My son has a tendency to pop straight up instead of staying low when throwing out potential base stealers. When he does stays low, his throws have a noticable difference in velocity & accuracy. What are some drills that he can practice so that staying low becomes more routine than not?

Work on the drills for throwing with something above him. Have someone stand behind him and stick their hand on his back reminding him to stay low. That way you can direct his movement to some extent.

Maybe run by the local high school and see if they have "chutes" out on the football practice field. These are used to by the linemen to work on staying low firing out of their stance. If you do this though, make sure and wear the helmet!

quote:

Originally posted by JAGgededgeS0709:
My son has a tendency to pop straight up instead of staying low when throwing out potential base stealers. When he does stays low, his throws have a noticable difference in velocity & accuracy. What are some drills that he can practice so that staying low becomes more routine than not?

The first thing that I would look at is his stance. Can you describe the position of his feet, whether his heels touch the ground, and where does his right foot go as he begins his throwing footwork.

Does anyone have an idea on where I can find some good quality catching instuction videos for the high school age kid ?

I think the Rob McDonald tape is a good one. I used it.

Click Here

quote:

Originally posted by Basecoach:
Does anyone have an idea on where I can find some good quality catching instuction videos for the high school age kid ?

www.catchingtips.com

Some great stuff and tons of drills.

Another one I like is the two DVD set by Jerry Weinstein.

Tom Griffin, Coach at Carson Newman, has a great video as well..."Catch it, Block it, Throw it"

http://www.catchingtips.com/index.html

Sorry, I didn't see the link in the previous post. It is the same as the one I posted.

I will take the time to say it is a great video and I highly recommend it.

Tried going to Catchingtips.com, but got the following from Fat Cow (whatever that is):

This site has been suspended

If you manage this site and have a question about why the site is not available, please contact us directly.

Yeah, I got the same thing the other day. I don't know what the issue is but here is Carson-Newman's Baseball website. Coach Griffin is the Head Coach there. Email him and he'll respond (at least he has to me on several occassions). In fact, when I emailed him to inquire about the DVD last year, he sent it to me without me even sending a payment! I, of course, sent in my $35

http://carsonnewmaneagles.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/cars-m-basebl-body.html

IMO you have to be upright to throw. It's how you get to an upright throwing position that has significance. The ideal path would be like a 747 taking off as opposed to a helocopter.The take off angle would be closer to 45 degrees(747) than 90 degrees(helocopter).

The key is to get your body started with a shuffling action by your right foot just before you catch the ball.It's a quick step, catch,& throw movement.This momentum step is variable depending on the hitter(L/R) & the location of the pitch.Ideally it creates positive momentum in the direction of the throw. It's not mandatory to take a momentum step. As a matter of fact, many catchers will let the low outside pitch to a RHH turn their body and they throw without a momentum step.(They still have energy going to their target) There are very few,if any, professional catchers that do not start their bodies on balls directly over the plate or on pitches in to RHH & LHH's. Momentum & a clear throwing lane are generally prerequisites for throwing runners out at second.

My guess is that you are not gaining ground to second & generating positive momentum if you are standing straight up to throw.

As the Catching Coach alluded, stance is critical. I'm not going to cover all elements of the stance but,in order to get your body started efficiently the following are some check points: 1) Feet spread shoulders width or slightly wider with both heels on the ground and toes turned out.2)Shoulders square with the pitching rubber.3)Hips at or slightly below knee level with a slight bend at the waist and your head up. 5)Hands back with your elbows above & slightly outside your thighs.6) Weight evenly distributed & flat(Not way up on your toes) with possiblely a little more weight on you left foot.(Pitcher,hitter & location dependent)The above are not absolutes. They are very dependent on your body type, athleticism, flexibility to name a few factors.

Hope some of these thoughts help.

JW

JW outstanding post.