Index Finger Pain

[MoJo]

My daughter is experiencing index finger pain on her catching hand. It is coming from catching the ball just out of the pocket. Her position is catcher so she is catching a lot of hard thrown balls.

Anyone having success correcting with moving fingers over a slot in the glove, padding and/or catching technique?

 

[MoJo]

Annasdad wanted age, glove, and index placement.

Age of glove = Dec 22 (A2000) & July 22 (Liberty)
Age of player = 13
Fielding Glove = A2000 glove
Catcher Glove = Rawlings 34" Liberty Advanced
Index in the mitt

 

[ANNASDAD]

To me it sounds like a mitt issue…..had you said she’s getting thumb stingers I would have told you to look into an All-Star mitt. I just walked into my closet and put my AS mitt on my hand, taking a ball and placing it directly in the middle of my top index finger pad it’s still behind the palm pad, a couple of inches away from the sweet spot if squared up and caught correctly.

It honestly sounds like a Vinci mitt would solve her problem, or even an All-Star. Both worlds better than a Liberty Advanced!

~Does she have exceptionally long fingers?
~Are you sure she‘s squaring up the ball and catching it correctly?
~Pretty sure that Liberty has a Poron palm pad, complete crap, and very well known & documented for breaking down and crumbling up and coming apart. This may be her entire problem?

I hate getting a kid to change up their grip, or the way they’re used to catching and wearing their glove, in this case without going to the finger shift (which btw would definitely help) have her start trying it with her index finger outside the mitt, that’s one additional layer of leather between her finger and the ball. Not much but it does make a difference.

Or….just get her a new mitt!

 

[BRsoftballDad]

My DD is also a catcher and swapped to a TIP (two in the pinky stall) grip and has never looked back. She'll get the occasional thumb stinger when she gets crossed up but no more index finger sting or pain.