Catching
Calling Pitches/Receiving Stance
Catching Drills
Framing Drills
Blocking Drills
Footwork Drills
Throwing Drills
Combination Drills
A good catcher is probably the most important part of a softball team. This player has to be a strong leader who is extremely self-confident and decisive. She has to be an aggressive, hard working, dedicated player who is willing to back up bases, withstand collisions at home plate, as well as be familiar with all of the characteristics of her pitching staff as well as all opposing batters. She also must have a strong and accurate arm and always be one step ahead of everyone else on the field.
Calling Pitches/Receiving Stance
While calling pitches, the catcher's weight should be evenly distributed on both of her feet, with her feet being shoulder's width apart in a relaxed and comfortable position. Her weight should be mainly back on her heels, as this provides a wider base of support. Her glove-hand wrist should be resting on the outside of her knee with her glove hanging down past the knee making sure her palm is facing in with her fingers down acting as a shield blocking the third base coach from stealing her signs. Her free-hand knee should be turned in towards the center of her body in order to prevent the first base coach from also stealing her signs. She should keep her signs tucked in as close to her body and upper inner thigh area as possible limiting the view to only her pitcher and middle infielders. After calling her pitch, the catcher should then get into her proper receiving stance. In order to do this, the catcher must have her weight evenly distributed on both of her feet with her feet being shoulder width apart in a relaxed and comfortable position. With no runners on base, her weight can be back more. But if there are runners on, her back end should be raised slightly with most of her weight being on the balls of her feet while her knees are turned slightly inwards. This prepares her for a steal or bunt by enabling her to get out of the box and field her position more quickly. Her arm should be extended towards the pitcher (slightly flexed) with her wrist cocked up. Her throwing arm should be placed behind her back in order to prevent injuries from tipped balls. For inside or outside pitches, the catcher should adjust her whole body behind where she wants the ball. But she should so this at the last moment in order to prevent the batter from picking up where the pitch is going to be located.
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The object of framing a pitch is to try to give the appearance that a pitch is a strike by extending the corners of the plate a little wider, making it more difficult for the batter to judge the strike zone. A catcher should NOT frame bad pitches that obviously are not strikes. By framing, you are trying to convince the umpire that you think it is a strike by showing him the ball. When the catcher receives the ball, she should absorb the ball into the glove, but have a firm wrist that doesn't give when the ball hits her glove. After catching the ball, she should then lock her arm out towards the pitcher and lower her head down so that she is looking at the ground. By moving her head out of the way, this gives the umpire more room to fully see the pitch. There are 4 basic pitches which a catcher can frame:
1. Inside Pitch: Receive the ball with the fingers up, and turn the outside of hand in towards
the plate.
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2. Outside Pitch: Receive the ball with the fingers toward first base (for a right handed
catcher) or third base (for a left handed catcher), and cock the wrist back
towards the plate.
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3. High Pitch: Receive the ball with the fingers up, and turn the wrist down towards the
ground.
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4. Low Pitch: Receive the ball the same as you are receiving an inside pitch (except the ball
will be below the batter's knees), and twist the wrist up.
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When blocking a pitch that is in the dirt, the catcher has to remember to always control the ball with her body, and to NEVER turn her head. She has to keep the ball in front of her body at all times, her shoulders turned in towards the plate, her chin tucked in and down, her body in the form of a "C" over the ball when it is making contact with her, and to always slider her body around a pitch off of the plate in order to block the ball so it rolls back towards the plate. She should ALWAYS get her glove on the ground first, and then form the "C" position with her body. This prevents the ball from slipping between her legs and she is getting into blocking position. The following examples are for a right handed batter:
1. Straight In: Glove on the ground, chest over glove, and keep the head down.
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1. Inside Pitch: Step slightly towards third base, allowing the catcher's left shoulder to turn
in towards the plate, making sure to keep her head and chest down over the
ball.
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2. Outside Pitch: Step slightly towards first base, allowing the catcher's right shoulder to
turn in towards the plate, making sure to keep her head and chest down
over the ball.
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When runners are on base, the catcher should ALWAYS expect them to steal. After every pitch, she should notice the runner and the lead they are taking. She should set up in her normal receiving stance, but she should no place her throwing hand BEHIND the web of her mitt. When a runner decides to steal, the catcher executes the following techniques depending on where the pitch is located:
1. Inside or Down the Middle Pitch: The catcher should receive the ball and then immediately
shift her feet so that her glove-hand shoulder and hip is
pointed at second base. She should stay low with her
knees bent, and be in proper throwing position.
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2. Outside Pitch: The catcher should receive the ball and then immediately slide her feet
towards the outside of the box while ending up with her glove-hand shoulder
and hip is pointed at second base. She should stay low with her knees bent,
and be in proper throwing position.
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The one thing to remember about picking a runner off is to not give it away by adjusting the receiving position to make it obvious. When picking a runner off without a pitch out, the technique is executed just like a throwing a runner out on a steal attempt or she may pivot on her back foot while dropping knee down to the ground by swiveling her hips. When picking a runner off with a pitch out, there are some things to remember:
1. The catcher should set up like she would for an outside pitch, as the pitcher should deliver
the ball to the outside upper corner of the opposite batter's box.
2. Her initial step should be UP and OUT on a diagonal. With a right-handed batter, the
initial step is with her right foot, while with a left-handed batter, the initial step is with
her left foot.
3. The step and catch should be made simultaneously in order to make a quicker throw to catch
the runner off guard, but not too early.
4. The catcher should throw the ball low and on the inside of the bag so the fielder can make a
tag easily.
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There comes a time in almost every game where the catcher must catch a pop-up. The only person the catcher has priority over is the pitcher, but if the first or third basemen can catch the ball, they should call the catcher off. Most of the pop-ups that a catcher catches in a game are those that are fouled off behind the plate. Here are the things to remember when catching a pop-up.
1. Always turn to the direction of the pitch. On an inside pitch, turn towards the inside
(towards the batter) and on an outside pitch, turn towards the outside (away from the
batter).
2. Always turn your body so that you are facing the backstop. The reason for this is because
the spin of the ball is almost always spinning back towards the infield. So by turning an
facing the backstop, the ball will spin into your glove instead of spinning out of it.
4. Always catch the ball with two hands at your forehead, and don't forget about any runners
on base.
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Before the game, the catcher should always be familiar with the backstop seeing in what direction possible wild pitches/passed balls will go. The catcher should always turn in the direction that the ball passes by her. She should do this because she will be able to find the ball quicker more often.
Forehand Toss: Use the shovel technique making sure to keep the knees bent and the body
low (do NOT stand up as you toss). Use the 12 to 6 wrist flip to toss the
ball back to the pitcher.
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Depending on where the ball is hit, dictates how the catcher will set up. Wherever the ball is hit, the catcher should set her feet so that her are about shoulder width apart just behind the back corners of the plate. Her hips and shoulders should be squared to the fielder. When she receives the ball, the catcher should meet the throw by stepping just in front of the plate with her glove-hand foot while dragging her other foot across the plate at the same time. She should then quickly shift her feet and arms into proper throwing position, and then make an accurate throw to first base.
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When making a tag at home plate, the catcher should position her body in front of the plate, with her left foot just in front of the inside corner of the plate, while keeping her center of gravity low and balanced. If the throw is coming from the outfield, she should position her glove on the ground so that she can work from the ground up. She should receive the throw and make the tag with TWO HANDS while dropping her knee to block the plate and sliding her glove across the sliding zone. If the runner is coming straight in for a collision, the catcher should concentrate on holding onto the ball with two hands and on absorbing the impact (do NOT move into the runner), but she should hold her ground at all costs! The catcher should make a quick tag and remain balanced because she needs to be prepared to throw the ball to another play if necessary.
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There are certain things a catcher can look for in order for her to decide what pitches should be thrown and when. Some things to take into consideration is where the batter is set up in the box, her stance, her stride, her swinging mechanics, her bat speed, her weight shift, as well as possible game situations including where and which runners are on base, bunt situations, steal situations, and basic game situations. Here are some pitches that would be good to throw in these specific situations:
|
SITUATION |
PITCH |
| Hands moving/Hitch in swing | Rise/Off-Speed |
| Lazy/Sweeping swing | Inside Fast Ball |
| Hands held high | Inside Drop |
| Hands held low/In tight | Outside Rise/Drop |
| Choppy swing | Rise |
| Slow bat speed | Inside Fast Ball/Outside Drop |
| Quick bat speed | Outside Change-Up/Off-Speed |
|
BATTER'S BALANCE |
|
| Weight shift to front leg | Rise |
| Weight stays on back leg | Drop |
|
GAME SITUATION |
|
| Bunt Situation | Rise |
| Steal Situation | Avoid throwing change-up |
| Runners in scoring
position (depends on # of outs, strength of batter, and strength of team defense) |
Inside Drop |
Catching Drills
Framing Drills
The purpose behind this drill is to teach the catcher how to frame the ball properly at different locations.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. Imaging the outline of a box for the strike zone, the catcher slides her glove across each side of it making sure to use proper framing techniques. No balls are needed for this drill.
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at framing live pitches.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. The coach, with a pitching machine, shifts the machine to different locations to give the catcher practice at framing various pitches.
Blocking Drills
The purpose behind this drill is to teach the catcher how to block the ball properly.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance with a ball placed out in front of her on the middle of the plate. When the coach says go, the catcher executes proper blocking mechanics.
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at blocking live pitches.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. The coach, with a pitching machine, shifts the machine to different locations to give the catcher practice at blocking various pitches.
The purpose behind this drill is to teach the catcher how to properly block balls which are off the plate by rounding her body around them.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance with three ball placed out in front of her. One of the balls is on the outside corner of the plate, another is on the middle of the plate, and the third ball is on the inside corner of the plate. To begin the drill, the coach will tell the catcher which ball to block by pointing at it. The catcher will then quickly execute proper blocking techniques by rounding her body around it if the ball is on the corner or go straight down for it if it is on the middle of the plate. She will then quickly get back into her normal receiving stance and block the next ball the coach points at. This is a very fast paced drill where the catcher is always moving.
Footwork Drills
1. Quick Hands/Quick Feet Drill
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at making a quick transition from her receiving stance to her throwing stance for when a runner is stealing a base.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. The coach, using a pitching machine or a toss, pitches the ball to the catcher. The catcher receives the ball and then quickly transitions into proper throwing position. She then tosses the ball off to the side and the coach feeds her another ball. This is a very fast paced drill where the catcher is always moving.
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at executing various techniques while focusing on proper footwork.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. The coach stands about 6 or 7 feet in front of her. To start the drill the coach will yell out a certain play for the catcher to execute. The catcher quickly responds to the call and correctly demonstrates the technique. She then returns to her normal receiving stance and the drill continues. For example, the coach could yell out "bunt middle". The catcher uses her shovel and kick back technique and simulates a throw to first base. She then quickly returns to her normal receiving position, and the coach could yell out "steal to second outside pitch". The catcher then properly executes the technique and so on. No ball are needed for this drill.
Throwing Drills
The purpose behind this drill is to clock the catcher's throw from when the pitch hits her glove to when it hits the shortstop's glove at second base. A good time would be below 1.75.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal receiving stance. A pitcher pitches a ball to her. Once the ball hits the catcher's glove the coach starts his watch. She then makes a quick transfer using proper techniques and makes a throw down to second base. Once the ball hits the shortstop's glove the coach stops his watch. The shortstop returns the ball back to the pitcher, and the drill is repeated.
Combination Drills
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at shifting to frame an inside/outside pitch. This drill focuses on both footwork and framing.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher sets up in her normal catching stance. The coach, using a pitching machine or a toss, pitches the ball to the catcher in specific spots. There are three parts to this drill:
1. Lean and Frame: The catcher leans to the right/left side to frame inside/outside pitches.
2. One Step and Frame: The catcher takes one shuffle step to the side to frame
inside/outside pitches.
3. Shuffle and Frame: The catcher takes two shuffle steps to the side to frame
inside/outside pitches.
The purpose behind this drill is to give the catcher practice at properly blocking a ball and then quickly recovering to make an accurate throw to her target. This drill focuses on both blocking and throwing.
The drill works as follows:
The catcher starts in her normal receiving stance. The coach, using a pitching machine or a toss, pitches a ball in the dirt for the catcher to block. After she properly blocks the ball, the catcher then uses proper technique to quickly pounce on the ball and make an accurate throw to her target.
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