Catcher Advice and Recruiting Question

Catchers are VERY hard to find and people that have tons of knowledge on catching are also VERY hard to find. I feel that catchers have a huge advantage in the recruiting game but a disadvantage because catching is so complicated that it is hard to teach to the fullest.

As for advise.... he needs to catch as many games as possible and I would get a catching private instructor. Not a hitting coach that also does catching nor a pitching coach that also does catching.

I know of one if interested.... big 12 catcher of the year and currently catching in the minors with the new york yankees.

I'll send you a private message Alee.

Next to pitching, catching still is and probably always will be the fastest way to a college/pro offer unless you are a 5 tool SS.

As far as what you can do to help...

Footwork, arm action, and the mental side are the 3 most important, but they are only important if the kid has the "HEART" to play that position. It isn't an easy position to master and it gets harder and harder to love with every level you go up unless you are passionate about it. You almost have to love taking the beating and not getting any praise for it.

Purchasing a good jump rope and becoming its best friend "daily" is a huge start. It is one of the best exercises to improve a catcher's footwork and get his body in complete shape.

Getting on a good throwing program designed to shorten the "load" pattern when he throws is crucial to shaving tenths off of a pop time. Although the throwing motion itself is no different than another position, the load is much more compact. This takes tons of repititions to master.

Like Dallas Spikes said, getting with a quality "Catching Coach" will aide in the mental side of things. He can teach you the finer things of how to read hitters, how to set up hitters, how to get in a pitcher's head to work for you, etc.
This is one of the hardest things to find in an instructor...someone that can break down the "intangibles" of the position.

Of course, we haven't even mentioned blocking, directing every aspect of the defense on the field, popups, recovering wild pitches, backing up 1st base, etc.

I wish there were more catching threads. I love talking catching and could do it all night! haha

Good luck with it.

Bob - you are definitely on the right track, use every resource you can. I enjoyed our visit, good luck and keep asking questions!

GED10DaD

Great post Coach.

yeah you never hear a coach say he's shortstop poor or outfield poor or pitching rich. the biggest problem a guy has is being catching poor. the tools of ignorance don't fit everyone.advantage? if he can hit? its like gold but harder to find.so i don't know if you could call it an advantage,there is much work involved ,wear and tear on the body,instuction,and physical fitness. not to mention the demand of managing the game on the field. imho its the toughest position in all athletics besides driving a race car 200 mph. anyway as said before a kid has to love the game and be willing to take and learn alot of instruction.if i were looking for a catching instructer here in the dfw area there's none better than the guy "spikes" is talking about. he's a kid that nobody thought much of around here and he goes away and proves to everyone that he is all that embodies a catcher and more.not that im partial and he's in town for a short time. go to catching clinics and then practice the drills the give you at home. alot

I will speak from experience, I never hit as well when I played catcher. When I was at 1B, or OF, I had much more energy and was a much better hitter.

Catcher is such a grind mentally and physically. When you are catching in July and its 105 degrees you are worn out. Hitting and running out an infield hit or legging out a double takes what ever energy you have out of you.

The guys that catch in the big leagues...day in day out...130 games...no courtesy runner...they are the ultimate professionals! I don't know how they do it!!!

Best advice I ever received was from former Rangers manager Frank Lucchessi, to move to catcher. It got me a look that I would not have received otherwise. I had a kid a few years back, had a successful career pitching in college. I told him my biggest regret coaching him was not encouraging him to play catcher. He was a decent left handed hitter to boot.

A good catching instructor is a great idea!

quote:

A good catching instructor is a great idea!

Agreed. For what it's worth, the top catching instructor in the metroplex is Corey Thornton out of Frozen Ropes in McKinney. 972-548-8940

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Agreed. For what it's worth, the top catching instructor in the metroplex is Corey Thornton out of Frozen Ropes in McKinney. 972-548-8940

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Agreed. For what it's worth, the top catching instructor in the metroplex is Corey Thornton out of Frozen Ropes in McKinney. 972-548-8940

Careful with "the top" reference chief .. Coach A (Chris Anderson) would be a top candidate as well, IMHO. Read his post above. Plus, I've seen his work in action and it's the real deal. And, his communication skills with kids is far better.

To keep this from turning into a job board, can we make up a top 5, or top 10 max, catching instructions in North Texas?

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Originally posted by RedSoxFan21:
Why not build a regional referral list for excellent catcher instruction? In RI and eastern CT one of the top instructors would have to be Shawn McGill, a Braves AA catcher during the warmer months, but back home in Peacedale, RI for the winter. He works out of the South County Orthoedics location in Wakefield.

How does this help boys in Texas if he's in RI and CT? This is the Texas forum! IMO

Sorry about that, was searching recent posts and did not see which Forum this was. Sorry to waste your time Out there in LF.

quote:

Originally posted by RedSoxFan21:
Sorry about that, was searching recent posts and did not see which Forum this was. Sorry to waste your time Out there in LF.

No time wasted...

Already sent a kid on the silver bird that way.

No limitations for the best instruction.

Thanks for the props GM!

TripleThreat2

To appease you and your list, I will start with the above poster, Ken Guthrie. He does a great job with catchers if you can get him out of the blind this time of year.

Cade Griffis has done numbers of catching lessons and is widely regarded as one of the best.

Coach A does a great job no doubt about it. He and I have worked with a number of the same catchers. He does have great communication skills as well. However, I'm not sure if I have ever worked with your son or not for you to make a determination on my communication skills as being "far" inferior. If so, then I am sorry you feel that way.

For the RedSoxFan:

no time wasted, when we send folks about for the "best" available, send them to Xan Barksdale. On top of being a poster here, he is one of the best nationally.

That rounds out my list. Many have been left off, I'm sure, but not intentionally.

Corey Thornton

quote:

Originally posted by RedSoxFan21:
Sorry about that, was searching recent posts and did not see which Forum this was. Sorry to waste your time Out there in LF.

No waste of time, just didn't know why the touting of someone to far away. And Ken has one already on the way!
There is a good instructor if you are in the FW area. Doug Banks, formally of C.Heritage, UofArizona is good for catching. He is located at Swing City in Keller.

All great advice. Mental toughness at the position has to be first and foremost. Footwork and technique are vital. As a former catcher in the Dallas area and with DBAT, Cade and Ken are the best around.

Most coaches look at tools for catchers: quickness behind the plate, receiving, and throwing arm. My suggestion would be to get a good long tossing program, and find a quality catching instructor. While there are many available, make sure they focus on the fundamentals. I'm sure everyone can recommend someone. If you are in the DFW area, I can give you some recommendations.

I have recruited many catchers, and while hitting is a positive, I'd always take a strong arm and tough, agile defender over offense.

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:

I have recruited many catchers, and while hitting is a positive, I'd always take a strong arm and tough, agile defender over offense.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Actually arm strength isn't as important to me as a catcher with good foot work and recieving ability.

My theory is a base is stolen off the pitcher anyway.

Don't get me wrong, a catcher must have an adaquate arm for his level of play...

But arm strength wouldn't be first on my list for defensive abilities.

Now, if we are talking professional ranks...arm strength is a must as you are projecting a player who can be one of around 70 MLB catchers. (30 #1 guys, 30 back ups, and a few NL teams carry 3)

Totally agree with KG, arm strength would not be my number one either.
1) Ability to receive the ball,ie(soft hands)
2) Blocking ability, using the gear not just the glove to stop the ball.
3) Footwork, being in the proper position to receive the pitch. Sometimes young catchers sit back on their heels thus not being able to re-act to an errant pitch.
4) Arm strength
5) Mental toughness, this is not to be considered on the bottom. Just wanted to included it, some players have it and others don't, but very important in being a successful catcher at or above HS.

1)Hitting
2)Leadership
3)Two ears that listen

Son was a C/P in HS. His catching skills were not the best. He had a strong arm and could hit with power. He was invited to work out in St. Louis for the Cardinals as a catcher. During the workout I asked the scouting director why they were recruiting my son ... He quickly answered. "What your son has, no one can teach. What your son lacks, we know we can teach him". They drafted him in the 5th round.
Fungo

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

My theory is a base is stolen off the pitcher anyway.

Hmmm spoken like a catcher

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:

I have recruited many catchers, and while hitting is a positive, I'd always take a strong arm and tough, agile defender over offense.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Actually arm strength isn't as important to me as a catcher with good foot work and recieving ability.

My theory is a base is stolen off the pitcher anyway.

Don't get me wrong, a catcher must have an adaquate arm for his level of play...

But arm strength wouldn't be first on my list for defensive abilities.

Now, if we are talking professional ranks...arm strength is a must as you are projecting a player who can be one of around 70 MLB catchers. (30 #1 guys, 30 back ups, and a few NL teams carry 3)

KG, I wasn't saying footwork or receiving ability aren't important. However, I feel that footwork and receiving ability can be improved very easily through drills and repitition. However, arm strength takes longer to improve (long toss program, etc.).

Totally agree that pitchers are the reason for stolen bases, however, a strong arm scares off would be base stealers. When I see a strong-armed catcher, or a low pop time, I immediately have to think twice about trying to steal a base.

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:
When I see a strong-armed catcher, or a low pop time, I immediately have to think twice about trying to steal a base.

Not me. I get a time on the pitcher in the stretch to the plate.

Catcher could throw a 1.8 but if the pitcher is a 2.5 to the plate I'm running all day.

quote:

Originally posted by strik3:

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

My theory is a base is stolen off the pitcher anyway.

Hmmm spoken like a catcher

More former catchers managing in the big leagues than any other position.

They just know.

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:
When I see a strong-armed catcher, or a low pop time, I immediately have to think twice about trying to steal a base.

Not me. I get a time on the pitcher in the stretch to the plate.

Catcher could throw a 1.8 but if the pitcher is a 2.5 to the plate I'm running all day.

I don't see many 2.5s to the plate. Most pitchers are a 1.0-1.4 (at the college level), so catcher's arm means a lot. But not every theory works for everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:
When I see a strong-armed catcher, or a low pop time, I immediately have to think twice about trying to steal a base.

Not me. I get a time on the pitcher in the stretch to the plate.

Catcher could throw a 1.8 but if the pitcher is a 2.5 to the plate I'm running all day.

I don't see many 2.5s to the plate. Most pitchers are a 1.0-1.4 (at the college level), so catcher's arm means a lot. But not every theory works for everyone.

Ok, I can understand your stance.

Arm strength is a plus, but again, way down on the totem pole for me in comparison to other assets necessary to be a good catcher.

Give me a 2.1 pop with accuracy and sound mechanics over a 1.8 and unpolished mechanics all day long.

Again, if we are talking about developing talent for the big leagues, arm strenght is a must.

For college and below, I stick with my theory.

In 15 years of coaching college baseball, the best throw out percentage catcher I ever had was 2.1-2.2 every throw..............but, it was right on the bag every single time. His footwork and arm action was excellent. His accuracy was uncanny. His arm strength was average, but you could lay a glove on the bag with no fielder and he would put the ball in it.

I will say, going in, knowing our time was going to be 2.2 at worst, we worked with our pitching staff to help control the running game and get the ball to the plate quickly.

That season everybody tried to run on us. Very few were successful.

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:

quote:

Originally posted by slider38:
When I see a strong-armed catcher, or a low pop time, I immediately have to think twice about trying to steal a base.

Not me. I get a time on the pitcher in the stretch to the plate.

Catcher could throw a 1.8 but if the pitcher is a 2.5 to the plate I'm running all day.

I don't see many 2.5s to the plate. Most pitchers are a 1.0-1.4 (at the college level), so catcher's arm means a lot. But not every theory works for everyone.

Ok, I can understand your stance.

Arm strength is a plus, but again, way down on the totem pole for me in comparison to other assets necessary to be a good catcher.

Give me a 2.1 pop with accuracy and sound mechanics over a 1.8 and unpolished mechanics all day long.

Again, if we are talking about developing talent for the big leagues, arm strenght is a must.

For college and below, I stick with my theory.

Agreed. Most 1.8 pop times in college/hs are very unpolished and wild. I think the college catcher with a 1.8 pop time and quality mechanics are few and far between.

I just feel that a quality catching coach can teach good mechanics, blocking, receiving and footwork to make a good catcher.

However, if I do not have time to develop one, and have to choose one day 1, I'd take the one who can block and receive over the one with the arm.