Throwing hand

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Apr 16, 2013
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My DD's hand is behind her leg when no runners are on. A mix of NECC and a camp with the JMU coach have her hand 100% behind her glove in a fist whenever a runner is on. I like the idea of a string to hold onto. Might help keep that hand safe when reaching.
 

NBECoach

Learning everyday
Aug 9, 2018
408
63
So is the idea is to leave the hand behind the glove the whole time, and not pull it closer to the body to receive the pitch?


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Right. The glove hand moves to receive the ball with the throwing hand grasping the leather strap behind the webbing. If the pitch is way off target or wild then the glove goes after the ball and the throwing hand releases from the strap so that the ball can be caught. A side benefit is it's effective when pitches are in the dirt as both hands are immediately there to block the ball.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Right. The glove hand moves to receive the ball with the throwing hand grasping the leather strap behind the webbing. If the pitch is way off target or wild then the glove goes after the ball and the throwing hand releases from the strap so that the ball can be caught. A side benefit is it's effective when pitches are in the dirt as both hands are immediately there to block the ball.

When receiving pitches where the hands have to separate due to reaching, where does the throwing hand go?
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
When receiving pitches where the hands have to separate due to reaching, where does the throwing hand go?

This is my problem - at 40-something years old, I just can’t re-train my body to move my glove one way and my TH back to my chest, and STILL catch the ball.

I expect this to be much less of an issue for my daughter and others who are still early in the learning process, and don’t have the same ingrained movement patterns.


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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
This is my problem - at 40-something years old, I just can’t re-train my body to move my glove one way and my TH back to my chest, and STILL catch the ball.

I expect this to be much less of an issue for my daughter and others who are still early in the learning process, and don’t have the same ingrained movement patterns.


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I get that. Learning new muscle memory is hard for us old dogs. For my DD, the move of pulling her hand back to her chest when receiving in a RO situation is something that she worked on a lot. This is something that can be practiced while barehand catching tennis balls (or foam ball, rolled up socks, etc) indoors.
 

NBECoach

Learning everyday
Aug 9, 2018
408
63
When receiving pitches where the hands have to separate due to reaching, where does the throwing hand go?

The TH is exposed when reaching. However, the only case where that could be an issue is when the pitch is called to be way off the plate but is delivered in a hitable area. It is usually the opposite case (hitable pitch delivered off the plate) and the batter takes the pitch or cannot make contact due to location making the separation a mute point.

Depending upon the reach of your catcher she should be able to catch pitches at least 1-2 ball diameters off the plate to the glove side and 2-3 ball diameters off the plate to the TH side without hand separation. Any pitch further out/in is usually not swung at or hit.

This does not work for every catcher, but is something we tried that worked well for one of ours who was also a hockey goalie during the winter which may have had something to do with it.
 
May 23, 2015
999
63
There's no way for your hand to track behind the glove at all time regardless of how many times you try to convince yourself. MAYBE on a very very slow pitch or in a controlled environment. Anyone that has ever caught at a high level will tell you the exact same thing. That's why you have to be tough as a catcher. You're going to get hurt, but you enjoy it. That's why no one wants to play it at a high level. It's the toughest position to play in all of sports. Nothing compares.

Maldonado is an incredible catcher. Only in a chatroom would a top tier player be questioned about his technique and be found to be wrong based on a slo mo clip oer a .005 second snap shot. The MLB is filled with the best catchers on the planet. Period. If you play catcher and you want to emulate someone it's a major league catcher.

Erik having your hand placed against your chest gear will cause more hand injury than if the hand were in space. Also it will increase the likelihood of getting hit because it's a further distance from the batter and it can also eat a ricochet. But then again what do I know
 

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