DD pitching out growing Dads catching abiliities

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Apr 21, 2010
10
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Thanks to all on this site for contributing helpful threads and spurring meaningful discussions. 15 YOD has been pitching for several years. With help from the forum we went back to the basics and corrected some poor mechanics which in retrospect had caused some of the arm and shoulder injurys over the years.

The past week DD has been able to relax her pitch and is seeing dramatic speed increases. As Dad and long time catcher I feel pretty wimpy and have vowed to purchase a catchers mitt for myself, and may just get some gear.

Very important for her and I to communicate which pitch she is throwing now as I have been caught off guard and paid the price. Just started to work on the riseball and she really loves it. It is still pretty wild but is faster than her fastball. I think it has confused her tendency to aim which tenses her up and drops off her speed. With the rise ball she just lets it rip. Kind of scarry catching for her "un-guarded".

Anyone else remember when they realized that DDs abilities are outpacing yours?
 
Apr 30, 2010
259
28
Artic Circle
I remember it vividly... about a month ago, pitch in the dirt, I wave at it and it goes right off my kneecap. Spend the next few minutes walking (Limping) to the left field fence and back swearing to myself. I checked the knee and could see the outline of the balls stitches in a quarter moon shape dead center. Get back on the bucket and daughter askes if i'm OK. I tell her that I am and were get back to it. Three pitches later we repeat the enitre incident (Went to right field fence this time).

I now wear shin guards each and every time I catch her. She teases me but tells me every time she hits me in the pads "It's a good thing your wearing those even though you look like a wimp".

Not wearing full catchers gear yet but it may be coming.;)
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
My DD was 15, and she was working on her drop ball. She threw it short, and it came up and caught my shin. I had a hematoma the size of a softball.

You will, sooner or later, get hit. Do you (and her) a favor and get a facemask, cup and some chin guards. At best, you will end up with a shiner. At worst, you'll end up with a broken nose. Why put you and her through that?
 
Oct 19, 2009
1,277
38
beyond the fences
When a drop skipped off the grass and my shin throbbed all night, I bought shin guards.
When I started snapping my head out of the way for late breaking curves, I started wearing
a mask. I have never taken one to the mask but have been hit in the shin guards only a handful
of times. Each hit reenforces why I wear gear. Go ahead, call me a wimp. There was a dad a couple years
ago with a chin that looked like he had a bad wine-stain at a game. In our conversation, he told me he was hit
in the chin with a pitch that glanced off his glove. It was the ugliest bruise I had ever seen, best part is,
he had gear in his car but thought it was too hot to wear the mask.

Buy a mask, if it is an umpire mask,
make sure the pads are leather not synthetic. Vinyl pads make the mask slide all over your face
 

halskinner

Banned
May 7, 2008
2,681
0
Definetly be fully geared when she strts learning the rise ball.

Had a college pitcher and her dad fly in from Australia some years back. We worked on the peel drop and the bent fingered rise for 2 days. Her drop beat the tar out of her dad and my shins and feet. I had no problem catching her rise, had seen then and caught them for years. Her dad had never seen one from the catcher's point of view. About the 3rd one she fired in jumped over his glove and nailed him smack dab in the middle of the chest. He quickly jumped up and we ran to him. About 20 seconds later, he started breathing again. Scared the crap out of me and his kid!

Nobody is really impressed with the Dad that wears no gear while catching their 62mph daughter. As soon as he takes one in the jewels, off the face, in the throat or wherever,,, and goes to the hospital,,, THEN they are really impressed with him. The impression they get,,, what an idiot!
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I wear a GameFace and shin guards. The only thing that my kids ever broke on me, were a toe and a finger, though.

I run into girls that won't throw very hard to the parent, because the parent can't catch.
 
I played catcher (baseball) growing up, and played slow-pitch softball for 17 years, so I'm comfortable with a glove.

I started wearing shin guards and a mask (and usually a cup, if I don't forget) when my DD was about 13 1/2 (she just turned 15). You can still tell where she hit me on the inner shin a couple years ago ("Dad, it was just a changeup, quit being a baby").

One of the side affects of playing catcher growing up (along with football, basketball, etc.) is that I can't squat to catch her (for more than a few minutes), so I have to sit on a bucket. She doesn't have much of a rise ball, but her drop can be pretty good...I usually just get out of the way of those and let them hit the net behind me :)

BTW....is there anything in the world more poorly named than a "soft"ball?
 
Mar 15, 2010
544
0
Monday, April 5th around 4:35 PM PT. That was the day I had to bail off the bucket in front of 50+ players, coaches and parents at practice when DD's PC told her to throw a change up, rise, change up and she messed up the order. Setup for low for the CU and instead got a rise coming at the head. After that I wear my old style baseball face mask and shin guards. Got to remember to start wearing the cup.
 

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