My catcher-beast...

[Eric F]

That is what I am looking for as well. Also the head tilt down and to the left will put low and outside in the umpires mind, in this picture, and I realize it is a still picture of a moment. It looks like she is trying to present (Frame) a pitch that is clearly low and off the plate. I agree from the batters look she sold it well. Keep her head upright when presenting. Most of the college Umps we work with say they are more likely to give marginal pitches if the catcher has minimal movement and sticks the ball in the spot the pitcher hit. that is an indicator that this is exactly where the pitch was intended to be and the pitcher hit the spot. Hope to see her soon on the Showcase Trail. Let me know if you come to FLA...

Currently, I want my DD's head going down and forward toward the pitch location. A little while back she was starting to pull her chin up a little on each catch, which was affecting her catching consistency. Getting her moving down and forward puts her in a more aggressive and focused mindset, and keeps her from pulling off. I am aware that we may need to make another tweak down the road if things are over-cooking a bit.

 

[Bartow12]

YEP, LOVE NECC techniques..

 

[Eric F]

YEP, LOVE NECC techniques..

Definitely. The video was the start of my education into proper catcher mechanics, and has been the foundation of Maddie's skill set. Maddie has also been to two 3-day NECC clinics (we hosted one last January), which were a great boost for the information she had already been introduced to.

Your previous comment about her needing to be in an "athletic position" raised a flag. Too often, coaches think that being on their toes is the correct "athletic position" for a catcher. I'm glad to hear you are another proponent of the NECC approach (there are quite a few of us here).

 

[1bucketmom]

Let me just say...... Having a DD pitcher, I know that 50% of how good she looks is sitting behind the plate.
I'd take your DD any day, all day!!!!

She looks great!!!!!

 

[Lenski]

Currently, I want my DD's head going down and forward toward the pitch location.

Eric

Is this what NECC teaches? I hope not.

A catcher that has their head going down and in the direction of the pitch implies that it took effort for the catcher to receive the ball. The best thing a catcher can do is to be "quiet". By that, I mean that receiving the ball should look effortless. The catcher's head and chest, and knees should stay static. If a catcher has to move at all it should be because the ball is too far away from it's intended location and the move was necessary to avoid a possibe passed ball/wild pitch that would have not been called a strike anyway. If it's anywhere near the strike zone, stay quiet and stick the pitch. I would not turn my mitt like Jen Schro does. Let's face it, there is no way the ball found it's way into the mitt the way Jen Schro is holding the mitt. That can only mean that she physically moved the ball once it was caught.

If catcher's thumb is turned so it is pointing to the pitcher, then the catcher moved the ball towards the plate.
If catcher's thumb is turned so the pocket of the mitt is facing towards the catcher and the thumb is pointing straight up, then the catcher moved the ball towards the plate.
If catcher's thumb is pointing towards the ground the pitch was low.
If catcher's thumb is pointing straight up and the pocket of the mitt is facing the pitcher, the the pitch was high.

Always catch the ball so the pocket of the catcher's mitt is facing the pitcher and the thumb is always parallel to the ground, all while remaining quiet. You get many more calls this way. Less is more..........

 

[Eric F]

Eric

Is this what NECC teaches? I hope not.

A catcher that has their head going down and in the direction of the pitch implies that it took effort for the catcher to receive the ball. The best thing a catcher can do is to be "quiet". By that, I mean that receiving the ball should look effortless. The catcher's head and chest, and knees should stay static. If a catcher has to move at all it should be because the ball is too far away from it's intended location and the move was necessary to avoid a possibe passed ball/wild pitch that would have not been called a strike anyway. If it's anywhere near the strike zone, stay quiet and stick the pitch. I would not turn my mitt like Jen Schro does. Let's face it, there is no way the ball found it's way into the mitt the way Jen Schro is holding the mitt. That can only mean that she physically moved the ball once it was caught.

If catcher's thumb is turned so it is pointing to the pitcher, then the catcher moved the ball towards the plate.
If catcher's thumb is turned so the pocket of the mitt is facing towards the catcher and the thumb is pointing straight up, then the catcher moved the ball towards the plate.
If catcher's thumb is pointing towards the ground the pitch was low.
If catcher's thumb is pointing straight up and the pocket of the mitt is facing the pitcher, the the pitch was high.

Always catch the ball so the pocket of the catcher's mitt is facing the pitcher and the thumb is always parallel to the ground, all while remaining quiet. You get many more calls this way. Less is more..........

Both NECC and Jen Scho advocate shifting to get the body behind the ball, catching around the outside of the ball, and catching it out front. I tend to agree with this approach. I also agree that if the body and arm can stay quiet, it's ideal. Unfortunately, pitchers don't always nail their targets.

I do not agree with thumb always parallel with the ground. If that's what you prefer, that's fine.

From NECC's FB page...

 

[Lenski]

Not good IMO. Check out videos of the Molina boys or Jon Lucroy.

 

[Eric F]

Not good IMO. Check out videos of the Molina boys or Jon Lucroy.

I'm comfortable with our approach for her age. As I noted earlier in this thread, I have found (especially with younger catchers) that getting their body behind the ball allows them to stick the location of the pitch significantly better. Reaching across the body for a pitch puts the arm in a weak position, and the impact of the ball will carry the mitt away from the strike zone. This has a tendency to loose far too many strikes.

 

[Greenmonsters]

From NECC's FB page...

Gotta love 3-headed catchers, especially the ones with 3 catching mitts!

 

[Greenmonsters]

View attachment 9034

I don't care who you are or how strong you are, there's simply no way a catcher can stick this pitch with that set up!