Catching is a very individual skill and it is important to remember the order to teach is:
- Receiving the pitched ball properly
- Throwing to bases
- Blocking bad pitches
- Specialty skills like covering the plate, pop ups, passed balls, bunts etc.
If you can have a coach work a station with your catchers at each practice it will quickly help your players improve.
Drills- remember to have a home plate in front of the catchers so when they work drill they understand their positioning. You can cut home plates out of carpet scraps – they work great and are light and portable.
- Tennis balls framing drill
- Toss regular balls from a short distance and have catcher frame
- Throwing mechanics and toss to a target or a net – a coach can just stand a few feet in and simulate a pitch (just make sure you get out of the way!)
- Using foam paddle for blocking! Coach can toss simulated balls in the dirt. The paddle reminds the catcher it is blocking and not like catching a ground ball.
Safety is paramount when teaching this position. Keep their bare hand behind their throwing foot in a loose first with their thumb inside. Catching is with one hand so they do not get hit with a foul top. Proper position in relation to the batter so they do not get hot by the bat.
It is all about repetition and finding a player who wants to it! Good catchers are rare.
