breaking in a catcher's mitt

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Nov 12, 2009
365
18
Kansas City
Thanks for the information. There is a baseball version of this glove with thicker padding around the circumference and a smaller pocket. It is brown in color and wouldn't be a good choice for fastpitch. (We have seen a few baseball mitts used for fastpitch) One thing we see on gloves with velcro wrist straps is that catcher will cinch the wrist strap down as soon as they put their hand in. This can actually prevent them from closing the glove completely when catching. It's worth a try to have them put the glove on with the wrist strap loose, then squeeze the glove closed tightly before securing the wrist strap. It will feel slightly loose but she won't have to fight against the wrist strap to close the glove when catching....
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
My DD throws @ 500 pitches/week, so it typically takes me 2 weeks to break in a catchers mitt......
 

hen

Dec 1, 2010
64
6
The Nokona is very smooth in the pocket so I wonder if the smoothness and the spinning of the ball had something to do with it. The Nokona is being used by a HS catcher for now to help break it in better. BTW, the mitt my DD is using is Louisville Catalyst. It's softer in the pocket and and more rough than the Nokona, if that makes any sense. The ball sticks in the pocket.

I noticed a similar thing with the A2000. I know the leather will last (my A200 lasted the better part of a decade), but in the meantime it does seem a bit 'slick'.


One thing we see on gloves with velcro wrist straps is that catcher will cinch the wrist strap down as soon as they put their hand in. This can actually prevent them from closing the glove completely when catching. It's worth a try to have them put the glove on with the wrist strap loose, then squeeze the glove closed tightly before securing the wrist strap. It will feel slightly loose but she won't have to fight against the wrist strap to close the glove when catching....

Nice catch, as she does cinch that thing down quite often. I'll have her try it and see if it helps. Her hand should be big enough to manage.
 
Jan 9, 2011
2
0
Hey I will just add that my daughter also uses a Wilson A2000 mitt. It's been a great mitt and are into year three now of competitive ball with this mitt. It took months for her to get this mitt broken in at first. Be patient and she will love the mitt more as it ages.
 
Dec 20, 2012
1,085
0
Barbasol shaving cream! Cover every inch of your glove with shaving cream and work into the leather. Then go play catch for 15-20 minutes. When done wrap a ballin the glove and let it sit over night. The next day repeat. The third day the glove will be perfect!

But for some of the gloves with the extra padding in the palm I have had to sit and pound a ball directly into the palm for hours on end to beat it down enough so the girls to use. The Worth Wicked was the worst!
 
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