Proper receiving mechanics cannot be overlooked enough. Good arms are a dime a dozen. A great receiver will make balls strikes and more importantly keep strikes strikes. I have seen many catchers that don't beat the ball to the spot, let the ball take their mitt out of the zone and reach for pitches instead keeping their mitt inside their shoulders.
Fast transition and solid feet work can trump a good arm.
Truth!
It's pretty easy to make a strike look like a ball. It's much harder to keep strikes looking like strikes.
A catcher we had last year (12U) had a very mediocre arm, but her transfer and release time was excellent. Her pop time regularly beat another girl with a good arm, but slow feet. She was deceptive. On her throw-downs at the start of each inning, the opposing coaches saw an arching throw to 2B, from a kid who didn't look all that athletic. She threw out a lot of runners.
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