Speed

If you're truly serious about improving your speed you might consider working with a track coach. I've had my summer players that were interested sign up for sprint coaching. We work out with a guy who is the head coach of a h.s. track team. He's worked with lots of sprinters, and he really has cleaned up a lot of the player's running form. Most all of them have gained a few 10ths of a second on their 60 times, and especially 30's like from home to first.

I also got our h.s. track coach to agree to do it for our varsity baseball team, but the head baseball coach didn't think it was worthwhile so it went nowhere for the high school players.

Also keep in mind that speed for a catcher is the least important tool at that position. Their main focus should be on arm strength and fielding skills, followed by hitting skills.

I agree with Mr3000 about speed being the least important tool for a catcher, but it is still important to maximize your ability in this department. I consider the importance of catchers tools in this order
1. Fielding.
2. Throwing.
3.Hitting.
4. Power
5. Speed


With this said, I've seen some very good high school catchers who run the 60 anywhere from 7.05 to 7.40, depending on the kid. It isn't unusual to see the faster catchers also possess good agility and sound footwork, etc. It does go together in many cases.

1. getting with a track coach is a good idea to learn proper form
2. squats, dead lifts , etc in weightroom
3. find a good speed/quickness workout program. theres plenty good ones out there. you can take a look at ours on our website if you wish. its under handouts.
steve
http://www.leaguelineup.com/raiderbaseball

I agree fielding is #1, and I am always working on it. Everytime I am catching, even in bullpen before a game, I am always trying my hardest to keep the ball in front of me. I try do long toss for my throwing 2 times a week. Hitting I do with the team, but I think speed is better than power. You aren't going to hit Homers every time, and lets say you have the same OBP, your much more effective with speed because you can steal bases, take 3rd from 1st on a single to right. I think a fast catcher would be valuable. I don't think it's essential but very useful.

I catch as well...i'm a senior this year and I would recommend putting on some bulk. I wouldn't worry so much about the speed as size and strength. I am 6'0, 205lbs...my junior year i was 6'0, 175lbs. I put on a good 25lbs of muscle in the time from football to baseball. A lot depends on your workout program but mostly it depends on your diet. I got on protein shakes and eating 5-6 times a day, working out 4 times a week on a split schedule. The diet is huge. Any questions, ask me

now I'm not sure if this is a local thing or if they have this in other states but, last off season I participated in the speed training program called FASTFIT. It stands for:
Fittness
Agility
Speed
Tarining
For
Individuals (check spelling) and
Teams

I live in Latrobe, PA. The one I went to is in Level Green.(Near Penn Trafford) If anyone has ever heard of this please back me up on this. I was always the slowest kid on the team. Led-foot if you will. Stole maybe 2 or 3 bases a year. My following season, after participated in it, I finished 2nd in my team in stolen bases with 17. Doesn't sound like much but we only play 24 games. Anyway, the one I went to is run by Dan Obremski. Really nice guy. Now, as I have said, I don't know if this is only a local thing or not, but I know for sure it really increased my foot speed immencely. Speed in like 75% form and this program really straightened my out. If there is anybody from western PA and you wich to increase foot speed, I STRONGLY recommend this program. It is $60 per month and you train on Monday's and Thursdays. BTW, I learned that speed is A) arm movement B) hip explotion C)Dorciflexion. Bulking up you bicepts will decrease you ability to lock you arms at 90 degrees and swing powerfully from hip to chin. Bulking up you legs MAY help but I'm no expert. I know for sure that bulking up you arms will not help. Don't take my word for it, if you live near Western PA or if they have this near your area I strongly recommend it.

-Kevin

steve peterson the coach at middle tennessee state university - a very good d1 program - listed his catching priorities in this order:
1. catch the ball
2. block the baseball
3. control the running game
4. call the game
5. hit

Development of Speed:
1) Leg strength through weight training
2) Dynamic leg strength: Hill running, stadium stairs, weighted vests.
3) Development of explosiveness: plyometrics, olympic weight training.
4) Maximization of lean body mass.
5) Practice running fast!!! Whether it's ground starts, pushup starts, flying 20's, In and outs, resisted sprinting, or just regular sprints......If you want to be fast, you have to practice running fast!!

Speed is important for all positions in baseball.....catcher is no exception.

Check this out, its part of an article by Kurt Hester (Strength and Conditioning Specialist for L. S. U.'s 1996 and 1997 N. C. A. A. National Championship Baseball Teams. The 1997 team set an NCAA record by hitting 188 home runs for the season)

"If Speed Kills Dont Kill Your Speed" about

CST (Common Sense Training)

Rule #1
Train for strength not endurance. Remember your training for strength not a triathlon. Don't spend an extreme amount of time in a hypertrophy phase or endurance training. Train at five reps and below at eighty percent and above. Do this as soon as possible in
your training cycle. You have to be strong to run fast, so why train above six reps? Your goal is to get strong - to run fast, not to lift long - to run slow and long.

Rule #2
Train explosively. Olympic lifts train the athlete to explode and use maximum possible force. Athletes will develop a high rate of force, a key point in sports training. Athletes who implement these lifts in their lifting program will train fast twitch muscle
fibers, the fibers employed to give you speed, explosiveness and power. In essence performing an Olympic lift is performing a fast, explosive
weighted jump. Sprinting in essence is a series of fast, explosive bounds. These lifts will directly help an athlete run faster Implement
lifts such as: power clean, hang clean, power snatch, hang snatch, split jerk and jerk from the rack. The amount of weight does not matter
as much as bar speed.

Rule #3
Train your VMO. Training the vastus medialis will help decrease ground contact time which is crucial to increase speed. Incorporate exercises such as: chain back squat, chain front squat, walking lunge and split squat into your program.

Rule #4
You need hamstring and low back strength. Because the back squat is one of the test for lower body strength in most programs, strength coaches sometimes over look the hamstrings and
lower back. The hamstrings are connected to the glutes and back extensors. This is through the sarco-tuberal and dorso-sacral ligaments All lower body workouts should involve exercises for both the hip extension function and the knee flexor function Knee flexion exercises: leg curls and glute/ham raise. Hip extension exercises: Romanian deadlift, goodmorning reverse hyper and back extensions.

Jessica Rikard, LMT
Assistant Strength Coach
Gayle Hatch Weightlifting

Sorta off topic but about building speed. Do those Nike barefoot's help you gain any speed?

quote:

Originally posted by rhbaseball:
Sorta off topic but about building speed. Do those Nike barefoot's help you gain any speed?

Not really sure, I think they were developed so that your feet feel more comfortable while training. I really don't think training with a kind of shoe makes that big a difference.

http://www.nike.com/nikefree
The facts from the nike site.

I don't condone or advocate them, but I think the $85 price tag is a little steep. Judging by what I read on that link, you can use them if you want, it's worth a try.