Who catches pitching lessons?

[cnardone]

When my dd was 9, the facility had home plates that have a lip. I took one right in the temple. Ohhhh Mama. It hurt at 40. I can't imagine what 50+ would feel like. I've since gone to a mask and I still need to work on not turning my head.

 

[Vertigo]

When my dd was 9, the facility had home plates that have a lip. I took one right in the temple. Ohhhh Mama. It hurt at 40. I can't imagine what 50+ would feel like. I've since gone to a mask and I still need to work on not turning my head.

DD’s first PC required ALL catchers to wear masks. If you didn’t have one she had extras she’d give you. Definitely a liability issue.

Once I fractured my eye socket about 10 years ago on a ball that took a bad hop (on a dirt field playing SS) I couldn’t imagine catching without wearing a mask, nevermind also trying to focus on what the pitcher was doing. It only took that one incident to change how I felt about a few things softball-related!

ETA: Biggest lesson learned - don’t think it can’t happen to you, no matter how good you think you are.

 

[PJR202]

When my dd was 9, the facility had home plates that have a lip. I took one right in the temple. Ohhhh Mama. It hurt at 40. I can't imagine what 50+ would feel like. I've since gone to a mask and I still need to work on not turning my head.

This happened to me back in the fall, on a t-ball field. It was basically unburied. My daughter only throws 45-47 most of the time. It hit me in the upper part of my ear, which cushioned the cranial impact a little, and that's probably all that saved me from a concussion. My head was definitely not 100% though.

 

[PJR202]

I catch for my daughter. Shin guards and occasionally a fielder's mask. I haven't gotten around to getting gear, but I probably should. I always say I'm a terrible catcher anyway, but my reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. I worked to get them back last year by bouncing a tennis ball against the basement wall from really close up. Bare-handed catching it, then a glove. It helped but I'm probably back to where I was at this point.

When she threw a lot slower, and I was catching from a chair (or bosu ball), I picked up a bad habit of reaching out for the high and outside stuff with my bare hand. It's hard to pop up out of a chair. It's been hard to break that habit and it's caused my first instinct to be to reach out like that, even on harder pitches. I catch myself doing it again now with the 5th grader I'm working with.

I do catch other pitchers I work with as well, but they all throw 35 or less. It's hard to see much from the catching position if the throws are any faster. I basically have time to watch one thing only, which doesn't do me a lot of good. If I get into teaching more down the road, I'll have the parent catch, or hire out one of the school catchers for 10/hr or something.

 

[Northball]

Thanks for all the insights. I mark all my pitching balls with a segmented stripe so I can see rotation and get a sense of spin axis and rate better. My students tend to be on the younger side so I do have to watch their arms, legs, angles, etc. quite a bit. But I think I will try spending a little more time on the bucket as well.

 

[Hillhouse]

Jonathan Hon.

Thanks. Flying out to Chicago huh? Safe travels!

 

[Hillhouse]

Thanks. Flying out to Chicago huh? Safe travels!

@LEsoftballdad I forgot to mention, please say hello to him for me.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

@LEsoftballdad I forgot to mention, please say hello to him for me.

Will do, Bill.