proper arm angles/mitt placement

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May 6, 2015
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had a coach the other night working with one of the other catchers on DDs team, having her hold her mitt arm straight out basically, almost like a handshake. questioned him on it, coach said it was to start off in good framing position.

DD was taught elbow bent, and AC on previous even wanted her pretty relaxed, with mitt between knees. reasoning was, on low pitch, easier to snag and not have glove go to ground if it has less distance to travel to get to pitch, thus maybe helping preserve a strike on something low in the zone, drop, etc., and then react to pitch.

reactions / thoughts?
 
May 7, 2015
842
93
SoCal
To me, this is the one area where a catcher should put their individual style into the setup. I've never heard of having the catcher hold their arm straight out.

My DD gives the sign aligned straight down the middle. After the sign is given and the pitcher is in her nod and contemplation phase, DD will hold only her glove at the desired pitch location. *Right* before the pitcher starts her movement, DD will then move laterally to center up the pitch location with her body midline while keeping the glove stationary and in the right position. All of this is personal style on what your coach wants (don't move into location too soon and give away location) and what your pitcher prefers. Some pitchers don't want / need to see the glove at all, they'll focus on shoulder or knee on the catcher.

Regarding techniques, yes drop's / low fastballs should be received as far out front as possible. Opposite for high fastballs coming back into the zone.

To me, framing is 50 / 50 hand work and body positioning. Couple of weeks ago, catching coach used small tethers (~14" long) that connected the catchers mast to the heel of the glove. It was interesting to see how good it looked when catchers who struggle on framing looked receiving thrown balls when their face is 14" away from the ball. Weird but emphasized good movement
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
At the 10U level, I'm finding it hard to convince some girls to not have their glove right in front of the their chest. Or they tuck their elbow in and keep it above their thighs.

I can't see any benefit to the arm being straight - but maybe I'm picturing it as "locked out", vs. just extended. For now, my preference is for them to get their elbow in front of their knees. To do this, they'll need to hinge their hips a little bit, and definitely not be squatting with their back straight up. When their elbow is in front of the knees, they have much more freedom of movement, especially side-to-side.

Did the previous AC want glove b/w knees (literally?), or just b/w, but in front of, knees?
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
At the 10U level, I'm finding it hard to convince some girls to not have their glove right in front of the their chest. Or they tuck their elbow in and keep it above their thighs.

I can't see any benefit to the arm being straight - but maybe I'm picturing it as "locked out", vs. just extended.

it was definitely locked out, almost like they were pointing at pitchers right knee
For now, my preference is for them to get their elbow in front of their knees. To do this, they'll need to hinge their hips a little bit, and definitely not be squatting with their back straight up. When their elbow is in front of the knees, they have much more freedom of movement, especially side-to-side.

Did the previous AC want glove b/w knees (literally?), or just b/w, but in front of, knees?

I guess kinda of in front as well, not really between knees , but about that height, rather than held in front of chest (DD does not really do this, though I think it would be beneficial)
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
At the 10U level, I'm finding it hard to convince some girls to not have their glove right in front of the their chest. Or they tuck their elbow in and keep it above their thighs.

I can't see any benefit to the arm being straight - but maybe I'm picturing it as "locked out", vs. just extended. For now, my preference is for them to get their elbow in front of their knees. To do this, they'll need to hinge their hips a little bit, and definitely not be squatting with their back straight up. When their elbow is in front of the knees, they have much more freedom of movement, especially side-to-side.

Ahead of the knees with some bend in the arm is good. Arm locked out or mitt against the chest are equally bad.

Regarding techniques, yes drop's / low fastballs should be received as far out front as possible. Opposite for high fastballs coming back into the zone.

A lot of catchers are taught to push the thumb under and forward, and extend the arm on low/drop pitches. The idea being to push the ball up to keep it looking like a strike. However, I've found that it's difficult to do effectively for a lot of girls, especially for younger/smaller catchers. They usually aren't strong enough to stick the location firmly with that approach, and lose a lot of close calls. My DD's catching instructor teaches the opposite - roll the thumb under and back with a softer arm, pulling the ball up and in (towards the body), rather than pushing it up and out. For my DD, this has proven to be very effective for her in keeping strikes looking like strikes.

EDIT: Here's and example - Pitch #2 of this sequence...
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
exactly, but if the mitt starts out chest h igh, very hard to push down to receive pitch then aqueeze and reverse momentummof glove to come up.
 

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