3and2Fastball posted:My 2 cents: if you have a player who is both a pitcher & catcher, you should retire from coaching.
That might be true in my case but I've done it a few times. Of course you have to have common sense. Catchers play the most abused position on that field. They catch bullpens, get fewer reps in BP because they are always in the bullpen, get in their defensive work and then, if they are a pitcher, have to do that work as well. It isn't easy to do right. I can only speak for myself. I rotate other players through the bullpen to catch. I had a rotation of some 13 to 14 names and those players took their turns. I purchased three gloves and had spare gear. Heck, I even let them sit on buckets. That cut down on some throws. My catcher/pitcher knew that they were going to DH the day after they pitched. This required that I develop a #2 catcher who had to be varsity ready for a couple of games a week toward the end of the season when rain-out games stacked up. For defensive reps, we have a very concise routine with limited throws and that, most often, was more for the backup but did allow the top catcher to get in some work. Finally, while the HS season is compact, it physically will wear out that catcher. I have a photo up in my classroom that a catcher's dad took and had made. It is me catching a live arm session of BP on the field. IOWs, a coach can be creative to save that catcher some wear and tear.
Then again, you are probably right about me needing to retire. In fact, I'll go ahead and do that this year.