Catchers: feet flat on ground or up on toes?k

Hi,
I can tell you this topic just came up the other day. My daughter has been catching for over 3 years now (currently 12U) and going to the same coach the entire time. He is one of the most well respected catching coaches around our area and an amazing person/mentor and coach. He has taught her to sit flat footed for better stability and balance from day 1. Recently, my daughter has been helping to catch for some of the girls taking pitching lessons on her team. They are both using the same coach for pitching. He likes to also give my daughter catching pointers. He keeps telling her to go up on the balls of her foot so she isn't so "flat-footed". I tell my daughter to kindly thank him for his advice but to tell him her "catching" coach prefers her to do it the other way.

Jdaddy said:

Put a catcher on their toes and I can push them over with my pinky finger on their helmet. Put a catcher flat footed with about 60% of their weight on the balls of their feet pointed at a 30-40 degree angle, I’ll have trouble pushing them over with the heel of my hand.

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Is this a frustrated umpire thing? "If this catcher misses another one high, I'm going to push her over. Muhuhahaha"

Much easier to shift left or right this way too....It kinda hard to frame when Sally is forced to reach a cross. Flat feet allow her to shift her whole torso thus creating a much cleaner frame!

Any time I see a catcher on her toes, with her feet under her butt, it invariably comes along with a host of other technical issues (exposed throwing hand, almost always). This screams at me as a lack of decent coaching on the fundamentals of proper catching mechanics.

Catching effectively needs to be done from a stable platform. Kids are built differently, and sometimes you need to make accommodations, but a basic foundation of feet slightly turned up the lines and heels on the ground is where to start.

Eric F said:

Any time I see a catcher on her toes, with her feet under her butt, it invariably comes along with a host of other technical issues (exposed throwing hand, almost always). This screams at me as a lack of decent coaching on the fundamentals of proper catching mechanics.

Catching effectively needs to be done from a stable platform. Kids are built differently, and sometimes you need to make accommodations, but a basic foundation of feet slightly turned up the lines and heels on the ground is where to start.

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This is exactly what my DD was taught by Savannah Jaquish at a camp and has been doing since she started. It is funny getting shocked looks at how low my DD can get in her No-Runners stance flat footed.


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.It is funny getting shocked looks at how low my DD can get in her No-Runners stance flat footed.

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No kidding!! I surprise myself how low I can go and how quickly I can pop up! And I'm NOT in great shape!

obbay said:

I'm NOT in great shape!

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I'm of the opinion that round is a great shape. It's also the shape I most resemble. Therefore, I am in great shape.


Back on topic!...

A couple of years ago, my DD was having knee issues, and felt more comfortable with lifting her left heel off the ground slightly in her NR stance. Unfortunately, it's a habit that has stuck with her and has become her comfort position. Her right heel is planted, however, so she is able to maintain a stable position to work from.

In this pic, my DD has rotated a little for the outside pitch location, which has pulled her left knee down (and heel up) a bit more from where is starts on set-up.

4 girl's dad said:

Great topic and I battle this in my area as well. My DD (12) has started getting on the balls of her feet from a recent camp we attended. To me, she doesn’t seem to be in as much control as she used to be. She’s pretty athletic so it’s not hurting her skills yet per she but I dont Like how it looks. It’s only been a month. I’m going to work her back into a flat foot crouch.

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My DD's catching coach has started putting the large furniture sliders under her feet. It didn't take her long to figure out that she had to keep even pressure on her feet or she would fall.

If you watch closely, a kid on her toes when she goes to move one way or the other. The first movement is to drop the heel to the ground and then push off. If the heel is already there, the first move is to push off.