Throwing from knees

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Dec 9, 2009
23
0
SoCal - OC
I have a catcher (12U) that is very tall, but rarely misses a ball in the dirt. She has a very strong arm, but her only draw back is that it takes her FOREVER to get up and going to throw a runner out at 2nd. To compensate for this, she has developed a habit of dropping to her knees and throwing. With this she has gotten a few runners and very close on most.

I didn't teach her this, this is just what she developed on her own.

So the question I have is:
A. Is it better to work on her getting up and establishing footwork knowing that we probably won't throw a runner out for a while or possibly at all; or
B. is there an established way for catchers to throw from their knees?

If you have any ideas on how to implement B effectively, I would appreciate it, as I know that she will be ressitant to A

Thanks
 
Jul 26, 2010
3,567
0
She's 12. What do you think would be a good reason to not teach a 12 year old the correct mechanics and work with her to improve?

Winning is pointless until they're in college. Teach her the right way.

Post a video of her popping up to throw and we can help you out with her mechanics.

If you haven't yet, purchase Coach Weaver's catcher video from catchingcamp.com, as it's invaluable teaching coaches how to instruct catchers.

-W
 
Sep 3, 2009
675
0
The proper throw incorporates several parts of the body, not just the arm. By throwing from her knees, she's taking several of those parts out, and relying on her arm almost entirely. I would think in the long-term, that could lead to problems. Mechanics are easy to fix early, and much harder to fix later.
 
Jul 26, 2010
3,567
0
I'm guessing that the kid is either catching on her toes instead of flat feet, and isn't in a very athletic stance with runners on (butt up, thighs parallel to the ground, weight balanced. . . . . or she's just incredibly out of shape.

Either way, both of these are coachable.

-W
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
I've actually been working with one of my catchers on throwing from her knees. She's a bigger girl and struggles to get up quickly. No amount of technique is going to overcome that right now. She also tends to throw high when she gets up. So...

Since she's a strong kid I had her try throwing from her knees. It works much better for her. The key to throwing out baserunners is a quick release. She can release quicker and get the ball there faster by going down instead of up. I expect as she gets older and stronger it will work even better for her.
 
Jul 26, 2010
3,567
0
I guess that's what I don't understand. Where does this "getting up" come from?

6'5" catchers in baseball do this, so clearly this isn't an issue with the girl being "bigger". If she's fat, just say so. If she's a kid, and she's fat, it's your job as a coach to teach her proper fitness and nutrition so the kid doesn't develop diabetes and die young, not to mention cost the rest of us money in taking care of her health problems.

Please explain to me how a girls height prevents her from doing this:



-W
 
Dec 25, 2010
242
0
If she's fat, just say so. If she's a kid, and she's fat, it's your job as a coach to teach her proper fitness and nutrition so the kid doesn't develop diabetes and die young, not to mention cost the rest of us money in taking care of her health problems.


-W

wow. just wow.
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Just tell the little porker she needs to lose weight!

Hey, someone did that to me (my mum actully) at their age, I was slightly overweight. It worked so well that I'm now obsese! Not just overweight or fat, obese!

Telling a CHILD that they need to lose weight is wrong. You are not their parent, you cannot change it. If you were my daugher's coach and told her she needed to lose weight, or be healthier or anything to do with her weight, I'd have her out of the team and be complaning to whoever your boss was.
 
Jul 26, 2010
3,567
0
Just tell the little porker she needs to lose weight!

Hey, someone did that to me (my mum actully) at their age, I was slightly overweight. It worked so well that I'm now obsese! Not just overweight or fat, obese!

Telling a CHILD that they need to lose weight is wrong. You are not their parent, you cannot change it. If you were my daugher's coach and told her she needed to lose weight, or be healthier or anything to do with her weight, I'd have her out of the team and be complaning to whoever your boss was.

That's fine, there are a lot of people who feel that way. There are also a lot of people that feel entitled and that think it's a good idea to give out awards for participation. I don't happen to be one of them.

Letting a child become too overweight to stand up is abuse. It's no better then beating the child. I do not think it is okay to simply ignore this kind of abuse.

You are certainly entitled to a different point of view, however I am also entitled to mine.

-W
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Letting a child become too overweight to stand up is abuse. It's no better then beating the child. I do not think it is okay to simply ignore this kind of abuse.

If it's your child, then stop it. If you feel it's abuse, then report it to the proper authorities.

I also don't think the child is too big to stand up, they might be too big to stand up quickly. Hell, I'm obese and I can play catcher if needed (it almost kills me though!) I just can't do it quickly.
 

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