Catcher Flexibility

www.mobilitywod.com

Go on there and look around for some ankle mobility and flexibility activities. Website is run by a physical therapist..

Mobilitywod has some really great joint mobs, flexibility and soft tissue ideas that athletes can implement on themselves. Ankle mobility exercises such as Wall Dorsiflexion and band eversion are very effective. Will post a link showing these exercises. Check your hip flexors and hip internal rotation range of motion. These are things that can limit the movement at your ankle. If your hip flexors or hip internal rotation range of motion are limited,the hips will externally rotate causing one leg to be externally rotated and the other in a neutral position, just like in the 2nd picture you posted. If your hips are locked up, movements will occur around that limited joint, causing a different motion or a different position.

quote:

Originally posted by austinwass:
Mobilitywod has some really great joint mobs, flexibility and soft tissue ideas that athletes can implement on themselves. Ankle mobility exercises such as Wall Dorsiflexion and band eversion are very effective. Will post a link showing these exercises. Check your hip flexors and hip internal rotation range of motion. These are things that can limit the movement at your ankle. If your hip flexors or hip internal rotation range of motion are limited,the hips will externally rotate causing one leg to be externally rotated and the other in a neutral position, just like in the 2nd picture you posted. If your hips are locked up, movements will occur around that limited joint, causing a different motion or a different position.

Ok sounds like that could a posibility. My hip flexors are very tight (becomes visible when i squat), but i have been working on them with foam rolling and the problem seems to be decreasing. Can you post the link showing the exercises you mentioned?? Also how would i be able to fix the hip rotation problem you mention

Sure no problem. I will post those exercises as well as the hip internal rotation exercise later this afternoon.

LE1996, start doing yoga 2 to 3 times a week, this will really help.

Here are the videos to the exercises mentioned in my earlier post. Try these and see how you feel. In terms of range of motion and soft tissue work, A physical therapist once told me that you work on a particular limitation until you notice a change or "treat until change". I found this to be very helpful with my athletes, specifically for poor tissue quality and joint limitations. Hope this helps.

Ankle Mobility

Wall Ankle Dorsiflexion

Hip Internal Rotation ROM

Band Hip Flexor

Austin, do you guys use the Functional Movement Screen (FMS)?

We do a pre-screening evaluation for all athletes. Includes movement patterns (in which some exercises are similar to the FMS and some I have added to get a better understanding of the athlete's capabilities and functional movements), joint strength testing, joint ROM, and joint angle measurements. We also discuss medical history and injury history.

Thanks for all the replies and help, but I'm wondering am I the only person with this problem? Has anybody else experienced this problem?

Hey bud no your not the only one with this problem. Flexibility is something that can always be improved and at the catcher position it is crucial. Flexibility can be the difference between a good and a great catcher.

I use the foam roller daily. Especially make sure to roll on the IT Band. A tight IT Band can impede on your hip flexibility and also can cause Knee pain or discomfort.

I also have stretching routine of eleven stretches that I try to do daily. Static stretching can be particularly effective after foam rolling. I will post the link to the routine when I find it online again.

If your having problems with flexibility in our stance another good thing to try is simply practice sitting in your stance. You can do this in front of the TV and try to get to your ideal stance. Flexibility can always be improved as you can always get lower or wider in your relaxed stance.

Always make sure you are warmed up before you are to get in your stance for a prolonged period of time. This includes practice and games. Most teams do a dynamic warmup before games and practices but if yours doesn't then make sure you do. After the dynamic warmup we as catchers need to do extra strectching on our own. Make sure you get your groins, hip flexors, thighs, quads, and calves. Leg Swings are always great as well. Last thing I almost forgot but always do your whole warmup in your shin guards. Running in gear is different than running without it and this will help you get used to it. The second reason to always wear your gear while warming up is the same reason you always wear baseball pants in front of college coaches. It shows that you take your job seriously as the catcher of the team. Since you take your job seriously it also reflects on your leadership ability.

The last thing I have to say about being a catcher is always keep an open mind. Their is always more to learn at the catcher position. This site is a very valuable resource because you would be surprised by the baseball experience of some of the posters. I am a high school senior telling some of what I've learned in the last four years so hopefully this was a help to you.