Conditioning for Catchers

quote:

I am concerned that squatting this much weight may hurt his knees, but I admit I am clueless about this type of thing.

You are not as clueless as the "coach". Catchers’ knees (joints) take a beating as it is. Your son needs to keep his knees and legs flexible but putting excessive stress (275 lbs) on the knees is not the way to do it. Catchers need to avoid stress on the knees if possible. Many use the "kneesavers" product while catching to REDUCE the stress on the knees. I think a low impact resistance work out on something like an elliptical machine is the most effective and safe way for a catcher to build stamina in his legs.
As far as weights go --- baseball players and weights will always be a an area for controversy. After doing research I limited my son (catcher) to 50lbs of weights. He never did "squats". He only used the weights to build the core and upper body. He did use some light weights on the "leg extension" attachment of his weight bench. In high school preseason he would do deep knee bends to "condition" his legs prior to the start of the season --- but no weights. In college he used the elliptical machine --- no weights.
Fungo

Thanks so much for your reply... My 'gut' told me the weight was too much, but I wanted to check with others before questioning the coach about it... We're always very careful with our son's knees, having him stretch, ice after games, etc... I certainly don't want him doing things that are counter-productive to his joint health, especially at such a young age!

Sounds like a football coach to me

A squat done with perfect form is one of the most benefical excercises any athlete could perform.

It should be a staple in any high school or college strength and conditioning program and in my experience it is.

Weight is going to depend on the individual. 275 may be a lot for some people but not for others.

I have a couple of opinions on the subject of catchers doing squats or other heavy leg exercises. First of all , I personally believe that there is a time & a place for heavier lowerbody workouts for catchers , but I don't think that 14 years of age fits under into that timeline. At 14 years of age you are should be very concerned with growth plates. I am not saying that you can't squat , but this an age that you are more concerned with proper technique & extra flexibility training. As some young men go through growth spurts they lose lowerbody (Quads & Hamstrings)flexibility. Make sure that he is on a sound stretching program , as well as a good Hamstring program. This will help alleviate a good deal of the normal pain associated with growth spurts. As your son gets older , I would have him on a strength program for his lowerbody. Alot of people think that sense a catcher is squatting so many times during their careers they need to eliminate squats from their program. The reason that I have my catchers Squat is because repetitive bodyweight squatting does don't maintain the strength in your Quads , but it will weaken the knees over time , if strengthening is not part of your program. I have never told a catcher that they need to squat a certain amount of weight , but our goal is to be able to squat above their bodyweight for atleast 8-12 repetitions in good form. But I only have my players do a Half Squat exercise. This just means that they will limit the depth of their Squat to 1/2 way between standing straight up & a full squat. During the season my catchers will squat twice a week & Leg Press the other day. I'm sorry that this response got so long winded , but remember that this is just my opinion so please take it with a grain of salt. Good Luck to you & your son !
Best Wishes ,
WEIGHT COACH

At 14 there are other exercises to stengthen his legs besides heavy squats. One legged squats (without weights) is good at increasing leg strength and will also help to develop his balance. Lunge walks holding light dumbells are very good. Stepping up onto a platform holding light dumbells will condition and stengthen. Wall sits without any weight or holding a light weight will stenthen the legs. Leg extensions (for the quads around the front of the knee)and leg curls on a machine are very good. If you want to do something heavier than light dumbell exercises at this point consider a leg press machine but if he hasn't lifted before go slow at increasing the weight. Squats are a great exercise but heavy squats at 14 seems a bit aggresive.

My son is a 15yo catcher. He spent the summer with the team athletic trainer at a nearby university with a very good ball program. They worked out a catcher specific program that includes light weights, core exercises, plyometrics, and sprints. He is 6' 170 lbs. Here is the basic weight routine he was given at the beginning of summer:

-Rotator Cuff Exercises (front raise w/ thumbs up, scarecrows) 2.5 lbs, 1 sets of 10 reps each

Front Squat 30 lbs 5 sets/ 5 reps
Hang Clean 40 lbs 5x5
Push Press 40 lbs 4x5
Turkish get-ups 15x2 then 20x2
Lat pulls underhand - (can't read the handwriting!)
Med Ball Slams 10 lb 3x6 plus a superset
MB Toss + Get up 15lb 3x6

You can see there isn't a lot of weight used, just multiple reps. Not trying to bulk up like a football player. This routine doesn't include the aerobic, speed, and flexibility exercises he does. I'm sure there are many methods, and this is just one.

Wow, there is some great information in the replies I've received~ thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to offer your input! I have contacted my son's coach and expressed my concerns... Today, he is going to talk with the school trainer to see if they can come up with some catcher-specific lower body workouts that won't place undue stress on the knees... This will also help the other catchers in the program... The coach is a firm believer in squats, but is flexible about the amount of weight used, which puts my mind at ease...