Catching drills needed

[Jr10234]

I am looking for catching drills for 14u. I Lost my NECC video....

Some I have seen on video/you tube/this forum include:

Blocking drills-
ball thrown at ground (front and each side) catcher blocks. Should this be nightly or is that hard on the knees? How many reps? Is the block different for a fastball, curve, screw, etc (something about the direction of the ball on the bounce)
Hand behind back ball thrown at chest to block down

Jumps from block position to feet, no hands if possible

Throwing:
From squat position throws to each base to simulate pickoffs and throw downs

Past ball retrieval-slide and toss to home

Bunt coverage-footwork and throws to 2 and 1


30-60 minutes 3x a week?, if behind the curve is 5x a week too much?

 

[Greenmonsters]

I am looking for catching drills for 14u. I Lost my NECC video....

Some I have seen on video/you tube/this forum include:

Blocking drills-
ball thrown at ground (front and each side) catcher blocks. Should this be nightly or is that hard on the knees? How many reps? Is the block different for a fastball, curve, screw, etc (something about the direction of the ball on the bounce)
Hand behind back ball thrown at chest to block down

Jumps from block position to feet, no hands if possible

Throwing:
From squat position throws to each base to simulate pickoffs and throw downs

Past ball retrieval-slide and toss to home

Bunt coverage-footwork and throws to 2 and 1


30-60 minutes 3x a week?, if behind the curve is 5x a week too much?

Too bad about losing the DVD, but NECC's website has free video clips showing many of the key skills that are detailed in the video. Below is a plan for an approx. 30-60 minute session (depends on number of catchers and water breaks etc). 3x/week max as they need to recover from the physical beating they will take during each session.

Make sure to start with a good dynamic warm up to get the blood flowing and muscles warmed up.

Stance first - practice both the runners-on and no runners-on stances to build leg stamina. Feet should be flat once out of sign giving stance. Make sure throwing hand is protected. Wall sits at home or during practice downtime/chalk talks.

A catcher's most frequently performed action is receiving the ball. Practice the A, B, and C receiving positions so that the catcher can give an umpire every opportunity to call a strike a strike. Pulling the ball back into the zone is a No-No. First, it forces the catcher to guess whether the umprire will call it a ball or strike, second it sends a message to the umpire that the catcher didn't think that this pitch was a strike so they moved it into the zone hoping it would be called a strike, and third it insults an umpire's intellegence by insinuating that they easily can be fooled by the catcher moving the glove. Work on receiving w/ the proper glove position, shifting/centering the body behind the glove, and sticking the pitch to give a good view to blue. You can't practice this enough. Short toss, live arm, pitching machine, catching a pitcher's lesson, etc... 10 reps each glove position, repeated 3-5 times. Start w/ announced pitch location and then mix it up as they progress.

When learning, the hardest thing about blocking is recognizing that a pitch will be too low to catch and needs to be blocked. So there's really 2 parts to blocking: 1) executing a block, and 2) recognizing when a block needs to be executed. Practice blocking technique "dry" (without a live ball), have the catcher practice recognizing pitches and calling out catch or block (but not actually blocking) - can progress from tennis balls to softies to regulation softballs. Do 25 recognitions, 5 quality dry blocks (w/ correction if necessary) each left, center, and right; 10 quality live recognition blocks (w/ 2-5 random non-bouncers to keep them honest and corrections as needed). Go back and focus on technique and recognition if the live blocks are sloppy.

Jumps from block position to feet without hand serves no purpose IMO. Either NECC or Chaz have a video clip showing the proper way to follow up the ball and get up after a block - it involves the hands and proper footwork to get into a good throwing position. Start down in block position w/ 5 balls fanned out across the plate/baters boxes and get up and into throwing position 1 at a time. Repeat 2-3 times.

Practice bunt coverages - banana route for RH throwers on balls toward 3B. Straighter route on balls toward P and straight route on bunts toward 1B. Make sure body and feet are in position to throw BEFORE ball is picked up. 5 reps each. Repeat 2-3 times.

Throwing - IMO the hardest skill to pick up from video. Practice the ball in glove to throwing position transfer - the transfer i.e., the glove turns, ball is taken out - happens out front. 10-15 times 2-3 reps. Throws no more than 5-10 to each base as the throw total/session can add up quickly and lead to over use. Note that with proper technique and sequence (i.e., footwork, hip coil, and use of the lower body) the throw should feel effortless - shoulder or elbow discomfort/pain is not normal and is indicative of flawed technique (or over use)! Bounced throws are preferred over rainbows. Throws are to the base so a fielder is good, but not necessary!

Passed ball retrieval is a fun practice filler - make sure they can do a basic slide first - with their shin pads on! Throws to the plate should be hard, overhand, about knee high - provide a glove/cone/or other target.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[guero_gordo]

She can polish her transfer skills while she watches TV, or any other idle time. You can improve security and speed "for free".

 

[MsDinosaur]

In the off season, the catchers should be doing wall sits to build up those leg muscles. That's something else that can easily fit into TV watching and/or other idle time.

 

[CCJR]

JR,

Check your PM's.

 

[coach james]

Very surprised to not see a recommendation for the New England Catchers Camp DVD....

 

[MountieSB]

What are the A, B, and C receiving positions? Thanks!

Mike

 

[Coach Fastpitch]

A - thumb pointing at 12
B - thumb pointing at 3
C - thumb points at 6

 

[Greenmonsters]

A - thumb pointing at 12
B - thumb pointing at 3
C - thumb points at 6

Yes, and the back of the glove ends up facing the pitcher with the fingers of the glove always closer to the center of the plate/strike zone than the thumb

 

[WB Coach]

Yes, and the back of the glove ends up facing the pitcher with the fingers of the glove always closer to the center of the plate/strike zone than the thumb

If the pitch is right down the middle and caught with the thumb at 3 does the back of the glove still need to turn to face the pitcher? Seems unnecessary but, then again, I'm extremely new to catching.