Catching drills needed

[Coach Fastpitch]

Yes, you catch "around" the ball

 

[guero_gordo]

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.

Thumb direction without pictures can be a bit misleading because nobody catches with their thumb straight up, to me it's 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 unless I'm hitchhiking. The idea is to have a nice clean line with the back of your hand parallel to the nearest edge of the zone. A picture is worth a thousand words, or about $40 on DVD.

It's an important habit to always use one of the 3 receiving positions, and you can stretch the zone too. The meatball has to be something, so usually a B if you're lucky enough to have it get to her glove instead of a windshield.

 

[Softballcoach]

A catcher should only have to catch the ball at 3 and 12. Never 6. The thumb should always be inside the plate. Never outside.

 

[Eric F]

A catcher should only have to catch the ball at 3 and 12. Never 6. The thumb should always be inside the plate. Never outside.

What glove position do you teach for a pitch to the right side of the catcher's body? It seems to me that the 6 position (thumb pointing down) is the only thing that makes sense.

 

[Greenmonsters]

A catcher should only have to catch the ball at 3 and 12. Never 6. The thumb should always be inside the plate. Never outside.

Not if you know your ABCs of receiving.

 

[chazbz1]

While there are varying opinions on hand position, we always want our catchers to wrap their hand around the pitched ball as they receive it. The ball will be "inboard" of the thumb.... Mackenzie was working on her receiving for a drills video and I took a couple of stills from the video. Here's what I'm referring too...



The only exception is with a pitch at the ankles. Never roll your mitt over unless you plan to block. Otherwise keep your glove level and stick the pitch. Getting those strikes at the ankles really gets to the batters!

 

[Greenmonsters]

While there are varying opinions on hand position, we always want our catchers to wrap their hand around the pitched ball as they receive it. The ball will be "inboard" of the thumb.... Mackenzie was working on her receiving for a drills video and I took a couple of stills from the video. Here's what I'm referring too...

View attachment 4919 View attachment 4920

The only exception is with a pitch at the ankles. Never roll your mitt over unless you plan to block. Otherwise keep your glove level and stick the pitch. Getting those strikes at the ankles really gets to the batters!

View attachment 4921

Chaz - you'd better flip your video images because old school coaches won't take your video seriously with a lefty catching! LOL