Catcher’s Drills

by Jim Penders

excerpt from Gold Glove Baseball - American Baseball Coaches Association

available at www.HumanKinetics.com

Mirror Drill

The catcher faces a mirror and reviews signals to himself while perfecting the stance in a home environment.

Partner Drill

The catcher faces a partner standing about 10 feet away. The catcher is critiqued for any mistakes in giving signals, including mistakes in tempo, hand movements, and stance. The catcher goes through different situations, including pitchouts, throws to first base, various signal systems, and so on. Catchers alternate roles.

Catch With the Step To

The catcher's partner throws in front of him about 30 feet. The catcher receives balls by stepping at a 4l-degree angle (with pitchout-step work) to practice centering the baseball. The partner throws outside the catcher's body frame.

Catching Tennis Balls With a Bare Hand

The catcher gets in his stance with no glove. His partner flips tennis balls firmly to different locations in and out of the strike zone. The catcher uses soft hands to catch and bring the tennis balls. Emphasize trying to make no sound on the catch.

Using a Machine for Repetitions

Crank the pitching machine up to its highest velocity. Have catchers catch one pitch after another, using the proper trigger for the catch. Once they have mastered this skill, move the machine on is highest setting up to 55 feet, then 50 feet, then 45, and so on. The catcher will teach himself the right technique.

Rapid Fire

A partner flips balls to the bare-handed catcher from about 1O feet in front of him. The partner has three balls in each hand and quickly flips to different spots in the zone by alternating hands. All six balls should be flipped within 3 to 4 seconds. Repeat.

Point Drill

The catcher's partner is 10 feet in front of him. The partner points left or right, up or down, to prompt the catcher to catch an imaginary ball. With no ball, the catcher can be perfect every time.

Shadow Box

Two catchers work together. They face each other at a distance of about 10 feet. One mirrors or shadows what the other one does, swaying, catching, setting up with different looks, and so on.

Shadow Box With Coach on Side

Catchers perform the shadow box drill with a coach watching from the side to provide feedback for high and low frames. The coach needs to make sure each catcher sticks in front enough and catches the high strike deep enough.

v Drill

This drill requires three or four players. The catcher is in his stance. One player is a feeder, standing 10 to 15 feet down the third-base line. Another is on the first-base line at the same distance. A third feeder can be directly in front of the catcher on the ground or on a stool. The feeder on the third-base line flips a ball to the first base corner and watches the catcher sway to beat the ball to the spot and use the proper hand position. The first-base feeder does the opposite. The feeder up the middle works on high and low feeds. lf the middle feeder is on the ground, he flips the ball up to accentuate the angle to ensure the catcher is receiving the top half of the ball. lf the middle feeder is on a stool, he's accentuating the downward plane angle of a pitch to be stuck.

Two Machines

The activity is the same as in the V drill, but the reps are more consistent because the machines are more accurate than a partner.

Hold the Ball

The catcher's partner or coach holds a ball 2 feet in front of the catcher in different locations. The catcher sways, showing proper technique as if he were going to catch the ball. The catcher can be perfect with the reps here because he doesn't actually catch the ball but only visualizes it.

Rainbow Drill

The catcher's partner starts 1O feet down the third-base Iine and flips balls like an option quarterback pitching to a running back to the catcher's bare-hand side. The partner makes sure the catcher sways and catches the ball, then slowly walks a semicircle toward the first-base line. The partner stops in different locations and flips balls to different spots in and out of the zone to check the catcher's technique.

Shadow Drill

To ensure universal rhythm and language among the catching staff, have the catchers mirror or shadow each other to make it easier for the pitching staff . Each catcher faces a partner and copies the partner's signal, location, and setup.

No Block, No Going Combo Drill

The catcher's partner is 40 to 50 feet in front of the catcher with a bucket of balls. The partner throws pitches to the catcher. lf the pitch is in the dirt, the catcher blocks using proper technique. lf the pitch is in the air and the partner yells "going" the catcher pounces and uses good throwing footwork to receive, transfer the ball, and get his body in position to make a throw. lf the feeder says nothing and throws a strike, the catcher simply catches the ball and pulls the bare hand back with sway and presentation.

Blocking Point

The catcher's coach or partner points to different locations. The catcher slides to the spot indicated using proper technique.

Glove Leads Down

The catcher is in a secondary stance, but the glove is already on the ground in proper blocking position. As a dirtball is thrown, the catcher drops to his knees. plugging up the hole between his legs.

Softer Balls

Using a softer ball, the catcher's partner throws five dirtballs to the middle, five to the left, and five to the right. The partner then moves back to 60 feet and lets it rip for five in different locations. Occasionally, the partner should throw a strike so that the catcher doesn't cheat and get to his knees too early. Then the partner throws five breaking balls in the dirt to check for technique.

Circle Containment Drill

Draw a circle 5 feet in diameter in the dirt in front of the plate. The catcher's partner throws real balls in the dirt. The blocking catcher tries to keep as many blocked pitches in the circle as he can. He must recover them before they roll out of the circle. He competes with others for best score,

Hard - Guy Drill

To emphasize gaining ground on breaking balls and off-speed pitches and to cut the distance between the dirtball and the catcher's body, a feeder stands about 50 feet in front of the catcher and throws tennis balls to the five hole. The catcher blocks the ball and gets to his feet in the secondary stance. Another ball is thrown. This pattern is repeated more and more quickly until the catcher reaches the feeder by propelling himself forward. The thrower scores a point if he gets the ball through the five hole. The catcher scores a point if he tags the thrower without taking a step but just by blocking and gaining a little bit of ground each time. Close to 20 dirtballs should be thrown. This is an exhausting drill.