young catcher...

If he's 8 years old and this is the most pressing fundamental he needs to work on, congratulations!

There's a good bit of latitude in what is considered acceptable in how to do this. Some catchers hang their glove down by bending their wrist. I've always preferred a much more subtle slight rotating of the forearm so the pocket turns toward the first base dugout.

The reason to do this is not so much to relax the catcher as it is to relax the forearm and glove hand so that it is quicker to get to the pitch and so it receives the ball more softly.

If your kid can learn to do this at 8 or 9, he will be ahead of the game. But none of it will matter if he doesn't learn the more basic fundamentals like blocking, footwork, etc.

Thankd Rob. Nope, that's it. Actually this is all he needs to work on. He has everything else down to a degree that he is so far ahead of his peers it is almost unbelievable. If he were not my kid it would actually be unbelievable. I am amazed at how far he has come with just the occasional coaching input and gathering most of his mechanics from playing video games.

I'm just kidding, ok!! He's a kid and loves to catch. He tries hard and enjoys it. He does what a lot seem to think is a pretty good job for his age. Catcher is not a position that gets a lot fo attention in coach pitch here so his being just a small step ahead can make a kid really stand out. Heck, actually knowing what one does set shim apart from most.

Fundamentals definitely need to be and are being worked on at a pace that suits a kid. He's coming along and we keep it fun. The way you explained the hand turn is exactly what I was looking for. Not so much a relaxing as a getting ready phase. He's pretty relaxed already he just seems to be stting there a lot while waiting for the next pitch. This little hand movement could be somewhat of a timing move kind of like moving toward the ball as a pitch is made when playing infield if that makes sense.

Thanks again,

Tim

Our HS ran a catchers camp last week for the younger guys and I think it was great. My son was working with kids that were from 8-14. There are very few catching coaches so this was a very well attended event. Ask the local HS coach if he (or a player) can help with teaching your son the right way.

For example, I have seen where LL coaches teach a crow hop for a throw to second. I never let my son do it - he did it the right way even though in the early days he didnt throw many out. It is paying off now.

Thanks for the thoughts 09. There is nothing I would love more than to have my boy get to spend a little time with the HS catcher we have here. I saw one of his games the other night and all I could think was, that's what it should look like right there.

I bet I can get that done. It would probably make the young mans day knowing that someone thinks that highly of him that they would want him to spend some time with there little catcher.

Deacon, you are right. My son was in full uniform and many feet taller then most of the kids - they looked at him in total awe. Then they found out he was a pretty nice guy also. I'm a firm believer that everyone should "give back" to the game but I'm not sure who had more fun - my son or the younger kids.

Catch09, just out of curiosity - where 'bout in "lanta" are you?