In need of bucket parent 101

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Jan 20, 2023
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Hi, I’m new here!

I’m wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of basic catching for middle aged moms info?

I have a just turned 13yo who started pitching last summer and really wants me to catch for her. She’s just under 50MPH on her fastball and I’m coordination level- ex-swimmer.

I don’t even know what direction I’m supposed to hold the glove. Are there good intro videos I can watch?

My husband is picking me up a Liberty Advanced catcher glove based on threads here and I got shin guards at play it again after a lesson warm up incident last week. I’m wearing her old fielding face cage.

So- what’s the best way for me to learn to catch better before she gets even more scary fast?

Thank You!
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Get a bucket. I personally preferred the taller ones. Get a home plate. Get a cheap one as long as it's a real plate. Sit about 2 feet behind the plate. Always wear protection.

Catch with ONE hand. Keep your throwing hand behind your knee or back. If you put your throwing hand near the glove, you'll get a broken finger.

STRIKE ZONE DISCUSSION: As a beginner, you simply put the glove in front of your stomach and try to catch it.

The problem is that is a terrible place for your DD to throw the ball in a game. Good hitters call those "meatballs."

At your DD's age, she needs to learn how to "hit her spots" ASAP. In practice, you have to move the mitt around the edge of the strike zone.

A strike is any part of the ball crosses any part of plate if the ball is between the knees and arm pits of the batter if the batter assumes a "natural" stance. (A thinking person would ask "what is natural about trying to hit a ball thrown at 60MPH with a stick?" But, I digress...)

A low inside strike is over the left edge of the plate about knee high. A high outside strike is over the right edge of the plate and about arm pit high.

Begin the practice with her simply throwing to the middle of the plate. When she gets going, move the glove around the circle from inside and low, to inside and high, to outside and high, and then outside and low.

This video shows basic catching techniques:

 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
I have no advice for you on the catching end other than to gear up like you are and trial by fire. As someone whose mom did the same thing for me when I was a kid you win the mom award for sure!
 
May 18, 2019
278
43
Hi, I’m new here!

I’m wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of basic catching for middle aged moms info?

I have a just turned 13yo who started pitching last summer and really wants me to catch for her. She’s just under 50MPH on her fastball and I’m coordination level- ex-swimmer.

I don’t even know what direction I’m supposed to hold the glove. Are there good intro videos I can watch?

My husband is picking me up a Liberty Advanced catcher glove based on threads here and I got shin guards at play it again after a lesson warm up incident last week. I’m wearing her old fielding face cage.

So- what’s the best way for me to learn to catch better before she gets even more scary fast?

Thank You!
Gear up (invest in good gear which is much cheaper than a trip to the hospital) , practice, don't be afraid to pay 10 and ask for a Catcher to help. Buy a net with a strike zone (we use this Amazon product ASIN B073F5WQYT). I played baseball 14 years but have a bad back. I stopped when they hit 55mph with a lot of break. I do supply music, company, and a better ability to stfu than when they were 10u to 12u). I had to give my daughters authority to kick me out before that sunk in.
 
Jan 20, 2023
219
43
Get a bucket. I personally preferred the taller ones. Get a home plate. Get a cheap one as long as it's a real plate. Sit about 2 feet behind the plate. Always wear protection.

Catch with ONE hand. Keep your throwing hand behind your knee or back. If you put your throwing hand near the glove, you'll get a broken finger.

STRIKE ZONE DISCUSSION: As a beginner, you simply put the glove in front of your stomach and try to catch it.

The problem is that is a terrible place for your DD to throw the ball in a game. Good hitters call those "meatballs."

At your DD's age, she needs to learn how to "hit her spots" ASAP. In practice, you have to move the mitt around the edge of the strike zone.

A strike is any part of the ball crosses any part of plate if the ball is between the knees and arm pits of the batter if the batter assumes a "natural" stance. (A thinking person would ask "what is natural about trying to hit a ball thrown at 60MPH with a stick?" But, I digress...)

A low inside strike is over the left edge of the plate about knee high. A high outside strike is over the right edge of the plate and about arm pit high.

Begin the practice with her simply throwing to the middle of the plate. When she gets going, move the glove around the circle from inside and low, to inside and high, to outside and high, and then outside and low.

This video shows basic catching techniques:


Thank you very much! This is extremely helpful and exactly what I needed.

She is currently throwing into a 9 box working on corners and learned a change up three weeks ago and her coach is talking about adding a drop. But she said it would be more fun to have a live catcher sometimes instead of just throwing in the 9 box.

This all happened very quickly this fall when injuries and other stuff made her team in need of a pitcher. To her credit she threw her heart into it and practiced 5 days a week and went from 42mph 40% strikes 3rd string rec pitcher to 48mph 65% strikes in about 8 weeks. Credit is also due to her fabulous (IR teaching) pitching coach.

But my learning curve was not as steep as hers and I’m a little scared what spring will bring.

Just got my new glove and am excited to have way more padding than her outgrown fielding glove.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
Just some shared experience from a fellow bucket mom - best thing I did was ditch the bucket. Starting out I used one and it worked well at the slower speeds but as dd became more proficient and faster at pitching, I actually found it easier to catch her being off the bucket. Plus it helped make setting up glove-wise easier for lower pitches; and helped me to somewhat keep in shape by catching her 3-5 days per week all those years! I also think it was easier for me to dodge a bad pitch if I needed to. Falling sideways off the bucket to dodge a misfired pitch was never a good look for me. 😂
 

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