Blocking using one arm/hand

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Oct 19, 2017
133
28
10UB Travel team. Our starting catcher only uses one hand/arm when blocking and she does a good job (Her throwing arm is behind her back). Any downsides to this? We are working with her and other catchers on the NECC and Catching-101way but I don’t want to mess with something that works well for her. Thoughts?
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Why is it behind her back to begin with is my question? Blocking is only important with runners on and with runners on her hand shouldn’t be behind her back - hard to throw that way.

edited to add: Umpires appreciate it when you block with no runners on, but it doesn’t effect the outcome.
 
Oct 19, 2017
133
28
Up till now, she has only used the primary receiving position and falls forward to block. We are working to change that.
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Up till now, she has only used the primary receiving position and falls forward to block. We are working to change that.
I would work on secondary position and once she learns proper hand position there I’m assuming she won’t put her throwing hand behind her back to block then.
 
Oct 19, 2017
133
28
You are right, it should work itself out as she progresses. I guess I was just curious what others thought about this approach.
 

Josh Greer

DFP Vendor
Jul 31, 2013
934
93
Central Missouri
She will eventually get to the point where she will not be able to cover the 5 hole with 1 arm. I would personally start doing drills now teaching a proper 2 arm approach. Bouncing tennis balls is a great drill for young catchers to learn the process without getting sore arms. But she needs to be aware that the mitt will eventually only block about a third of the balls in the dirt. Chest and arms will stop the rest.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
She will eventually get to the point where she will not be able to cover the 5 hole with 1 arm. I would personally start doing drills now teaching a proper 2 arm approach. Bouncing tennis balls is a great drill for young catchers to learn the process without getting sore arms. But she needs to be aware that the mitt will eventually only block about a third of the balls in the dirt. Chest and arms will stop the rest.
That one third number seems very low. Maybe 10U B team the pitching is that erratic. But a decent pitcher is throwing 55 to 65 mph, the glove is picking the majority of dirt balls. A CU that comes up short may require the chest protector.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Prefer no arm behind back because it takes away from athletic balance.
And
Readiness.

Consider this, putting an arm behind the back especially if your palm is facing away from you is an arm lock.
(Not good position for shoulder)

All blocking does is keep the ball in front of the catcher. It does not handle the ball.

Even though there may be a time when we need to block by using our body ...
Handling the ball is what's important!
Always arms/hands at the ready!
 
Last edited:
Oct 19, 2017
133
28
Thanks everyone. She’s a tough kid and a fast learner. I’ll be working with them again this week so we will focus on this.
 

Josh Greer

DFP Vendor
Jul 31, 2013
934
93
Central Missouri
That one third number seems very low. Maybe 10U B team the pitching is that erratic. But a decent pitcher is throwing 55 to 65 mph, the glove is picking the majority of dirt balls. A CU that comes up short may require the chest protector.
87.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot. :)

That being said, throughout the careers of each of my catchers, chest, stomach, and forearm bruises were about equally spread at various levels of play. Early on, inexperienced pitchers were all over the place which translated to blocking all over the place. As experience increased, so too did velocity, which reduces response time in the catcher. The majority of the issues were not called curve balls in the dirt, but rather spiked fast balls that bounce erratically in the "goat pasture" quality ball fields that are common here in the mid-west. We taught our catchers that once you make the decision to block, the mitt rolls over, the throwing hand goes behind the mitt, elbows against the side of the body (for joint protection), all creating a single barrier to stop and deaden the ball. Ideally, the catcher is centered up. But once the ball hits the dirt....see goat pasture reference above.
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top