11U Kid is pretty accurate down the middle, almost too accurate, so I've been working with him to hit the corners of the plate. Its much harder for him to hit the corner because there is no target. Question.. should catcher move the glove to corner so the pitcher has a target? Do signs for this?

Just move the catcher to where you want the ball. The pitcher will know to hit that spot

Yes, catcher should set up where he wants the pitch to be thrown. You can designate a signal for this...I've seen a couple of easy ways to do it. One is give the normal sign, then a touch of the inner thigh of the left leg if you want it inside to a righty, or a touch of the inner thigh of the right leg if you want it outside to a righty.

Or you can just use the finger(s) giving the sign to point inside or outside. So, for instance, a fastball inside to a righty would be one finger pointing towards the catcher's left leg. A fastball outside to a righty would be one finger pointing towards the catcher's right leg. Or for fastballs specifically, an inside fastball to a righty is the pointer finger only, and an outside fastball to a righty is a pinky finger only.

Or you could just always give two signs....first sign is pitch selection, second sign is pitch location. That should be simple enough.

Be careful though as you guys move up the ladder becuase you have to be subtle. Coaches will start to notice movement of the arm if, for example, a catcher has an exaggerated move to touch his right thigh for an outside fastball to a righty. Coaches will pick up on this and start to give away location to hitters. But you are of course free to come up with any system you want.

Thanks for the reply Deuce and Hero =). I assume the catcher will move the his mitt before the pitcher winds up? move the mitt right after the sign is given? I assume the catcher would not move his feet or his body too much, just the mitt?

Actually, no. The catcher should set up for the pitch where he wants it. The move to the desired position should be late as possible.

The target should always be given in the center of the catcher's body, so yes, he will need to shift his body to whichever side of the plate he wants the pitcher to target. Assuming your catcher is in his signal stance directly behind the plate, it should be a simple move to sort of kick out his right or left leg in the direction that he wants to move and go right into his signal stance. As mentioned, he wants to do this as late as possible so the batter can't peak and so the coach can't give away location to the hitter.

The catcher needs to move his feet also.

LABall,

Here is how I instruct catchers to set up on the corners.

I have the catcher set up to give signs directly in the middle of the plate. Their sign giving stance has their feet no wider then their hips.

See the picture below to see a player your son's age in the sign giving stance we teach.



If he were to give a sign for a pitch away to a righty the only foot that moves is his right one. As he shifts he puts his weight on his left foot and steps to his right. When his right foot hits the ground he settles down into his crouch. At this time his middle is now in line with the right edge of the plate. If the pitcher hits that corner of the plate your catcher will be catching this strike directly in the middle of his body.

Obviously for a pitch in to a righty the right foot does not move and he steps with his left foot.

I am often asked at what age should a catcher begin to move to the corners and my answer is this, The catcher moves to that spot when the pitcher can consistently hit it. There is little to gain if a catcher moves outside and the young pitcher is so inaccurate that the catcher ends up diving to his left just to catch the errant throw.

Thank you all for your responses.