your best atheletes on your team no matter what their size and I gaurantee they can play catcher. It's all about the heart and their and not size.

 

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Hey KC .. please accept my apology .. I was being defensive and should not have said that heavy girls can't handle the heat. I agree you have to build up endurance and girls of all shapes and sizes can be in great shape. I just read a great article about hydrating at least 1 hour BEFORE a sport and during as well. I think, ... ?in fact it is proven that hydration is a key to being able to stay focused and not have muscle aches or headaches in the heat. I really think any girl who excercised regularly and has good habits like hydration and stretching and conditioning .. will be able to endure the heat. Therefore, if they can keep the ball in front of them, and have an accurate quick throw, speed & agility and know the game .. ?size or shape should not matter ... as far as intimidation behind the plate .. DD has never seen a catcher that scared her .. as far as making a tag and holding on to the ball .. I've seen it done well and poorly by small and big girls alike. Thanks again for all responses!

Thats alrite. Thanks for apoloqizing, I was defensive also. Intimidation is a big factor though.

 

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Althought there are "EXCEPTIONS" to every rule it has been my experience that fast, medieum to stocky girls between 5'3" and 5' 7" have the best success. I recently had a discussion concerning this with several other coaches. My opinion is that the colleges are looking to fill that position with very quick from the crouch players with medium height and an average to stocky build. It is a given that you must have a quick release and a great arm to play this position succesfully. I just recently recommended to a friend of mine who puts alot of money into catching lessons for his daughter to allow her to focus on learning to play first base now that she is a freshmen. I believe that is where a college recruiter will most likely want to put a not so fast, larger power hitting girl who is approaching 6'. It has long been suspected that taller catchers are more apt to have knee problems due to having to go down further to the crouch.

 

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I've been playing a long time, and I've seen a lot of skinny girls that have everything you need to be a catcher (quick reflexes, strong arm, ability to control several plays at once). However, the problem with a smaller catcher is that they're not as intimidating, they can be injured by contact at the plate more easily, and they don't have as much to block the ball with. I will say that a large catcher is not necessarily a fat catcher, and a skinny catcher does not always lack muscle. The ideal catcher should have more muscle than fat, and should be equally or more athletic than the players around her. Just my thoughts.