- Oct 10, 2011
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I've been watching for that also and they look like they start higher to begin with. Some of the college girls have their butt touching the ground at times.
Runners-On Stance
- Thread starter Eric F
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Drew Butera (currently with the Angels, formerly of the Dodgers) is an MLB butt-dragger. I agree that it's not nearly as prevalent in MLB as it is in softball. I wonder if it has to do with body proportions. Women tend to have longer legs and shorter torsos compared to men.
Damn fine example of ROS.
Agreed. The argument of "D1 catchers don't do that" no longer applies.
I agree, and I agree with the hand behind the mitt as well but yet some refuse to accept it.
Eric,
Great example of Courtney Shea! She's phenomenal behind the plate. Auburn also had another defensive stud in Carlee Wallace (transferred to Baylor this year). Something interesting to consider is that two of the coaches for Auburn U have extensive playing backgrounds in baseball.
The standard in the game of softball for what a solid defensive catcher should be capable of is far below where I think it should be. Too many passed balls and far too many complacent approaches to throwing. I actually just had a long conversation with our director of softball operations this Winter about this very subject. The one thing she pointed out was the reluctance in softball to adopt any approach that has been widely accepted by those in the game of baseball. The idea of "we have to do it differently because this is softball, not baseball" is a wall we run into regularly and inexplicably.
At the end of the day we train athletes in the best and most efficient approach to all skills, offer proof of said approach's success and break it down in a way that is easy to explain to coaches and players alike. The mechanical approach to skills should not differ based on baseball/softball. However, it's not an easy barrier to break through with coaches who are set in their ways.
Great example of Courtney Shea! She's phenomenal behind the plate. Auburn also had another defensive stud in Carlee Wallace (transferred to Baylor this year). Something interesting to consider is that two of the coaches for Auburn U have extensive playing backgrounds in baseball.
The standard in the game of softball for what a solid defensive catcher should be capable of is far below where I think it should be. Too many passed balls and far too many complacent approaches to throwing. I actually just had a long conversation with our director of softball operations this Winter about this very subject. The one thing she pointed out was the reluctance in softball to adopt any approach that has been widely accepted by those in the game of baseball. The idea of "we have to do it differently because this is softball, not baseball" is a wall we run into regularly and inexplicably.
At the end of the day we train athletes in the best and most efficient approach to all skills, offer proof of said approach's success and break it down in a way that is easy to explain to coaches and players alike. The mechanical approach to skills should not differ based on baseball/softball. However, it's not an easy barrier to break through with coaches who are set in their ways.
A prominent softball catching coach uses the argument that softball players shouldn't use a "runners on" stance because it's harder on women's knees than it is men's due to the difference in Q-angle. Have you looked at this issue?
Eric,
We have looked into this a bit and have had a few discussions with a some members of the medical/physiology community. My understanding is that the effective difference in Q-angle is felt greatest when the body is load-bearing (i.e during weight lifting). Now, that isn't to say that a difference in posture or position doesn't create a load-bearing situation for the knee, but a secondary stance doesn't create quite the effect that some coaches would have you believe.
Something that was pointed out to me was this...the very reason that a difference in Q-angle exists is one reason that a female athlete may have the ability to mitigate the effect. The structure of the female hip in comparison to that of a male should, in most cases, give a female catcher the ability to maintain a wider secondary stance without an increase risk of injury or limited mobility.
It should go without saying that a strong and supportive lower body is imperative to overall health and success as a female catcher.
Obviously, I'm not a medical professional and I could be misunderstanding those whom I have talked to about this issue, but from what I have gathered, the Q-angle difference alone is most assuredly not a reason to avoid a secondary stance, and the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Something else to keep in mind is that in the game of softball, girls are going to get into a runners-on stance far less than their male counterparts, as the game is considerably more pitching dominated. This may only hold true at the travel ball/truly competitive levels of the game, but it's something to consider as well.
We have looked into this a bit and have had a few discussions with a some members of the medical/physiology community. My understanding is that the effective difference in Q-angle is felt greatest when the body is load-bearing (i.e during weight lifting). Now, that isn't to say that a difference in posture or position doesn't create a load-bearing situation for the knee, but a secondary stance doesn't create quite the effect that some coaches would have you believe.
Something that was pointed out to me was this...the very reason that a difference in Q-angle exists is one reason that a female athlete may have the ability to mitigate the effect. The structure of the female hip in comparison to that of a male should, in most cases, give a female catcher the ability to maintain a wider secondary stance without an increase risk of injury or limited mobility.
It should go without saying that a strong and supportive lower body is imperative to overall health and success as a female catcher.
Obviously, I'm not a medical professional and I could be misunderstanding those whom I have talked to about this issue, but from what I have gathered, the Q-angle difference alone is most assuredly not a reason to avoid a secondary stance, and the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Something else to keep in mind is that in the game of softball, girls are going to get into a runners-on stance far less than their male counterparts, as the game is considerably more pitching dominated. This may only hold true at the travel ball/truly competitive levels of the game, but it's something to consider as well.
Thanks, Jay. Another tactic used by the "anti-secondary" group is portraying that a catcher is in that position for a considerable amount of time on each pitch, which I have not found to be true. Looking at my DD as an example, she does not move into her receiving stance until the pitcher starts her motion, which means she's in that stance for 2 seconds or less on each pitch. That's not very long.
In my observation, the amount of time my DD spends in a runners-on/secondary stance is directly related to the match-up of the two teams. Teams that are kicking our butt tend to put a lot of runners on the bases.
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