Tweaking your high school catcher

A fellow coach asked me once, "Coach, what drills and such do you do with your catchers?".  He was a young fellow, just starting his career, so, I certainly wanted to give him some sage advice. I said, "Well Coach,  I just do basic blocking drills, fielding bunts and pop-ups, and throwing to the different bases.".  He said, " I do those with mine too, but, it doesn't seem to make them better!".  I said, "Maybe you just need to have a talk with them!".

I explained what I meant by "having a talk".  A catcher is usually a gritty kid who volunteered to play the position as a small child in little league or before. By the time he reaches high school, he's done more drills and caught more games than you can shake a stick at! The drills you do with him should be used just to remind his mind and body how to react, nothing much more. At this point, improvement comes through mental development more than physical, so, have a talk with him.

Talk to him about anticipation. A good catcher must anticipate a bad pitch on every throw, especially with runners on base. Knowing each pitcher he catches and what the ball does out of their hands can help the catcher. Location, count, and stance also come into play. Keeping the ball from going to the back stop or beating the Ump's shin bones to death is much easier if the catcher anticipates the block.

Instruct your catcher and work with him on catching every pitch he possibly can with his mitt up. This will often give the pitcher a low strike call. Many catchers turn the mitt down on low borderline pitches making it easy for the Ump to call a ball. Your catcher can make the umpire earn his money by catching the low pitches with his glove up.

Along the same line, have him work on framing the strike zone with his mitt, knuckles on top of the high or low strike,  outside on the corner pitches.  To frame the right hand side of the strike zone and get the knuckles outside, the catcher needs to invert the mitt. Framing the strike zone may be new to some catchers, so, bring it to mind early in preseason as the catcher is working the bull pen.

Finally, observe your catcher's foot work. Throwing a runner out is greatly aided by the catcher's foot work. We all know that most bases are stolen off the pitcher's action or the base runner's savvy at predicting an off speed pitch on which to run. How quickly the catcher can receive the ball and then throw it can overcome even a good base stealer sometimes. Many catchers need to be taught to position their bodies and thus their feet as if they were throwing a ball, right foot back and left foot forward.  When the ball is caught, weight should be on the back foot. As the catcher rises, he should shift weight forward, taking a short jab step with the front foot. During this time, he should bring the ball up to make a short arm throw to the base to get the runner. Again, anticipation is important here and a block may be necessary, but, if the pitch is good and the feet are in place, there is a greater chance to throw out the runner.

As a coach you are responsible for a catcher's physical condition, so, use enough drills and running with pitchers to condition him properly, but, don't drill him to death! He already knows what most drills try to teach, so, have a talk with him. Talk to them often, tell him what a good job he's doing, preach the three points above, and most of all tell him to have fun!

Scratching my head!

I consider myself a fairly sensible man. I know what's right and what's wrong most of the time. I would  think that there are others who cater to the same lines of thought. This being said, I'm " scratchin " my head over some recent events.

In the first place, what judge with good sense would even hear a case involving whether a cake was baked or not?  Is there not enough cases of true crime to keep a judge busy? I mean, come on now. In years past judges refused to hear such nonsense...I'm scratchin my head!

I hear that some type of courage award is to be given to a man named Jenner who now wears women's clothes. Since when did the United States of America consider it courageous to glorify such idiocy?  There are people in this country who have been maimed serving her. There are people who have put their own lives in danger to save others. There are people who have overcome great hardships in service to our country or countrymen, yet, they are somehow undeserving of a courage award, and, second to, of all things, a male nut in a dress....I'm scratchin my head!

What's going on with this Supreme Court ruling that allows a couple of the same gender to call themselves married? Again I ask, don't they have better things to judge than something like this? Oh yes, I had forgotten their ruling on Obamacare! ...which of course, they, the President, and the congress are exempted from. I can see nothing but detriment for our country from both of these rulings. Are you happy to be paying for your own health insurance and for someone else who had rather drive a Cadillac than buy their own? Have you tried to see a doctor lately? In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, " Good grief!"....I 'm scratchin my head!

I turned the TV on this morning and there was the man we call our President lauding the fact that he and his Secretary of State had reached a "deal" with Iran over the development of nuclear weapons there.  Does our President fear Iran? I remember when this nation would demand a cease and desist, and, back it up with the most powerful military in the world.  What's changed? Why should we cower down to a nation that cannot be trusted and wants nothing better than to destroy us? What does our great ally in the Middle East, Israel, think of us now? ....I'm scratchin my head!

I have seen in my lifetime a change in public sentiment from "Work hard to get ahead" to "I 'm entitled to a free ride". Doesn't the constitution say we are entitled to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness, and doesn't a pursuit require a bit of work on our part?.... I 'm scratchin my head!

The list of things that make a sensible man scratch his head goes on and on. I've not commented on the Mexican border situation, nor, the President's redistribution of wealth policies. Frivolous lawsuits are heard every day, I have absolutely no confidence in our President, I don't think our society's morals are what they ought to be, and, I worry that my children and grandchildren will not be able to live their lives with as much freedom as I have enjoyed.

God bless America...I 'll just keep scratchin my head and let Him handle it!