Top catching material??

Jay Weaver is outstanding and his information and the way he approaches his instruction is probably the best I've seen to date. Very meticulous and detailed in the way he explains his content. There's always a reason WHY he is teaching the way he teaches.

You'll want to visit www.catching-101.com

Xan Barksdale is a valuable contributor to these pages.

I second what the others have said re Jay and Xan.

I knew nothing about catching when my son started at the position. I've read several books, and what I noticed (and was surprised to learn) is that there's no one way to do things. Therefore, getting input from more than once source can be very helpful.

Xan has a great website and book (I bought it). Also, follow him on Facebook. Jay has a good DVD (I bought one) which covers the fundamentals very well. Jay also sends out terrific email tips.

Brett Mayne also has a book, but I would spend my money with Xan and Jay first.

The best resources I have in my collection are from Tom Griffin, Jerry Weinstein, Kevin Schnall, and Charlie Greene Jr.

I like using the Weaver DVD with my younger catchers as a good solid intro.

Props to Xan Barksdale website as well, lots of quality drills and information there as well.

I have a catching instructional video available that covers every aspect of catching. It is 2 DVD's with over 4 hours of information. Contact me at tgriffin@cn.edu

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Surprisingly, there isn't a whole lot of quality information out there about catching. I've taken a lot of pride about trying to produce high quality information for kids, parents, and coaches to use!

My website is listed above, and my book can be found on that website. My DVD has gotten delayed and I don't have an exact release date set yet.

Other than my stuff, I would recommend Coach Griffin's DVD. It is also packed with a lot of good info.

I am looking for the best catching stuff for HS kids. 15-18 year olds.

Xan and Tom would you say your stuff works well with that age group?

Do you guys only focus on the catching part or do you also give some ideas for strengthening the arm?

Thanks!

The basic skills and techniques taught shouldn't vary much based upon age whether the catcher is 12 or 23. The only difference is that the 23 year old has seen more variations of technques then a 15 year old and has probebly figered out what works best for him, especially if he's still playing at 23.

My point being, buy the book/video or check out the onlime materials, a catcher must always evaluate other techniques/drills to make sure he's not missing out on something that works best for him. Buying videos or books are a small price to pay for gaining knowldge and/or validating your current technique/training. A lesson will cost more then a book or video.

btw I even have a Bob Bennett VHS and book on catching from a long time ago.

I know that all of my material works perfectly for that age group. I've seen Tom's video, and it also has good info for that age group.

Mechanics are mechanics...what I mean by that is I don't teach my college players any different techniques than I teach younger kids in camps or lessons. The only difference is that I get the opportunity to work with my players everyday so they're getting more "intense" coaching.

If you're interested in what I'm teaching check out all of my videos that are on the website and YouTube. You'll get an idea of how I do things.

You don't need to buy a book or video to learn how to strengthen the arm. There is only one way to do it...long toss!

Thanks Xan for the quick response! and I agree with you about long toss it helped my arm strength greatly!

I will definitely look into your book and would love to get your dvd? When will that be available?

Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by PatrickW:
I am looking for the ebst catching material guys out there??

Anybody use Jay Weaver catching? If so what do you think?

Any other ones out there?

Thank you!!

Jay Weaver's material is probably the best out there. His father was an absolute genius in terms of catching instruction.

Would also like to thank you all for the kind words!

Patrick, all of the instruction on our website, DVD and the clinics we run is tailored to catchers of any age. Xan is right, mechanics are mechanics. I teach the same thing to the 8U students that I do the professional catchers who come in for instruction. The body works efficiently one way. Some of the older catchers may have the ability to implement the mechanics more successfully, but the information is the same.

If you have any questions about our programs please don't hesitate to PM me or send me an e-mail.

My son is being converted to catcher for the first time at 20 years old. I am going to your websites and will look into buying any DVDs you have.

What do you think are the most basic things he should start working on?

Fillsfan,


With your son moving behind the plate a little later than most, I am assuming that someone believes he has a pretty good arm and can handle the throws back there.

There are plenty of catchers out there who lack solid mechanics in their throw, but still pull it off because of their athleticism and ability to throw hard.

Because of this, I would recommend focusing on the stance your son will be asked to get into and then start working on receiving pitches and blocking, as new catchers can be exposed very quickly in regards to those two skills if they haven't spent the proper amount of time working on them. Especially at that age and level.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

That a lot Jay. You are correct in your assumption. What you've stated above makes great sense. I will relay this info. I'm assuming his school has a decent catching coach who will help him with this.

Thanks also for the PM offer, I just might take you up on it in the future. Your website might answer some of my other questions.

Anytime fillsfan!

Just let me know if I can help in anyway. I will say this, and I mean no disrespect to your son's coaches if they actually have someone there working with the catchers, but let him know that if he really wants to get better at this stuff, to set aside some time in between class, practice and games to head to the field or practice facility and work on this stuff by himself or with a couple of the other catchers.

There's no guarantee the program has a coach there who specializes in the position or that there is even time set aside for the catchers to get a decent amount of work in. I remember that being a point of frustration for me my first couple years of college.

For what it is worth, I just finished Coach Weaver's dvd. I found it to be a good start with a lot of helpful info. Some was a review from what my boy has already learned. Some was new. And some was a different take on how to do something. It is certainly worth having in your library to compare and contrast against other ideas.