When a 10yo catcher hands you this....

[BobInMadison]

My kids have never been on a team that used a wrist band. Just signals from the coach and fingers from the catcher.

My all-time favorite -- one time a girl catching for DD 3 in a tournament had an injured finger, so her fingers were taped together. DD 3 saw the wrong number of fingers. 0-2 count, and DD 3 send a change-up right down the middle of the plate. Lucky it didn't go over the fence, but some RBIs there.



Yes, I did point out later to DD 3 that she had the right to shake off a pitch, and that common sense dictated not throwing a change-up down the middle with the count 0-2. Of course the coach pointed it out to her as well, and changed the signs for the next inning.

 

[grcsftbll]

Almost everybody is commenting on the absurd number of different pitches, and you're not wrong. But can we talk about how dumb it is to mix up all the numbers like that? Isn't the whole point of the wristband that it's EASY TO FIND the sign?

"This code is so good, even the people who know it can't understand it!"

This was DH's first comment. "Why didn't they at least put the numbers in order so they're easy to find?"

 

[Greenmonsters]

Besides all the problems previously noted, anybody notice the absence of pitch height in the options? Anybody want to bet that this coach is going to be calling pitches for years down the road because "it's too complicated and too much responsibility to entrust to a catcher" and "he has years of expertise at it".

 

[BrianTx01]

How do they sign the 9s? They only have 5 fingers.

 

[BrianTx01]

My 8 year old DD has two pitches. Fastballs and change ups. We are working on spots. I have absolutely no plans to try and get the catcher to call the game. My message to her will simply be "Catch the Ball".

 

[grcsftbll]

How do they sign the 9s? They only have 5 fingers.

IME with this type of system the coach just usually yells out the number.

 

[Greenmonsters]

My 8 year old DD has two pitches. Fastballs and change ups. We are working on spots. I have absolutely no plans to try and get the catcher to call the game. My message to her will simply be "Catch the Ball".

That's fine and age-appropriate for eight years old when they're still learning picthes and don't have command. But at that age you may as well shout out the picth you want thrown because the pitchers' and hitters' execution aren't consistent to make a real difference. But take a 10 or 12-year-old kid who is committed to being a catcher, start teaching them about calling Pitches and give them the opportunity to call games and by the time they are 14 they have the experience and knowledge to be far more effective than the vast majority of coaches calling from the bench.