drill ideas for young catchers (10u)

looking for ideas for drills for catchers for both team practices and "solo" work (things DD can do alone, and things DD can work on with a partner (ie me))

biggest need we see now is stance / blocking. stance is probably to narrow, and tends to rise up anticipating bounce on balls in dirt rather than dropping.

Can't listen to the audio at work, but here is a youtube video of Coach Weaver instructing on blocking techniques:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lWSttq3iUA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7SedBgc714

Catching camp on receiving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lV4Bo7ICEk&t=7s

If you haven't gotten it yet, spend $40 on the streaming video version of Coach Weavers catching clinic. 6 years later, I still consider it the best $40 I've spend on a softball resource.

soft toss with tennis balls to practice "sticking" the pitch, which you could also use to introduce side-to-side movement (to help keep the pitch as centered as possible to your body when you catch it).

The soft toss will also hopefully encourage them to catch with their thumb "up" (v-shaped) whenever possible - keeps more of your arm in the strikezone (with the glove sideways, the elbow will often extend out of the zone, making it harder to get the borderline calls if the arm and wrist aren't in the zone), and also lessens the chance of jamming a thumb.

Could also work on footwork solo - work on getting sideways BEFORE the throw, with her momentum going towards second base.

Lastly - one I just did with my 2nd graders (who knows if they'll ever actually execute it in the next 2 years!) - bunt coverage. Coming out of the crouch to "pounce" on the bunts/dribblers in front of the plate. Similar to some IF plays, teach her to approach the ball along a curved path (vs. directly at the ball), so that for a righty, her body will already be aligned with 1B as soon as she picks up the ball.

A great drill I do with baseballs or baseball-size TCBs- catcher assumes the position with no glove on. from close range (+/- 5', see what works best for the age group you're working with.) toss balls to them to catch bare-handed. start out easy and then gradually vary locations. I think if you use tennis balls they might bounce out of the receiving hand too easily. as they get better, don't throw them harder, but you can increase the pace with less time between tosses. avoid anything that could jam a finger.

for blocking, I have them in front of a backstop of some kind, assume the position and from 10-20' away I throw the ball in the dirt.

both of these drills reguire you to have a bucket (or two) of balls and the catcher just catches the ball and discards it. no throwing back. this is only about receiving.

one more thing they can do solo- practice the crouch- keeping feet flat on the ground. NECC teaches this and I swear it is better for your knees, more comfortable than being on the balls of your feet and you are more stable/balanced. start out standing and then drop into the crouch (in your mind check that your heels are on the ground, bum low, back straight and you are balanced and ready) hold it for 3-5 seconds, and do it again. as soon as this seems easy, increase the time in the crouch until it feels natural and comfortable.

I have used 11" and baseball sized lite-flite balls when starting with younger catchers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKIUzgJIqkc

These are from Jen Shroeder - this is lesson number 1 - there are a whole series of them - the next one just loads right after.