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So you're a baseball catcher…or are thinking about becoming one. Well, congratulations because catching is the best position on the baseball field to play. It's also the toughest, most demanding position to play and this is why you don't have a lot of catchers compared to other positions on the field. However, becoming a good, solid catcher has many advantages, like: |
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Baseball Catcher - Always In Demand Baseball Catcher Training And Drills Here it is...another High School baseball season. And as I sat there at yet another game, I still seemed to always be watching the catcher...the best position to play in baseball. The team this year was new; the previous team had posted great records over the last three years, won a state championship and then graduated 17 seniors at the end of last year. Yep...this year's tryout was wide open! But still, there was only a senior catcher who had a good amount of catching experience. Past that, there were a few guys who caught a little and one of those became the backup catcher. There were no outstanding freshman or sophomore catchers that people knew were coming up and were excited to watch. You always hear about hot shot pitchers, big hitters or slick short stops coming up. There are a ton of them and high school teams always have a lot of guys trying to fill those positions. However, for the catching position, this just isn't the case. Very few people want to catch. And then for the ones that do try it, some of those can't really do it or don't want to accept the work required to be a catcher. They quit too. So here's the scoop...if you are young...seventh or eighth grade and you really want to play high school baseball, you might want to seriously consider becoming a catcher, especially if you are in a big school with a lot of competition at all of the other positions. Even in big schools, you normally won't find ten people trying out for the catching spot. If you are a freshman or a sophomore, this is still a great time to make the switch to become a catcher. Again, if you really want to play High School baseball and you know it's tough to make the team, become a catcher! And I don't mean just any catcher. Don't wait until conditioning and tryouts to pick up a catcher's mitt or try to read about how to block a ball correctly. Start "becoming" a catcher as soon as possible, right after the current season ends. Spend the fall and winter months transforming yourself into a catcher. If you already are a catcher, decide to improve the heck out of yourself and then just do it! Becoming a really good catcher requires a lot of time and a lot of work. But believe me, a well polished catcher, with quick feet, excellent ball blocking skills and the proper throwing mechanics to all bases will almost always make the High School baseball team. And here's another thing...it doesn't matter what grade you might be in. If you are a freshman who shows everything mentioned above, you might find yourself on the varsity team as a backup and in some cases as the starter. I've seen this happen because like I said before, good catchers are very hard to come by and when one shows up, he is singled out immediately to be watched and considered for the catching position. It's not impossible to convert to yourself into a catcher or improving yourself from being an average catcher into a really good one. But it takes knowledge...knowledge of what drills and training to use, how to practice, and then practicing these things over and over and over. If you learn what it takes to become really good and then work your butt off, you just might find yourself behind the plate as the starter...freshman, sophomore...doesn't matter. It can happen and it does happen. Learn what it takes to become a quality baseball catcher and then go for it! You'll always be in demand! |
