Which girl would you go with?

[SoftSocDad]

You can teach skills, you can't teach an arm.

At age 10?? Of course you can.

You know my experience is limited, but I agree with SBDadSanDiego - the girl who's got the natural instincts and quickness behind the plate is the one who's going to help your team the most, especially at an age where even better-than-average pitchers leave a fair amount of their pitches way outside the strike zone.

 

[mtcoach]

10U ball - Your catcher's primary job is to receive the ball from the pitcher. You might see a few pop ups or a few steels missed but the player behind the plate should be able to consitently receive the pitch. At 10U level, it does seem that if the catcher catches each pitch steeling from 1st to 2nd is harder regardless of arm. The pitcher does come into play here a little bit. The pitcher must throw a "catchable" pitch to deter steeling of bases and scoring at home.

Lets talk about the arm.
Can the catcher with the "weaker arm" not make the throw to 2nd (or 3rd)?
Is the throw slow?
Is the player rainbowing the throw?

Though the arm is used, is the player using her legs to make the throw?

 

[SBDadSanDiego]

The "you can't teach arm" argument is totally invalid at age 10, I had a girl on my 10u rec team who threw the ugliest shot-put rainbows you ever saw, She worked with a position coach, learned proper mechanics and at age 13 is now throwing missiles.

Sometimes the mechanics are so off, you have no idea what type of strength they posses.

 

[PCarman]

Well I beleive you can teach arm. Weight training and proper technique will improve the arm. However who is the smarter player. You catcher has to be smart, both about the fundamentals of the game and the abilities of their team mates. Don't base your decision on just one attribute, your catcher needs to see the big picture and understand that they have to take care of your pitchers. And I also agree on "who has the best bat".

 

[bosoxfan]

My daughter plays 10u and when the backup catcher is in walks turn into runs due to passed balls. Use the one most likely to keep the ball in front of her.

 

[interested18]

I think at 10U it comes down to who can control the ball better. If you can't control the ball it doesn't matter how good your arm is you can't throw a ball you don't have. Also I agree it is possible to teach how to throw to a 10 year old their mechanics are NEVER flawless.