Good catcher, bad throws

I think it is a good idea to see an instructor. You didn't say what the main problem was with his throwing - is it that his arm is not strong enough to get the ball to 2nd, or is he very inaccurate, or both?

In either case, definitely get some expert help who can look at his footwork, transition and throwing mechanics, as well as gauge his arm strength.

Good luck! You are right to get on top of this early, because a catcher has to throw well.

I have heard a few things about arm strength and throw downs/pop times. What I read on another forum made me realize the if you throw 20 mph faster it will only cut you pop time down .2-.3 tenth of a second. Yes don’t get me wrong its good to have arm strength, but what helps you pop time is working on your foot work. This is the key to improving throws to second.


my son is going throught the same thing and I am as perplexed as you are. After reading the above it make me thing.


drill

quote:

is it that his arm is not strong enough to get the ball to 2nd, or is he very inaccurate, or both?

Well, by appearances one would have to call it an arm strength issue, as his throws aren't nice line drives but rathere a semi-rainbow. Accuracy is sometimes an issue also, but usually his throws are somewhere close.

It will start with his stance behind the plate, then footwork and finally several parts of his arm movement. Then the mental aspect.

The D1 catcher would be better as an instructor, IMHO. (You'll find any number of catchers that can help pitchers; far fewer pitchers who could help catchers ) In any case, the arm movements of a pitcher are very different from the short arm throw of a catcher.

He's got some work to do if he's rainbowing it, but it should be easily fixable with a good instructor. He'll need to do lots of reps, even if it's just shadowing the motion while he watches TV! Overcoming a bad habit in a reaction play like thrwoing to second will take work, but he's definately got time to accomplish it.

Best of luck to him. Gotta love catchers!

Style, you have a PM

long toss everyday, but make sure it is true long toss! Footwork is key. Stay low with hips use your legs. Try this. Have him **** the ball and then tell him to try to throw the ball directly over is head to his target. It as worked for a few of the kids I have worked with.

Alot of good suggestions about footwork,arm mechanics and arm strengthening stuff. Stay low and do long toss (at his age, he needs to work up to at least 150-180 feet; as he works back in all throws must be on a line).

As far as instructors, I'd start with the catcher guy. If he sees arm mechanics issues, talk to the coach about seeing the pitching guy to straighten things out and getting your son moving in the right direction (catcher guy may be able to fix the problem also).

Don't know what the cause of the problem is but I had a catcher a couple years that had a habit of dropping his elbow as he threw the ball...really frustrated the kid. His release point was maybe ear high and almost looked like he pushed the ball instead of throwing it. Rainbows or balls in the dirt. Sometimes he looked like Johnnie Bench, others like his grandmother. I had his Dad make a stand out of thin PVC pipe high enough that he had to release the ball at the proper height to clear the top bar. The kid spent the winter throwing over it into a tarp in the basement (along with working on footwork and lifting). Saw him the next spring at his HS game and the problem was gone. His velocity was up with alot more accuracy. The kid said he threw about 50 balls everyday, 7 days a week, using the PVC contraption. I told him the PVC didn't fix the problem; he did by working hard over the winter.

Also look at the angle of his throwing elbow after he takes the ball back and before he come forward to throw. If it is less than 90 degrees ( ball closer to his ear than his elbow), he'll have a tendency to throw pie- plates with his hand moving under the ball instead of staying behind it.

Arm strength is important but transfer mechanics and footwork will help him improve his release time so be sure he works on those as well. A cannon arm is wasted if the ball is in the mitt too long.

Looking for catching instuctor in Illinois (Chicago area). Need work on throwing to second.

For arm strength,I would use thera stretch bands every night.If you dont have any,most orthopedic clinics have those for free if you call ahead

I use it every night.Just tie it to a door,or if you have a bolt in the wall,that would work too.It really does help

Our son had very similar problems... excellent plate skills, but arm/throw issues. We found that he could throw hard from say, third base, but from behind the plate he somehow lost a lot.

We did many different things, read a lot of different things, talked to a lot of different people, went to catcher camps, etc.

First, one of the biggest keys he experimented on was getting his footwork and motion down to the place where he could be comfortable and quick... just getting rid of the ball quickly was a big key. That took a lot of thinking through things, tweaking, observing.... "feeling" the motion and the ball. A good exchange from the glove was important. The caution here is that as many catching experts as there are... there seem to be just as many variations in technique. Hate to put it this way, but we found a lot of "dogmatic experts" along the way. In the end, he had to decide what worked for him (yet keep an open mind). Also, sometimes some techniques work better on the second go around. Anyway, having said all that, I think the best catching instruction we got was from the UVA staff at a clinic they did near us. Another good session was with Al McCormick, who frequents this website. We drove down to MD to see him one time and it was well worth the trip. Of course this website has also been a gold mine of information and support... for which we have been very grateful.

Second, we found some good training materials at http://www.baseballstrengthtrainingsystems.com/. It's not too glossy, but it's the best stuff we found to date. Son is also on the lookout for various baseball-specific exercises that he incorporates along the way. He trains very hard during his off-seasons... and in-season too. I'd say that a lot of abdominal/core work made a huge difference on his throwing... and the right amount of weight work (dumbbells, bands, "rice buckets", etc.). I actually think this probably had the biggest impact. Even though our son is "big and strong", there were certain things he needed work on... things that turned out to be pretty important. Catching is extremely physical (and mental)... so good physical training is important.

Our son is now in his second season at college (small DIII). He backs up an all-conference catcher, but he now also has a reputation for a strong arm... and now gets more playing time. Last game he completed a fairly rare 1-2-3 double-play that NO ONE thought he had any business trying... but he got the trail runner at 1B with a rifle throw. Even last year, I doubt he would have pulled off that play. He's also finds that he is getting compliments from other teams... and umpires. It's just little stuff, but they are nuggets that help keep him going when things get a little tough. The point here is that we're talking about a kid who did not even try out for baseball as a HS freshman and really did not play until his Junior HS season. So, the training, the techniques and the effort really does work.

This brings up my third and final point... some things just take time. Our son started late. But, it sounds like yours is starting early... and that's great!! As long as he loves the game, don't let him give up. This sport is more like running a marathon than any other sport I have been around (except running a marathon). It requires much more patience and pacing than is evident. <grin>.

Snowball:
That was an awesome post!! Thank your for the inspiration. I made my son read that and I've printed a copy out. Again, thanks.