I have a Soph catcher who has become so stiff that he has a tough time getting into a receiving stance. I have put together a daily 10 min stretching routine for him that includes dynamic and static stretching (including several yoga poses.) I am curious as to what you may have your catchers doing to improve flexibility.

Stretch bands,every night

crudy,
The daily stuff is good...10 minutes may not be enough time. Back, hips, quads, hamstrings,etc. take a bit of time to stretch. Yoga is great.

It's a standing argument on our HS team the catchers have with the coaches; catchers want more time and the coaches want to get things going.

I would advise having the catchers do their own type stretches while the rest of the team is doing other types...alot of the pregame stretching in BS anyway as the muscles aren't warm enough to get mucg benefit. They just stretch because "that's what everyone does". Catchers should have their distinct set of stretches to do. Catchers also need to get to practice early to help get this done...coaches have to be smart enough to make allowances on the away games so the catchers have enough time...such as have another pitcher warmup up the starter for the first 5 minutes to give the catcher time to stretch and then let the catcher finish up the warmup.

Hard to sway with tight hips; and tight hamstrings put a tremendous amount of pressure on the tendons attached to the kneecap.

Count on catchers needing at least 10 minutes additional stretching time compared to the other players. Nobody complains about the time pitchers are stretching before the game but for some reason very few coaches even consider the catcher.

Baffles me.

quote:

Originally posted by futurecatcher27:
Stretch bands,every night

Im not a catacher, i play first so my stretch is very important also. And the bands did it really really well for me.

S. Abrams,

I always take more time and stretch out my legs, but only 3-5 minutes. What are some of the stretches that catchers should be doing that aren't "regular stretches?"

Flexibility isn't developed on the field. Need to stretch 6 days a week probably twice a day and spend some time doing it. When I stretch as a part of my normal workout, I stretch for a good 25 minutes or more.

Stretching right before an event or competition, they are saying, is actually DECREASING performance and INCREASING risk of injury..

Thats very true bulldog

Ever since I was cleared from my back injury,I have been stretching twice a day for roughly 30minutes if not more.But on the flip side,I feel awesome afterward.The stretches our team does before games is more so of going through the motions than anything.I have an arrangement with my coach tp where I can get out of class a bit earlier to stretch well(most of our games are afternoon games)

The stretching sequence I gave him is something he is doing when he gets up early in the morning (after a warm up I also gave him) and at the end of practice. This is something he is doing every day of the week and is not replacing anything but in addition to all other stretching.
I have no experience with stretching bands but have talked with him about using them. I have an meeting scheduled with a local trainer from the university. They have used the bands and feel strongly about them. I hope to get some good info from them.

The key is to do both dynamic and static stretching.

Every cather shoulder perform hurdle drills such as lead leg over and duck under, as well as spider lunges and tumbling work (forward somersaults and backwards somersaults) as these have a tremendous dynamic effect on the hip. Also, 10 minutes on the foam roller each day will go a long way for range of motion and knee preservation.

Above that, static stretching should be done when warmed-up and post workout/practice.

What is the foam roller?