How to strengthen a catchers arm

[Proudmumof2]

My daughter is a very small 10 year old, very petite but super athletic. She is currently playing on a 12u team.

Sometimes I worry about her arms when she is catching as some of the older girls pitch super fast and super hard. Are there any arm strengthening exercises she can do to strengthen her arms? She is currently catching for girls ages 11-13.
Thanks!

 

[Josh Greer]

Go to JaegerSports.com. Look at the JBands. But read as much as you can about long toss. Arm health combined with pushing the arm as far as it can go on a regular basis is what develops the arm. I personally think very highly of their products and program.

 

[Addy's Dad]

One thing my DD enjoys is throwing footballs. I definitely feel that this has really improved her arm strength for throw downs to second.
Work your way up in distance as she gets stronger. My DD can now drill me with a football from 70-80' (probably better arm than me now).
It gives us something other than softball drills and she could play catch with the football all day.

Also because the football is larger and harder to hold on to it forces her to throw from the ear and not make a big arm circle.

 

[Eric F]

My daughter is a very small 10 year old, very petite but super athletic. She is currently playing on a 12u team.

Sometimes I worry about her arms when she is catching as some of the older girls pitch super fast and super hard. Are there any arm strengthening exercises she can do to strengthen her arms? She is currently catching for girls ages 11-13.
Thanks!

It sounds like you are asking about arm strength for receiving, rather than throwing. Is that correct?

Generally speaking, regular upper-body and arm exercises (push-ups, curls, shoulder press, etc.) will be helpful in building core, shoulder, and arm strength that will help to keep strikes looking like strikes.

 

[Addy's Dad]

It sounds like you are asking about arm strength for receiving, rather than throwing. Is that correct?

Generally speaking, regular upper-body and arm exercises (push-ups, curls, shoulder press, etc.) will be helpful in building core, shoulder, and arm strength that will help to keep strikes looking like strikes.

I missread the OP. Agree with Eric, lots of pushups.

 

[Rambler34]

Our middle school girls got moved up to the HS for conditioning over Christmas break an they will play JV instead of MS ball for higher competition. They have been working on arm strength as much as anything. They did light squats ( I believe my DD did 55lbs ), pull ups, chin ups, shoulder presses with dumbbells, and lunges with weights. The shoulders and core strength is important but the legs also add alot to the total package.

 

[murphdog]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to consult a personal trainer before starting any significant routine just so she doesn't injure herself.

DD has been seeing a personal trainer once a week for the past year and added a second session during her off-season (between HS soccer and HS softball). The difference in her all over body strength is amazing and she's a pretty small built kid

 

[Ken Krause]

Something else you can try that might be fun for her as well is to enroll her in a tumbling class. Tumbling builds core as well as extremity strength as well as improving balance. It's a natural approach too since you're basically using body weight to build strength.

Every cheerleader or gymnast I've worked with has been stronger than her size would indicate. The only downside is the risk of injury, but if you don't pursue it at too high a level it should be fine.

 

[Eric F]

Every cheerleader or gymnast I've worked with has been stronger than her size would indicate.

Agreed. At 14yo, my older DD gave up softball for cheer. Her body went from being a little soft around the edges to lean and ripped in a very short time.

 

[Josh Greer]

Wow... I misread as well. Sorry. One thing that might help is to find a lighter mitt. With my son, once he switched to a pro mesh glove (one with mesh backing instead of leather) he was able to stick more pitches because of the weight reduction. My softball catcher never had this issue, so I'm not sure if this kind of mitt is available for softball.