Falling Forward

[JaySpeediii]

For blocking, I teach my kids the NECC way as I believe it is the best way to block. I've never taught my 10U DD the falling forward method but I find her doing it while whenever we practice - she knows it's incorrect but sometimes cant help herself. I don't want her to develop bad habits but sometimes it comes down to falling forward or not blocking at all.

I follow many catching instructors (baseball and softball) in social media and noticed that many teach falling forward vs replacing the feet w/ knees. Has the standard changed? I don't want to continue nagging at my kid if falling forward is a viable option. Is it advisable to allow the falling forward for now and then address it when she is a bit older and has a bit more confidence behind the plate?

Or are both good options (depending on pitch) as described in this video (starts 2 minute mark).

 

[Towny9]

At her age if she is willing to block the ball I would let her go with whatever (safe) method she instinctively goes with. A lot of blocking is intent. If she is willing to throw herself in front of the ball and get her knees in the dirt, just praise the effort. Sounds like she’s already on the right track.

 

[Rolling Hard]

"teach falling forward vs replacing the feet w/ knees."
I always thought the donkey kick was a waste of time and energy. Falling forward and picking the ball are both acceptable.

 

[JaySpeediii]

@Towny9 and @Rolling Hard. Thank you both for your input.

 

[Travis Lassiter]

My DD’s catching coach as well as several college camps she’s been to teach falling forward rather than replacing.

 

[radness]

There are times when a catcher would purposely want to move either straight down, to the sides or slightly forward to field or block a pitch in the dirt.

Our posture on the dirt
is most relevant to mechanics/performance!!!
Because with Runners on we still have the responsibility of holding runners. And we need to consider what our posture is when we're on the dirt transitioning into that next mechanical play.

*Some catchers are taught to kick their feet backwards and their body actually moves backwards and they are actually moving their entire weight backwards.
Disagree with doing that.
*Some catchers are taught to fall forward, while their knees may go forward their weight still stays back.
Disagree with that also.
* keeping weight back tushie/torso takes away from mobility.

Prefer keeping my weight
balanced & strong in the play.
Either to field or block on dirt pitch.

Exchanging feet and knees is extremely efficient and can continue to keep our body in a ready position without having to alter and change so much of what our body is doing while still remain useful in its purpose of mechanics. Additionally using the glove working immediately with the body being behind it.

At the beginning of this video can see some simple drills the catchers are doing.
1.Trust glove in place.
2.Trust glove in motion.
3rd drill at .50 seconds in...
is Exchanging Feet and Knees.
Can see how the posture of the body from knees up Remains the Same actually enabling the catcher to either frame or field a low pitch if need be.
Strong and balanced!

 

[YOCOACH]

Pros V Cons:

The object of dropping and blocking is to smother the ball and ideally, keep it within a two foot radius of the plate once complete. The issue with falling forward is twofold. 1) The catcher has to anticipate where the ball is going earlier because falling forward actually takes longer than if they just replaced their feet with their knees. They may not be in the right place to actually block due to this or may not need to block at all thus putting them at a disadvantage on a steal. 2) Because of the earlier decision making necessary, if the actual block is mistimed and late, the catcher will add impetus to the ball knocking it out of the 2 foot radius and making it more like 4 or more. This may not seem like a big deal until you have a runner on third stealing home on a WP and your catcher has to get up, retrieve the ball and get back to HP in time for the tag. Pretty similar reasoning as to why the "W" finish position on a block is no longer considered a good position to be in. It keeps the torso more upright and allows the ball to travel further after contact. If Jay Weaver thought this was an acceptable alternative to replacing the knees, he'd be teaching it and update his camp instruction at the least. Due to his constant study of the position and thanks to his father doing the same before him, I would venture to say Jay is a handful of true authorities on the position and is not afraid to admit there are better ways than what he is currently teaching. He constantly updates his instruction based on what he continues to learn. That said, sometimes not every technique or mechanic is right for every player.

The advantage of falling forward is that it adds impetus to the throwdown from the knees so there's that going for it.

 

[radness]

There is also the consideration of where to put the glove.

Some move their glove backwards away from incoming pitch.
Some put glove between legs.
Disagree with those. Because ball travels farther back and limits glove range trapped between legs.

Prefer turning glove immediately to cut off the pitch!
Just in front of knees
Under chest.
For glove mobility and range.

Comment on glove mobility and range because the trajectory of pitches in softball are more parallel to the ground
(=less high bouncing dirt pitches)
the ball tends to skim and karam the direction of the spin.
Away from the plate.
(Exception of drops tend to chip up staight)

Change ups with really good spin can tend to wreak havoc on dirt pitches that will deflect different directions. Really like to cut those off with my glove like a Fielder would cut off the ball on a grounder.
Dont wait to get hit/block pitches we can handle!

 

[JaySpeediii]

One area I am struggling with is when to block and when to receive a low pitch. We’ve worked a lot on receiving low pitches from the primary stance and she’s able to receive pitches just barely off the ground by keeping a low glove position. We also work on simply fielding super low pitches that short hop into the glove.

So does the blocking vs fielding decision come down to where the pitch hits the dirt? In front of plate vs behind the plate? I am only referring to pitches right over the plate.

 

[Towny9]

One area I am struggling with is when to block and when to receive a low pitch. We’ve worked a lot on receiving low pitches from the primary stance and she’s able to receive pitches just barely off the ground by keeping a low glove position. We also work on simply fielding super low pitches that short hop into the glove.

So does the blocking vs fielding decision come down to where the pitch hits the dirt? In front of plate vs behind the plate? I am only referring to pitches right over the plate.

At the young ages I would encourage her to block everything in the dirt with runners on. As she gets older you can teach her when to pick balls and even to block, but if you try to teach her the difference now I feel like she will try to pick mostly. At the young ages pitchers aren’t as good and bald tend to go everywhere. As pitchers get older and better, the balls tend to go more where you expect them. I would rather have a young catcher who blocks and I can train to pick when needed then the other way around.