Been an interesting few weeks... after working a lot of HS, some college and some HS travel, I helped out locally on on some 10U/12/14U games the last couple of weekends.
So... first, piece of advice for those younger catchers. Get with the https://www.catchingcamp.com or similar to learn to properly catch. Not only will you make a better catcher, but a lot of the below gets addressed.
First.. some things that WILL help you out.
1) Introduce yourself to the umpire. Say Hello. Shake their hand. The good umpires will talk to you as needed through the game.
2) Good umpires wont tell a coach where a pitch was when asked, but they may tell you. And they are telling you so you can tell the coach... So when the umpire tells you it is inside and it WAS inside you tell your coach "It was inside"... if you disagree you can tell your coach 'They said it was inside' . But you still say it was inside. Great catchers will answer their coaches asking an umpire for location before the umpire even says anything if it was clearly a ball
3) if your coach asks YOU where it was "I am not sure" is fine - so is "it was close" but if it was clearly inside, say "It was inside". Even if you think it was a strike and they missed it - don't say "It was a strike".
4) Block on wild pitches with no one on. Not because coach is yelling at you to - after all there is no one on so no one is going anywhere - but because you are stopping the ball from possibly hitting the umpire.
Technique:
1) DON'T Set up in the RIVER for an INSIDE PITCH. You have a choice on how you set up - the umpire really doesn't. We set up in the inside slot. If you are also in the slot you are blocking my view of the strike zone. That means NO CALLED INSIDE STRIKES and probably less close outside strikes because I CAN'T SEE THE ZONE BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE WAY. I will do my best to adjust - but at best I have an angle that is not ideal or normal. If I don't see the ball catch the plate because you are in the way, it is going to be a ball.
2) Don't set up WAY outside and ever expect a strike call. You have exposed the umpire DIRECTLY to the pitcher and that is not fun - frankly the person I am most relying on to protect me has abandoned me. I don't have a glove. I can't catch the ball. I am also taught to stay in there to make the strike/ball call so dodging a pitch is not my normal reaction. Also many of these pitchers are wild, so while it is nice that your coach called for an outside pitch, they miss a lot. And doing this is bad technique anyway.
3) When you yank the ball into the zone because some coach calls it 'framing', don't act all surprised when the umpire calls it a ball. You know what you did.
A good umpire will NOT talk to you or you coach about your technique during the game. They are not a coach. I will talk to a coach after the game about it. "Love your catcher, but if she sets up in the river and blocks my view, you are not going to get inside strike calls."
So... first, piece of advice for those younger catchers. Get with the https://www.catchingcamp.com or similar to learn to properly catch. Not only will you make a better catcher, but a lot of the below gets addressed.
First.. some things that WILL help you out.
1) Introduce yourself to the umpire. Say Hello. Shake their hand. The good umpires will talk to you as needed through the game.
2) Good umpires wont tell a coach where a pitch was when asked, but they may tell you. And they are telling you so you can tell the coach... So when the umpire tells you it is inside and it WAS inside you tell your coach "It was inside"... if you disagree you can tell your coach 'They said it was inside' . But you still say it was inside. Great catchers will answer their coaches asking an umpire for location before the umpire even says anything if it was clearly a ball
3) if your coach asks YOU where it was "I am not sure" is fine - so is "it was close" but if it was clearly inside, say "It was inside". Even if you think it was a strike and they missed it - don't say "It was a strike".
4) Block on wild pitches with no one on. Not because coach is yelling at you to - after all there is no one on so no one is going anywhere - but because you are stopping the ball from possibly hitting the umpire.
Technique:
1) DON'T Set up in the RIVER for an INSIDE PITCH. You have a choice on how you set up - the umpire really doesn't. We set up in the inside slot. If you are also in the slot you are blocking my view of the strike zone. That means NO CALLED INSIDE STRIKES and probably less close outside strikes because I CAN'T SEE THE ZONE BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE WAY. I will do my best to adjust - but at best I have an angle that is not ideal or normal. If I don't see the ball catch the plate because you are in the way, it is going to be a ball.
2) Don't set up WAY outside and ever expect a strike call. You have exposed the umpire DIRECTLY to the pitcher and that is not fun - frankly the person I am most relying on to protect me has abandoned me. I don't have a glove. I can't catch the ball. I am also taught to stay in there to make the strike/ball call so dodging a pitch is not my normal reaction. Also many of these pitchers are wild, so while it is nice that your coach called for an outside pitch, they miss a lot. And doing this is bad technique anyway.
3) When you yank the ball into the zone because some coach calls it 'framing', don't act all surprised when the umpire calls it a ball. You know what you did.
A good umpire will NOT talk to you or you coach about your technique during the game. They are not a coach. I will talk to a coach after the game about it. "Love your catcher, but if she sets up in the river and blocks my view, you are not going to get inside strike calls."
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