Throwing the mask off

[riseball]

If you want to excel you have 3 options:

1) Do what you believe will lead to a high level of success.

2) Do what others tell you will lead to a high level of success.

3) Do what others who are highly successful actually do.

I challenge you to provide an example of one highly successful catcher who at times does not chuck the mask during a play. Chucking the mask or leaving it on is not an absolute, it is a style. As your DD gets older she will start catching pitchers with a high level of spin (>30rps) and will be faced with pop ups where she can eat a sammich while waiting for it to return to earth. On its way down the ball will move all over the place. That is only one example where she might be better chucking the mask than leaving it on. Again it is a matter of style.

 

[flipper14]

So if Jarnicki throws her mask away and still misses it and it hits her in the face and she can no longer play, should she have still taken off the mask?

As someone mentioned early, by bigger issue is why is she even catching the ball where she did anyway? I'd have to go back and look at the video but that should be caught be a corner infielder if it's as high as I remember it being.

 

[Lenski]

So if Jarnicki throws her mask away and still misses it and it hits her in the face and she can no longer play, should she have still taken off the mask?

As someone mentioned early, by bigger issue is why is she even catching the ball where she did anyway? I'd have to go back and look at the video but that should be caught be a corner infielder if it's as high as I remember it being.

Why do you think it would hit her in the face? Are you not confident in her skills? We're talking a straight-up high pop up. A much tougher pop up was in the Georgia/Florida St. game. Check out bottom of the 2nd inning with 2 outs. Mask off, total confidence, no problem.

 

[obbay]

Ok, I just finished my first bag of popcorn, so I'll post again.
When Dave Weaver was teaching DD he did not unequivocally say never to take the mask off, but he provided strong evidence to keeping it on, leaving the ultimate decision with the player. a catcher friend of hers who was also seeing Dave for lessons at the time was being harassed by an old-school coach about taking her mask off. Dave let her tell the coach that he said it was ok, to which the coach just laughed and said ok. She had bested him by taking the question to the coach HE had recommended!

To me it's wasted effort, but to each his own .

 

[Eric F]

Only Jelenicki knows what truly happened.


I see a botched pop up due to mistakes. Being right under the ball is problematic. You don't want to be under the ball like that. She was not tracking it properly the whole way. She had to take a step back and reach across her body in order for the ball to make contact with her mitt. She had time to position herself properly to catch the pop up, but she was confused and stepped in, then to her left, then reached across and way above the right side of her body. She was not confident; she was confused and unsure. This was not a fluke.

You make some valid points that her positioning could have been better. Spinning balls are well-known to have a curving trajectory, which commonly requires last-second adjustments on catches. Could she have done it better? Sure. Was she terribly out of position? Nope. Put her in those exact conditions again, and I'm putting my money on her making the next 10 catches in a row.

This statement is what most here do not, or refuse to comprehend. They live by the teachings of the NECC DVD, which I am sure is an excellent catching resource, and many here have stated that NECC endorses keeping the mask on in all situations. Since they consider the NECC DVD the bible of catching, it must be gospel.

Nope. This is a bull$#!+ generalization. Yes, I think very highly of the NECC DVD instruction. I also agree with many other DFP'ers that it's the best single instructional resource I have come across, and their information was the foundation for my DD's development at the beginning of her journey as a catcher. I also recommend NECC's teachings frequently because - as I said - I believe they get more right than any other single source. That said, I have also learned quite a bit from other catching instructors including Jen Schro, Chaz Wood, Xan Barksdale, and a variety of others from the magical intarwebz and real life. After weighing the pros and cons of the mask issue, the conclusion I came to was that leaving it on is the best course of action for my DD and the other catchers I instruct. This isn't just "because NECC said so".

 

[Lenski]

You make some valid points that her positioning could have been better. Spinning balls are well-known to have a curving trajectory, which commonly requires last-second adjustments on catches. Could she have done it better? Sure. Was she terribly out of position? Nope. Put her in those exact conditions again, and I'm putting my money on her making the next 10 catches in a row.



Nope. This is a bull$#!+ generalization. Yes, I think very highly of the NECC DVD instruction. I also agree with many other DFP'ers that it's the best single instructional resource I have come across, and their information was the foundation for my DD's development at the beginning of her journey as a catcher. I also recommend NECC's teachings frequently because - as I said - I believe they get more right than any other single source. That said, I have also learned quite a bit from other catching instructors including Jen Schro, Chaz Wood, Xan Barksdale, and a variety of others from the magical intarwebz and real life. After weighing the pros and cons of the mask issue, the conclusion I came to was that leaving it on is the best course of action for my DD and the other catchers I instruct. This isn't just "because NECC said so".

Anytime people on here disagree with anything I have to say concerning catching, they use NECC as their source if they provide a source. It has never been a source from Jen Schro, Chaz Wood, Xan Barksdale, etc. It's always been NECC so it is NOT a bull$#!+ generalization. If you don't believe me Eric, check the archives.

 

[Lenski]

Ok, I just finished my first bag of popcorn, so I'll post again.
When Dave Weaver was teaching DD he did not unequivocally say never to take the mask off, but he provided strong evidence to keeping it on, leaving the ultimate decision with the player. a catcher friend of hers who was also seeing Dave for lessons at the time was being harassed by an old-school coach about taking her mask off. Dave let her tell the coach that he said it was ok, to which the coach just laughed and said ok. She had bested him by taking the question to the coach HE had recommended!

To me it's wasted effort, but to each his own .

I'll tell you what the strong evidence was. The evidence was that Dave saw very young kids and kids catching that had no business catching. I would tell these kids to keep their mask on too.....or find another position to play.


The above was typed in jest.......I have no idea what Dave's strong evidence was. However, you have to admit that there is a slight ring of truth to my jest.

 

[Eric F]

Anytime people on here disagree with anything I have to say concerning catching, they use NECC as their source if they provide a source. It has never been a source from Jen Schro, Chaz Wood, Xan Barksdale, etc. It's always been NECC so it is NOT a bull$#!+ generalization. If you don't believe me Eric, check the archives.

It seems to me that you're making a pretty big generalization based on the actions of just a few (if that).

You've probably said it somewhere, but I don't recall specifically...Have you seen the NECC DVD for yourself? If you have, and you don't agree with it, cool. No worries. I'd actually be curious to hear your reasoning behind any other issues you may have with their instruction. Not to challenge you, but to challenge my own beliefs.

 

[Lobster Birch]

As a Seattleite, and a Washington fan, I'm finding DL is often a disappointment as an announcer. My DDs have worked with several Washington catchers who all say the same thing, keep the mask on.

 

[riseball]

As a Seattleite, and a Washington fan, I'm finding DL is often a disappointment as an announcer. My DDs have worked with several Washington catchers who all say the same thing, keep the mask on.

It is statements like these, lacking any context that cause much of the confusion on the subject. I would find it hard to believe that any college catcher would never take the mask off. Yet some would read that into it. Just as an accomplished hitter would say swing hard, obviously that is not always appropriate. I suspect that the context was more along the lines of not immediately taking it off at every opportunity.