Lets Talk About Catchers…
The unsung heroes.
Being around the game for so long, this is a position that doesn’t get talked about as much as it should. Which I personally think leads to the lack of coaching around the position at all levels. Whether you’re at the youth level or the collegiate level, how often do you see the biggest or strongest kid just thrown back there to occupy the spot to have their bat in the lineup? Without having any proper teaching or athleticism that it actually takes to be a catcher. Here’s the short answer: way too often. Now how does that make any sense at a position I could argue is one of the most important on the field? Hear it here first: A catcher just “thrown back there to occupy a spot” can and will have a negative impact on your teams performance as a whole.
When I work with you catchers, the first thing I ask them before I even have them put their gear on, is why.
Why do you want to catch?
What about catching are you passionate about?
What is your favorite thing about catch?
What is your least favorite?
More often than not, they give me some pretty basic answers - they’re young, I don’t blame them.
“I like to throw people out.”
“I like to be involved in every play.”
Some even say, “I don’t know.”
Least favorite: blocking - every time. Understandable.
But after we get through those basic answers, I ask them to dig a little deeper.
“What makes you want to be a catcher when it’s 90+ degrees out?”
“What makes you want to be a catcher when the winning run is on third base and you can’t let them score?”
“What makes you want to be a catcher when your pitcher is struggling and its on you to help her figure it out?”
Those questions get them thinking and take a little bit longer to answer. Still some answer, “I don’t know” and that’s okay. I don’t ask them those questions because I expect them to have all the answers at that age. I ask them because I want them to know that from here on out, if this is the position you choose to play, these are the things your going to HAVE to have answers to. Not to scare them, but because the matter of the fact is that catching is not glamorous. It is hard, it is ugly, it is not glorified.
It is hard work. It is a beaten up body. It is selflessness. Day in and day out.
Photo creds: Alberto Martinez
But I also let them know, that these very things, are what make being a catcher so amazing.
You get to be involved in every play, every pitch.
You get to connect with your pitcher and develop a trust that is only unique to you.
You get to be at the bottom of the dog pile.
You get to watch the game from a perspective that only you and the home plate umpire can see.
When it comes to the physical skill and athleticism it takes to be a catcher, this is something that should be worked on everyday. Just as pitchers are expected to work on their individual craft everyday, their counterpart should be held to the same standard. Whether it’s framing, blocking, throw downs, plays at the plate, bunts, pass balls, calling a game, communicating with their teammates, pick offs, pop ups behind the plate — it doesn’t matter. Catching is not and should never be the place a player is just put at because the coach wants to keep her bat in the lineup.
If we set that precedent at the youth levels, it’s either going to continue its way up to the elite levels OR it’s going to set these kids up for disappointment when they do get older because they were never taught the appropriate skills. Nothing good comes from that ideology.
Catching is an art, and it is not something to take for granted.