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Reply to "Best Camp that don't give catchers short shrift?"

cabbagedad posted:

I see you are in Florida... a hotbed for current AND past players.  I'll bet you can find an ex-college/pro catcher that will work with your son one-on-one where the learning curve and progression will likely be quicker than at a camp setting.  It also affords the opportunity for refresher check-ins, homework, etc.  If the guy is local, there is a chance that he will attend an occasional game of your son's and give ongoing constructive feedback.

Completely agree with cabbage here. My son (2019) had "lessons" from several catching coaches over the years, starting at about eight years old. It wasn't until we found THE guy in our area that his skills took off. After training with this particular individual for a while, it was very easy to go around to the various youth tournaments and spot the kids who trained with him and, in my opinion, what you want is true "training." Not sitting in a cage, or in a group of 20, with a guy getting a lecture on things that happen automatically when trained and repeated properly. Sure, there were times where talking strategy and/or technique took place but the majority was actual work with modification, correction, and reinforcement during the process. From when my son was 10 to about 14 or 15, I'd drive him to this guy's facility every, or every other, weekend for sessions that lasted somewhere between 2.5 and 4 hours. There were typically groups of 3-5 kids and they would work receiving/blocking off a machine and live arm, popups off of a machine, and threw bags all the way around until they were (or the coach was) satisfied. My son could also talk on the phone, text, and share video with this coach and get feedback on the spot because of the relationship they built. It was a great model that I think should be replicated more but, long story short, if you can find THE guy in your area, and train regularly, I believe it facilitates the best development for the money and time. Not taking away from the catching-specific camps out there but they tend to be expensive and short term. Best of luck!

Last edited by tequila
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