Don’t neglect your catchers

Here’s a YouTube video I came across that shows some Yankee catchers working out in Spring Training.  It’s a long video so click through it to get the idea of the two drills.  Here are a couple comments to think about as you watch.

1. Hitting balls into the dirt for a blocking drill is a great technique.  It takes some practice on the part of the coach to be accurate with the bat/fungo but it works well.  When kids are starting out learning to block, a small toss into the dirt or even a pitching machine set up to throw balls into the dirt are fine.  However, it’s hard to mimic the unpredictable nature of how a pitch will be thrown during a game.  Hitting the ball into the dirt provides that unpredictability.  When the young catcher seems to have the basics of the block down pat, bring out the bat!

2. Use a stool or bucket whenever possible for receiving drills.  Catching is a grueling position on the knees.  There is no need to have a catcher squat down like normal on drills that focus on hand work.  Give them a break.  You are not making them soft.  They will have plenty of work under normal conditions.