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Catcher Blocking Technique

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  • #1

    Catcher Blocking Technique

    My son had a rough day behind the plate… He is normally very good at blocking balls in the dirt. Yesterday however he had probably five balls that hit the ground 3-4 feet in front of the plate and went over his head/shoulders or off his mask. He was very hard on himself and I think the H.S. coach was a little upset as well. At one point the coach indicated that he needed to work harder back there and keep his head up when he was blocking. I really did not know what to say to him.

    Is there a technique for blocking balls that bounce up?
    Coop

    Don't forget to swing hard, in case you hit the ball. ~Woodie Held
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  • #2
    The farther the ball bounces in front of the plate, the more upright the catcher will usually need to be in his blocking position. All the catcher can really do is be sure he is in proper blocking position, if the ball goes over him, there really is nothing he can really do, just part of the game that happens from time to time.

    On thing to look at is making sure the catcher is not initially set up too far behind the batter, that can lead to higher bounces as well. Get a proper distance behind the hitter and as close to the plate as possibly feasible.

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    • #3
      I defer all catching questions to www.catchingcoach.com

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      • #4
        If the ball is hitting the ground that far in front of the plate, the coach might want to be a little more upset with the pitcher than the catcher.

        With that said, if he seeing the ball doing this, I don't think he should go completely into a blocking position. I think he should go down but I think his hands should stay up and out preparing for anything. He should be able to field the ball as he would a normal pitch basically while being prepared for likely weird hops and the need to still block.

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        • #5
          At one point the coach indicated that he needed to work harder back there and keep his head up when he was blocking. I really did not know what to say to him.
          Is that the catching equivalent of our old coach's admonition of, "To hit the ball you have to see the ball." What a tool!

          First, if the ball is bouncing that far in front of the plate, it's a crap shoot where it's gonna land, and it's not really on the catcher anymore so long as he's not bailing out on the ball or failing to move to the side if the ball is aimed that way. Also, he should make sure he's cheating away from the break when trying to block breaking balls in the dirt. (I.e., move left to block a righty's curve.)

          Second, what does "work harder" mean? Geeez....

          Third, keeping your head up isn't going to do much more than expose your throat to the ball. If a pitch travels to the plate in .4 seconds, the interval between the ball hitting the dirt and going past the catcher is about .04 seconds; does the coach really think the kid is going to be able to significantly move his body during that time?

          What would help would be to videotape the games (heck, just stick a digital video camera behind the backstop and let it run during each inning - you can record a 7 inning game at 1280 x 1068 on an 8GB SD memory card that'll run you $15 on sale, and of course is re-usable. This primarily would benefit pitchers, but you can play back passed balls as well to see what the kid is doing wrong (or right).

          If the kid is not aggressively moving to try to block pitches (in other words, trying to 'pick' everything rather than block it) out of a fear of getting hit by the ball, there are a couple of things that you might do to help. First, don't get a cheap chest protector - get one that really takes the sting out. Second, the most common bare target area that gets nailed on a catcher when a ball goes into the dirt is the forearm, which makes sense as it's the closest body part to the glove and will get the most hits if the catcher's attempt to block isn't perfect. My son got a $25 Evoshield forearm armor-type protector for his glove-side forearm, and it's really helped his confidence. They also make shirts with slide-in armor plates that may help.

          Beyond this, TG is dead right - get the Catchingcoach video. If your kid is a catcher and you don't have that video, you're committing child abandonment (career abandonment?).
          sigpicIt's not whether you fall -- everyone does -- but how you come out of the fall that counts.

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          • #6
            I have to agree with those that say the coach is hollerin’ at the wrong guy. 3 or 4’ in front of the plate is usually a pitcher slipping or getting so far out of off whack, he can’t help where the ball goes. IOW, not a mechanical mistake. If its truly happening 5 times in a game, there’s a problem and it ain’t behind the plate!
            The pitcher who’s afraid to throw strikes, will soon be standing in the shower with the hitter who's afraid to swing.

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            • #7
              Depending on wether or not the pitches thrown were fastballs bouncing in the dirt there isn't much he can do about it. But if he called for a junk ball or something your son should be ready to block the pitch. But as I said if the pitch was a fastball, it is not the catchers fault. If you want to do some drills that help with blocking here is a video of my younger brother training with a professional catcher. (This video has a bunch of great drills that would help with quick bouncers, so atleast check it out for a second.)

              Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhBjZ...feature=relmfu

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              • #8
                Long hops: assume the blocking position and pray.
                Moronic comments by a high school baseball coach: don't get me started.
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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Team4Dyce View Post
                  Depending on wether or not the pitches thrown were fastballs bouncing in the dirt there isn't much he can do about it. But if he called for a junk ball or something your son should be ready to block the pitch. But as I said if the pitch was a fastball, it is not the catchers fault. If you want to do some drills that help with blocking here is a video of my younger brother training with a professional catcher. (This video has a bunch of great drills that would help with quick bouncers, so atleast check it out for a second.)

                  Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhBjZ...feature=relmfu
                  That's a hard working kid there.
                  I like the jump shift drills with the ladder.
                  I'm curious why jump shift footwork wasn't used in the throw-down drill to second base.
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by scorekeeper View Post
                    I have to agree with those that say the coach is hollerin’ at the wrong guy. 3 or 4’ in front of the plate is usually a pitcher slipping or getting so far out of off whack, he can’t help where the ball goes. IOW, not a mechanical mistake. If its truly happening 5 times in a game, there’s a problem and it ain’t behind the plate!
                    I was about to say the same thing. You can't expect a catcher to perform miracles.

                    Unfortunately your son will have to iron it out with the coach. Your son can't work on something that is not a problem.

                    Was the pitcher the coach's son or a school board member's son?

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by coops View Post
                      Yesterday however he had probably five balls that hit the ground 3-4 feet in front of the plate and went over his head/shoulders or off his mask.

                      Is there a technique for blocking balls that bounce up?
                      Call time. Trot out to the mound. Tell the pitcher to get the ball over the plate. I have no better answer. Wild pitches are just that, wild pitches.

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