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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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Teaching And Training A Catcher
by Dave
Monday, July 25, 2005
After pitching, the next most important position on the field is quite possibly the catcher. A good catcher keeps runners glued to the bases, helps the pitcher call the right pitches, and generally captains the defensive team. Just as it takes years to develop a good pitcher, catchers need time and good instruction to develop the skills necessary for success.
A strong throwing arm is a prerequisite to being a good catcher. The only way to develop a strong throwing arm is to throw often. If your daughter aspires to catch, you've just got to throw with her as often as possible. If she is older and has a friend to catch with, you should help her to develop a plan of throwing at least 4 times per week.
Before throwing, stretching is critical to avoiding injury. We haven't the space to go into stretching here. If you are not familiar with baseball arm stretches, I suggest you go out and buy a good book on the subject. Remember that stretching after a brief warm up is better than stretching cold.
After stretching, each throwing session should begin with close throwing in which proper arm form is emphasized. As she becomes warm, your catcher should try to throw harder and harder and then the distance should gradually be increased to 60 feet. Each session should reach its zenith with distance throwing which exceeds the distance from home to second. It is important to throw further than game situations when practicing because psychologically it is just easier to make a shorter distance in a game when you have practiced throwing from long distance. The throw to second becomes very easy if you practice throwing at about 30 feet past. And the throw to third is downright simple. Your long throws do not have to be as intense as throws to the base. You are stretching the arm muscles and using the legs to throw. The throwers no not have to throw line drives, they can throw more arced throws.
Only after throwing for distance is done should your young catcher then begin throwing to second and then third. Here aiming is important and she should throw to hit the base where a stealing runner would be sliding. The throw should be low and straight. It is better for a catcher to throw into the dirt rather than over the infielder's head. She should make at least ten throws to each base, more as she gets older. These throws are made even more effective if your catcher starts from the squatted, catcher position. Some throws should be made beginning with her back to the target as in passed ball / wild pitch situations but we'll get to that in the foot drills section, below. After making the game situation throws, she should warm down by making shorter and shorter throws, emphasizing mechanics and leg usage, eventually to the distance she started with. After throwing, your catcher should perform the same stretching exercises she began with. Each throwing session should be around a half an hour. This will strengthen her arm very quickly.
Please note that some of your young catcher's throws should be done with regular stepping - the way any player throws. But some should be with short, hopping steps (which we'll get to a little later) and some with no stepping at all. Catchers often do not have the luxury of taking steps to make a throw and this should be practiced. To throw with little or no step requires a skill of using the middle part of the body to generate the torque which usually comes from the legs. Basically if you take a look at a player who is throwing properly, using her legs, and eliminate the legs, you can see how the body moves from the waste up. This body movement needs to be accentuated when making a no step throw. And the follow through is also more pronounced.
Although it is a prerequisite, throwing is just not enough. Catchers need good footwork as much as any player on the field. It is a common misconception that catching is a less athletic position than, for example, shortstop. They just don't need to have the range and overall speed that shortstops do. Their steps are shorter and quicker than a shortstop's. There are a number of drills you can use to work on this footwork. Once you cover these in basic, it is important for a catcher to practice them anytime she is having a catch. Here are some drills (designed for right handed catchers - make modifications for lefties):
- Standing in a good athletic position with the right foot back a couple inches from the left, take a throw to your upper right. Lift the right foot slightly and plant it with the instep pointing in the direction of the throw, step with the left foot and throw. Now try this with a throw taken to the lower right. Now try with a throw in the dirt to the right.
- In the same position as above, take a throw to your upper left. Lift the right foot and move it just in front of the left, forming a "T" with the two feet. It is awkward at first but soon becomes second nature. Step with the left and throw. Now repeat with a throw to the lower left.
- Repeat this drill with your catcher placing her right foot just in back of the left in a quick shuffling motion. Here the speed of the shuffle is very important. You can make a game of this where the object is to throw the ball as quickly as possible back to the person who threw it to you.
- Now repeat these drills with the throw to your catcher further and further away. This will cause her to take some shuffle steps and reach to catch the ball but each time, immediately after catching the ball, her next step needs to be with the right foot into the position to aim the throw in the right direction, instep facing the target. Then she needs to practice making that step at the same time as catching the ball so the next step upon catch is with the left, followed by throwing the ball.
- These drills should also be practiced where the only step is with the right foot and the actual throw is not performed with a left foot throw. The left footwork actually occurs after the throw is released. As I said above, catchers often do not have the luxury of having time to step and make a mechanically beautiful throw. The torque of the midsection of the body provides the momentum to get something on the throw. The left foot does take a step but this is actually after the throw. (To explain, think of taking a long stride with your left leg where your body sort of falls forward and at the last minute you lift your left foot and stride. Rather than your right leg providing the force behind the step, you allow your body's weight to do it. This is how a catcher is able to make a strong throw.)
- The next drill I recommend is a game situation one and needs to be done on the field. You need to have a fielder at second and third bases. Place some balls next to the backstop. Have your catcher assume catching position. Then she retrieves one ball at a time and throws to the base you call out. Don;t make this easy because part of the object here is to get her to change her footwork in accordance with last-minute, split-second decisions.
Yes, we are talking about "drills" but, no, this should not become "work." Emphasis must be on having fun when you are playing catch. Foot work drills must be worked into a fun game of catch. Once a player works on these drills for a while, I think you will see that she no longer enjoys an "ordinary" game of catch. The drills should enhance the fun aspect of playing catch.
Another misunderstood aspect of catching is the physical fitness needed to withstand the wear and tear of playing the position. A catcher must have very strong legs, especially the muscles in the front part of the upper leg and back part of the lower leg. To see what I mean, assume the catching position, now stand up, now squat, now stand up. Do this several times and see which muscles begin to bother you. A catcher does this as little as 100 times and as much as 200+ times each game. An exercise regime which works these muscles is key to having injury-free success at the position.
Riding a bike, whether stationary or not, is the best way to build up the muscle in the front of the upper leg. A good exercise regime will contain both long riding and short sprinting. Longer riding is great cardiovascular training which is necessary for any athlete but the twin diamond sports of baseball and softball really consist of a long series of somewhat infrequent short explosive movements. So sprinting of all kinds is encouraged. Do not simply ride a ton of miles in a slow methodical rhythm. A catcher must perform bicycle sprints. And when you perform these sprints, it is not necessary to work on cardio. Explosiveness is the key. I suggest warming with a long methodical ride followed by a series of short sprints, followed by a long warm-down ride.
Bicycling is the best method of building the front of the thigh but, if for some reason it is not practical, running is a decent substitute. Again, emphasis has to be on short sprints. You are trying to explosive power in the legs so keep this in mind. 60 feet is plenty and helps with running the bases too. You needn't push your catcher to run a lot of sprints in a short amount of time since cardio is not what you are after.
Working the calf muscles is a quite a bit easier and requires no equipment. While standing next to and holding onto a wall, stand on your tip toes. Hold this position for a count of ten and then slowly come down to a flat foot position. Now slowly rise back up to tip toes, hold and slowly come down. There is no rush to do these quickly because we are trying to strengthen the muscles rather than increase endurance. Do these in sets of ten to twenty and repeat as often as you like. These are also a great warm up exercise for your catcher before a game.
Another way to workout a catcher's legs is the very obvious way in which I asked you to examine the muscles being used by a catcher. A catcher can build explosive leg muscles by assuming the catching position and then jumping as high as possible from this position. Performing this motion builds both sets of muscles simultaneously. This is maybe too obvious to discuss but it can be almost as effective as riding and running so I would be remiss not to at least mention it. If you use this method of building leg muscles, do at least 20 repetitions in several sets. Again, you are not working on cardio. Think of a game where your catcher gets up and squats 100 - 200 times. That would be a good number for a workout just as a pitcher needs to throw 100 pitches in order to build strength.
Stretching the legs before each workout, practice and game is another important key to avoiding injury. The earlier your catcher learns how to do this, the better. Again, stretches are a little beyond the scope of this already lengthy piece. If you have no idea how to stretch legs, buy a book on exercise. At the very least, any player needs to sit on the ground, spread her legs out to the sides, and touch her toes. But I do suggest you find more sophisticated stretching regimes.
Any discussion of how to condition a catcher brings me to the back issue. As catcher get tired, their body mechanics tend to fall apart. This is very evident in long defensive innings on hot days when the catcher feels a little like a punching bag. There is a tendency for her to begin putting more and more pressure on her lower back so it is necessary to strengthen her stomach and lower back muscles. She should routinely perform the kind of exercises which a person with a bad back does. Here is a good link for lower back exercises. Please take this discussion about back exercises very seriously. If you get nothing else out of this article, please visit the link and have your young catcher begin doing these exercises.
Finally, I want to talk a little about catching position. Girls just beginning softball who play catcher usually put one knee down. I don't have to tell you that this position is wrong. After more experience, catchers take a more appropriate position of squatting where their butts rest on the heels of their feet. This is closer to correct position but it is not perfect. The right position for a catcher is to flex the thigh muscles so the butt is not resting on the feet. Butt resting on feet is to be avoided for long periods because it is just too hard on the knee joints. Shin guards with a cushion in back help and these were developed because of the knee problems catchers develop but they are not enough as the cushion is small and the knee still takes too much strain. Your catcher can assume this position for short durations, like while giving signs to the pitcher but then she should assume good catching position. The back should be straightened as the butt comes off the feet with thighs flexed. She can even get into a good catching position from a standing position, gradually squatting down with her back straight.
In any event, if your catcher is young and inexperienced or if you have any question regarding her physical fitness with respect to legs or back, do not allow your catcher to catch multiple games back to back. If she is playing anything other than rec ball, chances are pretty good that her team is playing 2 or 3 games in one day, sometimes as much as 9 or 10 games over a three or four day stretch. Do not allow her to become the team's donkey who must catch every game. If you do, you stand a pretty good chance of having a kid with a very bad back. High school is the first place you should allow your daughter to catch multiple games back to back.
If you get the chance to watch baseball or softball games with your catcher/daughter, take time out to observe just the catcher. Point out the things the catcher you are watching is doing right and wrong. Especially watch his or her body position and point out if he is putting too much strain on his back or knees. Watching games is a great instructional device for teaching any player. Because catcher is such a complicated position, it is important to get out and see some really high quality catchers at work whenever possible.
To sum up, catching is probably the most physically demanding position on the field and one of the most important. A good throwing arm is important and should be worked on. Just as important as strength of throwing is foot work. This is easy to practice and I've given you a few suggestions to follow but you can use your imagination to modify these and create others. Leg strength is an important consideration in training a catcher. Bicycling or running can accomplish this but you should emphasize sprinting over cardio work. Finally, please note that catching is hard on the back and you must consider this in any exercise regime.
 
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