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Banned
From the newsletter-
For this month's Tip of the Month, I thought I'd shine some light on one of the most difficult plays to handle as a catcher. The tag play at home plate when the throw pulls the catcher up the line.
This can often lead to some serious collisions and injuries, and it is important to know how to approach this play to avoid both.
This is one of our students on the West Coast and she recently was involved in a play at home that lead to some quick thinking and instinctive reactions.
During this play, the catcher is pulled up the line on a slightly off target throw from her infielder.
Instead of letting the throw carry her directly into the runner (who looked like she was aiming for the catcher in an attempt jar the ball loose), she instead pulls her body as far as she could into foul territory away from the path of the runner. Even though there was contact, this could have ended much worse.
A lot of catchers attempt to "block" the plate and position themselves directly in the path of the runner. However, by pulling our body into foul territory as much as possible, and making the tag on the side of the runner, we can help avoid serious collisions.
At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we are protecting ourselves. Obviously, the out is somewhat important, but most definitely not more than our safety.
Catchers, protect yourself and then find a way to make the tag. Basically...Move it or Lose it!
For this month's Tip of the Month, I thought I'd shine some light on one of the most difficult plays to handle as a catcher. The tag play at home plate when the throw pulls the catcher up the line.
This can often lead to some serious collisions and injuries, and it is important to know how to approach this play to avoid both.
This is one of our students on the West Coast and she recently was involved in a play at home that lead to some quick thinking and instinctive reactions.
During this play, the catcher is pulled up the line on a slightly off target throw from her infielder.
Instead of letting the throw carry her directly into the runner (who looked like she was aiming for the catcher in an attempt jar the ball loose), she instead pulls her body as far as she could into foul territory away from the path of the runner. Even though there was contact, this could have ended much worse.
A lot of catchers attempt to "block" the plate and position themselves directly in the path of the runner. However, by pulling our body into foul territory as much as possible, and making the tag on the side of the runner, we can help avoid serious collisions.
At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we are protecting ourselves. Obviously, the out is somewhat important, but most definitely not more than our safety.
Catchers, protect yourself and then find a way to make the tag. Basically...Move it or Lose it!