Catcher

Question
Hi. I'm wondering if you could point out some drills to work on for a girl learning how to play catcher. My daughter is about to be 9 years old and will be moving up to the 10U fastpitch division for fall ball. She has only done catching for the coach pitch division. She really likes playing catcher, but she is a little scared to try and catch with girls pitching because of the speed of the pitches and more wild pitches. Any tips? Also what are some good drills to work on as far as helping to catch the foul pop ups? I found a couple of websites with a ton of drills on them, but I'm not certain which ones to have her try.  

Answer
Hello Leslie

The fastpitch Catcher is the hardest working athlete on the team both physically and mentally. So this position isn抰 for everyone. As she gets older the responsibilities get even bigger. The catcher is usually the field general and calls out the all plays, communicate pitches with the pitcher. The catcher must not only know the signals for all pitches, she must also understand which pitch is best for each situation and each batter. She must block and dig out pitches in the dirt, frame pitches, recover from a dropped 3rd strike to catch the runner at first, rise quickly to catch foul ball tips, be able to throw accurately to any base to catch runners off base or in the process of stealing a base, back up throws from the outfield to 1st and 3rd. Plus also be continually on the alert for instructions from the coaches.

If she is serious about catching  and you want to help I suggest you purchase a catcher specific training video to help you get started. Drills over the Internet don抰 do any good unless she is performing them using and understanding the proper mechanics and techniques. Videos are real good for showing this. You may also want to seek a local coach that is willing to work with her.  

My suggestions go to:
http://www.softballoutlet.com

And purchase
Fundamentals of Catching