New to catching - advice on gear needed

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Jul 16, 2019
51
8
Would like to stay around $150. May end up taking chance on the All-Star 3001. I don’t have much confidence that she will be able to handle or break in a 33-1/2” mitt though.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
At 10U unless you have some flame throwers you can catch with a normal mitt. I wouldn't go out and spend 500 on gear unless you are sure she likes it. My DD never liked Catchers mitt and even at 16U played with her regular mitt(not that I would recommend that).
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
if she is uncertain about catching going forward, I would definitely stay to the lower end. virtually all the manufacturers make a left hand throw.

and even the mizuno prospect is a 32.5. generally, you will not find a fastpitch mitt any smaller than that, and honestly I doubt the mizono prospects's ability to handle a 12 inch ball (that and padding made it imperative to get another mitt, but the prospect was good for a spring of rec, a fall of travel, and half a spring of travel all at 10u, but then pitchers just got too fast).

if you are still doing 11", go with something like mizuno prospect and an inner glove ( there will be room), easier on wallet, pretty much broken in, but do not expect them to last more than a year or so. but that will probably be enough time to see if she really likes catching or not.
 
Jul 16, 2019
51
8
At 10U unless you have some flame throwers you can catch with a normal mitt. I wouldn't go out and spend 500 on gear unless you are sure she likes it. My DD never liked Catchers mitt and even at 16U played with her regular mitt(not that I would recommend that).
She loves the catchers position so far and she has wanted to play there for about a year. I’m not strongly in favor of it, but also support whichever she likes. It just so happened that out team needed a catcher and tried her and a few others that can throw to 2nd.

We don’t have any flamethrowers as of now, I really only considered a catchers mitt over a 1B is because of foul tips. I see a lot of kids with their fielding gloves, but I’m a little scared of that. Our area doesn’t have much of a glove selection, but looking online, the smaller catchers mitts don’t look to have any more padding than the 1B. However, that’s from looking at pictures, so I may be 100% wrong.
 
Jul 16, 2019
51
8
if she is uncertain about catching going forward, I would definitely stay to the lower end. virtually all the manufacturers make a left hand throw.

and even the mizuno prospect is a 32.5. generally, you will not find a fastpitch mitt any smaller than that, and honestly I doubt the mizono prospects's ability to handle a 12 inch ball (that and padding made it imperative to get another mitt, but the prospect was good for a spring of rec, a fall of travel, and half a spring of travel all at 10u, but then pitchers just got too fast).

if you are still doing 11", go with something like mizuno prospect and an inner glove ( there will be room), easier on wallet, pretty much broken in, but do not expect them to last more than a year or so. but that will probably be enough time to see if she really likes catching or not.
A lot of the youth gloves are 31-1/2, but I think it is small. I’ve been considering 32-1/2-33, but most of them don’t give me the option of left hand throw.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Would like to stay around $150. May end up taking chance on the All-Star 3001. I don’t have much confidence that she will be able to handle or break in a 33-1/2” mitt though.

You will need to assist in the break-in process, for sure. If it's anything like the 3000 (it probably is), it will be very stiff out of the box. For newbie catchers, this can become a mental block. Size-wise, unless she's on the smaller side, she should be able to handle it okay. All-Star mitts tend to be on the lighter side for their size.

Being that you're just stepping in to see if she likes the position, I would lean hard towards cheaper, smaller, and easier to use from the start. Once she gets hooked on the flavor of the magical dirt behind the plate, and shows a commitment to doing the work it takes to get better at playing the position, then it's time to consider upgrading gear as the cheaper stuff wears out (IMO, YMMV).
 
Feb 19, 2016
280
28
Texas
For the first year and a half of 10u my daughter used an Easton Synergy 33" catchers mitt that we got during 8u. It was really soft, and it really didn't seem to have a very good pocket, but she liked it. Some of our pitchers threw so slowly that even in the second year of 10u she still used the Easton for them, and would switch to the All-Star for the bracket pitcher. Now that she's 12u, we have a 5'10" tall girl that can pop that All-Star mitt.

I actually got the All-Star 3000 on a killer sale during black Friday, and spent a year and a half on and off breaking it in for her. I'd catch all the team pitchers on my rec team, and my son who was learning to pitch. If DD were going to pitch, I'd get myself another just like it.

The All-Star 33.5" is 2 ounces heavier than the Easton 33". The Mizuno's I've held seam a little heavier, but I haven't weighed them. If she's just starting out, I'd be tempted to get a Mizuno to start, and buy a better one to start breaking in for when the Miz quits.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
For the first year and a half of 10u my daughter used an Easton Synergy 33" catchers mitt that we got during 8u. It was really soft, and it really didn't seem to have a very good pocket, but she liked it. Some of our pitchers threw so slowly that even in the second year of 10u she still used the Easton for them, and would switch to the All-Star for the bracket pitcher. Now that she's 12u, we have a 5'10" tall girl that can pop that All-Star mitt.

I actually got the All-Star 3000 on a killer sale during black Friday, and spent a year and a half on and off breaking it in for her. I'd catch all the team pitchers on my rec team, and my son who was learning to pitch. If DD were going to pitch, I'd get myself another just like it.

The All-Star 33.5" is 2 ounces heavier than the Easton 33". The Mizuno's I've held seam a little heavier, but I haven't weighed them. If she's just starting out, I'd be tempted to get a Mizuno to start, and buy a better one to start breaking in for when the Miz quits.

did the finger stalls get stretched at all? I ask because I made a veryo concious effort to NOT put my hand in her mitt (or at least all the way in), and I tell her not to let anyone else use it, I want it molded to her hand as much as possible.
 
Feb 19, 2016
280
28
Texas
I couldn't actually say. I don't want to make a statement that's glove blaspheme, I can only speak from my experience.
My fingers aren't huge, and I was using the glove, so it's not like she got a real "before" feel for it. Most gloves are big on her skinny hands anyway.

When I went to the nokona factory, I saw this guy whose job it was to turn the glove right side out when they were done sewing it together. He used these large heated metal rods to push the fingers right side out. They were nearly the size of the finished glove finger, so I've always wondered what putting my hand in a glove could really affect. I figure if I'm creating much of a wear pattern by using it over time, her sweat and hard work have probably reshaped the glove to her fingers. I've broken in all the gloves at our house so far, for my twins, including 5 catcher's mitts. No one's complaining, but maybe they just don't know the difference.

This is the guy...
Nokona factory.jpg
 

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