Thumb / Hand

Sydsdaddy said:

Would you guys say they get the adult size for a 14U catcher?

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depends on size of hand really.

the evoshield was a godsend for me- I wouldn't ditch it completely. keep it around for the next time. the other thing is when I first got mine, I didn't mold it to my thumb correctly (tried to wrap it without help) I told them and they sent me a new one that I did correctly and it has been great ever since!
it doesn't sound right that your DD's stayed in the glove- I have to insert my thumb into it and then put the glove on.
I drilled a small hole in mine and tied it to my glove with fishing line so I don't lose it when not in use.

obbay said:

the evoshield was a godsend for me- I wouldn't ditch it completely. keep it around for the next time. the other thing is when I first got mine, I didn't mold it to my thumb correctly (tried to wrap it without help) I told them and they sent me a new one that I did correctly and it has been great ever since!
it doesn't sound right that your DD's stayed in the glove- I have to insert my thumb into it and then put the glove on.
I drilled a small hole in mine and tied it to my glove with fishing line so I don't lose it when not in use.

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we may not have molded it perfectly. but she was able to put mitt on and take it off with it staying in place, so we left it like that until it came out once. then she decided she did not want it. I think with such a small mitt (31.5), is why it stuck. we keep it though, and if she has issues, will use it again. could just have her wear one or two batting gloves, she has about 6 pairs in a variety of sizes.

Thumb guard is a good idea for short term solution. Long term solution is proper catching mechanics. A catcher should always get her thumb under the ball, with the impact of the pitch taken by the index and middle fingers. It takes a lot of practice, lots of reps in the back yard, lots of catching her friends during pitching lessons. It feels weird to her at first, but have her try to point her thumb at the pitcher when catching. It will never actually be in the that position by the time the ball gets there, but the psychology of it will help get her thumb under the ball. Also tell her to go get the ball, not wait for it to come to her. That aggressive "sticking the pitch" approach will help. DD has been a catcher for 8 years, and very early on her catching instructor taught her these things. They have served her very well.


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Also tell her to go get the ball, not wait for it to come to her.

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not sure I agree with this. I like the method Dave Weaver taught DD where the catcher centers themselves on the incoming pitch before it gets there. You could do this and still "stick the pitch" but I think reaching toward the pitch could more easily result in catcher interference.
anything you can do to make it easier for the blue to call a strike is worth doin'.

obbay said:

not sure I agree with this. I like the method Dave Weaver taught DD where the catcher centers themselves on the incoming pitch before it gets there. You could do this and still "stick the pitch" but I think reaching toward the pitch could more easily result in catcher interference.
anything you can do to make it easier for the blue to call a strike is worth doin'.

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I tend to be more of a "reach out and stick it" kind of guy, with a (fairly) straight arm, and the body behind the ball (as much as practical for the location). On any pitch that isn't pretty much right down the middle, letting it travel deeper is also letting it travel wider/lower/higher. Especially for inside and outside pitches, catching the ball deeper also tends to put the arm into a weaker position which makes sticking the location more difficult.

obbay said:

not sure I agree with this. I like the method Dave Weaver taught DD where the catcher centers themselves on the incoming pitch before it gets there. You could do this and still "stick the pitch" but I think reaching toward the pitch could more easily result in catcher interference.
anything you can do to make it easier for the blue to call a strike is worth doin'.

Click to expand...

I think a good rule of thumb is that if the ball is moving away from the strike zone go get it, if it's in the zone stick it, and if it's moving into the zone let it travel.

obbay said:

reaching toward the pitch could more easily result in catcher interference.

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No catcher needs to be right up under the hitter's armpit anyway. That's really when CI happens. I've seen catchers get so far forward that they're out of the catchers box and almost on top of the plate. I even saw one get hit in the top of her helmet once because she was too far forward. Some of the best advice DD ever got about positioning was to reach out (stretch out, really) and try to touch the hitter's back knee with her mitt. If it's just out of reach, you're good, and always stay in the catchers box no matter what. She sets up that way now and has never been called for CI.


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My DS got his thumb while wearing a cheap glove. We tried one evo shield, and probably didn't mold it correctly. His thumb was so tiny at age 8. We switched him to an Akadema glove the next season, and the thumb is not an issue anymore.

DD used both Evo Shield and Team Defender. The evo Shield works, but is difficult to manage and gets lost easily. The Team Defender glove is great. Fits like a batting glove, but has a hard plastic shield built in for the thumb. She was even able to catch with a badly sprained thumb.