Catchers mitt VS 1st baseman mitt

[AR Softball dad]

We will be a first year 10u team this year. We are struggling to find a couple of girls who can or want to catch. Seems like the are having a hard time keeping ball from popping out of glove. Someone suggested buying a 1st basemans glove and it would make it easier. We just purchased the New England Catching Camp video to help on development. What are some opinions regarding the mitt? Is there major differances in sizes and the way they break in?

 

[JAD]

For a 10U player you need to make sure the catchers mitt is broken in! A softball catchers mitt has a wider pocket at the palm to accommodate the larger ball, and it makes it very difficult for someone with small or weak hands to squeeze between the pinky and thumb. If you have a new catchers mitt, let one of the pitchers dads catch with it on a bucket for a couple of weeks before the catchers try to use it. We used to buy used catchers mitts off Ebay to save money and the break in period. I am still using a used Nokona catchers mitt that I paid $75 for three years ago.