KNEE SAVERS!

My son doesn't use them because they keep him from getting as low as he likes to.

During the few innings a season I catch [3rd string] [caught approx. 13 innings this season] I love knee savers. I'm not exactly a small guy, so it definatly helps, and I have no problem crouching at all.

preference I guess.

Its really a personal preference.Its not bad or vice versa to use them.This is the first year I have used them and they helped.I feel more stable and set behind the plate with them on.Also,late in games,they give you a bit of a boost

I like them, but it does make it more difficult to get lower, but it's not that bad. They also help you from getting as tired, and when you are the starting catcher, catching every game, including double headers, they help a lot. I am the only catcher really on our JV team, and we had a tourney, over 3 days, all doubleheaders, and I caught the first two games on the first day, then the first game on the second day. I would've caught the last two games on saturday, but I got sick. If i hadn't had the KS's, I would not have been able to do that.

They definatly make it easier to catch with. I use them, and I don't think it is that restricting.It all depends on how you feel with/without them. If it makes you feel better, then do it.

The last time my son used knee savers they got hooked together and he ran into a pole!!

Whether they are valuable or not will depend upon your style of catching. My son says he could only use them while giving signals and that he feels they slow him down and sometimes impede his running so he doesn't use them. Only 1 catcher out of 5 on his college team use them.

To use them or not is of course personal preference, but since you asked for opinions keep the knee savers on your old shinguards and use them for catching bullies, that is it.


Count how many guys in the Show and the CWS are using them, let that answer your question.

CP, thanks for the great mental image --- hope your son wasn't hurt....and had a sense of humor about it.

Wear the knee savers at a young age, while you're still deciding if catching is for you if they are comfortable. Or if you're injured.

IMHO, they restrict movement, keep a catcher higher which (amongst other things) can block the ump's view, and encourage a lazy set behind the plate.

That is what I don't like about them, but if you want to be able to walk when you are seventy, It's a good idea to use them. The reason they got hooked together was probably because he has his buckles on the inside. If he had them on the outside of his legs, there shouldn't be anything for them to get hooked on. I have gotten my cleats stuck in mine a few times, but it was not on the kneesavers, but the strap, so it goes both ways.

There are some pretty weak arguments against knee savers here.
Come on folks, are we to buy into the stories that 5 ounces of foam slow down a cathcer wearing 5 pounds of gear. I could get that catcher in shape.
I have taught college catchers to get their butts down on the ground with them on and they all claim it helps reduce stress on their knees. Its the long term affect of catching that these were invented for, not the mental feeling that you're quicker or lighter for 1 game. I have never seen these slow a catcher down.
Try full split stretches to improve your flexibility, then you'll be able to get low.
That argument is as lame as, I can't find the ball with my mask on.
If you can catch it going 90 from the pitcher, you can see a throw coming in from a position player.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that the weight of the ks is slowing anybody down, but the obstruction and the use they're put to..

With or without knee savers, a well-trained catcher with talent will do a good job. Problem is, as we have discussed on this board before, catcher-specific training is the rarest training in baseball.

My experience has been that catchers wearing knee savers, from youth ball on up, rely on them to sit back and get comfortable and those catchers are rarely as effective as they could be.

I wonder if any studies have been done to determine if putting a couple-few inches of foam behind the legs do indeed assist the health of the knees.

Orlando, I don't have any scientific data for ya, but here's some simple stuff...

-The foam prevents your knees from bending to where they are nearly parallel. When your knees to bend to that point, I believe it tears the ligaments and such in the knee.

Similar situation is in the weight room doing squats. Your maximum success comes when you go just past parallel. Any further and it, too, begins to tear at the ligaments and everything else in the joint.

Personally, I like the knee savers. Actually, I feel that without them I feel too low. Yes, the knee savers can allow you to get comfortable, but that can allow you to focus more on your catching dutyies rather than the pain the catcher may feel in their knees.

My understanding of it. More than happy to debate.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:
Orlando, I don't have any scientific data for ya, but here's some simple stuff...

-The foam prevents your knees from bending to where they are nearly parallel. When your knees to bend to that point, I believe it tears the ligaments and such in the knee.

exactly. when you are bending your knee as far as it will go, not matter how flexible you are, you are risking hyperextending ligaments, muscles, and gringding your bones. When you do that, at least what I would guess, is that your knee kind of starts to try to pull out of the socket, because of all the strain, and then twisting and sudden movements are more likely to worsen it. I'm not a orthopedist or anything, but thats what I'd guess.

also, I have hear many people say, that most pros don't use them. Many pros do use them, and also, they are in about as good of shape as possible, and their bodies are specifically tuned for their position. High School players are not pros, and they should not pretend to be able to do everything a pro can do.

one more thing, where do you guys wear them, on the bottom two straps, like from your calf down, or do wear them where they are at the strap going around the back of the knee and the calf strap? That could have something to do with not getting low enough. I have seen little league players that wear them at the back of their knee, and they look like they are sitting in a chair they are so high up.

I wear mine up leaving the bottom strap open.

Knee Savers train lazy catchers. Sure some guys can do a good job behind the dish while wearing them, but that doesn't mean that they train good habits ... catching isn't about being comfortable.

I played baseball at a high level and I never used them (except for bullpens). My brother played baseball at a very high level and he never used them. My close friend was a 4th round draft pick (catcher) by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he has never used them, nor did the organization support the use of them. My College Baseball Coach does not want his catchers using them, nor did my Summer League coach. Again, watch the College World Series and the guys playing in the Show count how many catchers are using Knee Savers, let that answer your question.

Does wearing the knee savers "up" cause additional strain on the knee? I can see how the pads would relieve stress if worn "low", but I would think wearing them to far "up" would add pressure to the knee like a lever.

I have my bottom strap open, my knee savers are right in back of my knee.

I totally disagree about it training lazy anything. I'm just as not lazy as any catcher that doesn't wear them. Where do find the proof for that?

quote:

Originally posted by CollegeParent:
Does wearing the knee savers "up" cause additional strain on the knee? I can see how the pads would relieve stress if worn "low", but I would think wearing them to far "up" would add pressure to the knee like a lever.

that's what I would expect, especially with all the weight of your body on it, but if it's comfortable, I don't see why not.

I don't think they train you to be lazy, but they can add to it if you are an already lazy catcher.

I guess I am old school, but I do not like them. I have no proof that they make catchers lazy, it is just an assumption based on years of observation ... if they work for you use them, but I still think you will be quicker without them.

Good luck.

knee savers dont make a lazy catcher,you make yourself a lazy catcher.

A knee saver doesnt prevent you from dropping down to block a ball,nor does it prevent you from being able to get low.If you cant get low with knee savers on,chances are you arent doing squats as effectively as you should.Same with lunges.

They are there for support of the knees.They arent there to make you lazy.They also help prop you up a little and give you a little push near the end of long games when your knees are heavy

Im sorry but I feel the argument that they make lazy is a load of you know what.You make yourself lazy by bad habits and lazy work ethic,period.

Well said, futurecatcher.

futurecatcher,

The problem is many kids today especially 13-15 think they are catchers or can catch better than the next guy. As you know there is a difference between saying you can catch and actually doing it well. Strapping on knee-savers, IMHO, allows them to sit and glove swipe at dirt balls. You are right only you make yourself lazy. But, knee-savers do create negative skill development for young catchers that do not have the true love or ignorance to catch.

smallpotatoes,

the ones you are talking about don't go too far as catchers, and are probably a pretty small minority. Since when do knee savers make you glove swipe at dirt balls? thats where a coach comes in and doesn't allow that to go on.

I wear knee savers a lot of the time, but occasionally I don't, just a different feeling, and when my knees are feeling strong. They do not make you swipe at them in the dirt.
Not having a coach to teach you proper technique on how to block the ball is what causes that. I have been swiping at the dirt balls for the past few years, because I never really knew any better. My coaches always said "slide out and block it", but I never really knew what they meant. Now in HS, i have a coach, and he works with the catchers during individual defense, and we work on blocking and framing, etc. I have become much more proficient at blocking, and that is using kneesavers, because I have had the proper teaching to show me how. If a catcher is never taught how to play his position correctly, chances are they will develop bad habits, and many people blame them on anything but the coaches, knee savers, being lazy, etc.

I completely agree with you both. What I am trying to state is without proper coaching or desire no tools available will help you get better. Knee-savers or no knee-savers, either you can catch or you can't. Catchers are a special breed.

Again, do whatever you are comfortable with.

The purpose of this board is to offer opinions, and in some small way, help players and their parents understand the complexity of this game by drawing on past and present experiences. Be it with recruiting, or how to hit to the opposite field, or even recomendations on bat size and weight. Nobody has all of the answers, a lot pretend, but they don't ... the only thing we have is experience. I have been there, I played high school baseball, I played college baseball, I even played a little after college (never got paid for it though). I coached college baseball, and I started and continue to run a baseball training facility. I see tons of catchers, I have worked out tons of catchers ... and I happen to see a lot of bad habits that have developed due to the use of knee savers.

As you know there is an exception to ever rule, you guys may be that exception. But on a whole, I see knee savers doing more harm than good for the average catcher. As mentioned in previous posts, count the number of kids you see in college and the pro's using them, let that be your answer. I apologize if I insulted your ability to catch, your work ethic, or your knowledge of the position, that was not my intent.

Good luck.

I agree that there are some catcher's who become lazy with knee savers, but as you say there are exceptions, and laziness can't be guaranteed with knee savers. There are lazy catcher's without knee savers also. Those are the ones who don't go too far, with or without knee savers.

I think it's kind of entertaining that there are so many different opinions about two pieces of foam strapped to your shinguards. Just odd to think about it.

Adam, you have a PM.