My 10 year old son loves to play catcher... and he loves watching videos on TH-cam. I found your channel a while back and have now shown him 3 videos and the improvement in his game over the last 5 games has been incredible. Three games after watching this catching mechanics video on throwing to second, he picked off his first base stealer. Although the steal attempt was to third, it’s still impressive to see how the mechanics in this video resonated with him and gave him the confidence to throw out the runner. In addition to this video, he’s also watched two hitting videos on “load, stride, swing”, and taking your hands to the ball. Before he watched them, he had struggled all season. In the past six games since watching the hitting videos, he has only gotten out twice, but on both occasions, they were balls that he hit hard to the outfield , but right at the fielders and the defenders made good catches. In his game yesterday morning, he hit two strong doubles and has become the leader of the team. Thanks Pro Speed Baseball!
@ProSpeedBaseball perfect explanation of footwork, I especially love how you don't stress on staying low. Being a catcher myself I feel a whole lot more comfortable and powerful when I come up instead of staying low. To be honest you have the best baseball channel on TH-cam thank you for your videos it's stepped up my game and I'm sure many others!
Fabian Chapa Thanks Fabian! That is very awesome and motivating to hear. I really appreciate the comment and am ecstatic to hear the channel is helping to excel your game! And yea it's a night and day difference for catchers when they don't worry about "staying low," it really puts you in the ideal position to throw runners out. Thanks again for the comment and as always, let me know if there's anything I can do to help out!! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Great example of your use of "good teaching" techniques: repetitions, sideviews/different angles, review of information, progressions to each skill... great stuff!
You are most welcome James! Glad to hear it helped you transition into the catcher position! Nice work for taking the time to research catching so you got it right! If you ever have any questions, just let us know! ~Michael Pro Speed Basbeall
I really liked the video, I'm at catcher on a varsity baseball team in woodland ca, my catching coach on the team played AA, baseball and he taught me just about all the things your showing, except he suggest that when I throw to second I stay low so I can get more power in my throw instead of standing up higher and using most arm to throw it down, the only flaw I have in throwing down is falling through my throw, and sometimes my transferring the ball from my glove to my hand
+HBK_DAN1EL Thanks for the comment! I will say that you definitely don't want to stand straight up, yet, as you can see in the pro examples, staying low is not a must when it comes to throwing guys out or throwing down to second properly. Just keep working on your footwork, the more repetitions you get in, the better it will feel. I would also suggest checking out the Quick Transfer video on the PSB TH-cam channel to help with your transfer. Good luck out there! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
+Evan Graham (ekewlmanfries) That is an awesome picture :P Really glad the video is helping out! Thanks for the awesome comment Evan! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
really nice video, im a freshman in high school playing catcher for the varsity team. this was really helpful and good luck to you and your channel. great job!!
Thanks for the comment truman bazar!! Glad you found the video helpful and good luck to you as well this season! If you have any questions or need help with anything just let me know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Pretty solid video here with the lines, etc. Replacing your feet is great for pitches that are down the middle or slightly in (to RH) or slightly away from LH, but not practical on most pitches that catchers must throw on. To learn proper footwork, TH-cam Next Level Catching Academy and find any video titled "Foot Tracking"
+Justin Duarte (NLCA) Hey Justin, thanks for the comment, sorry it's been a second since I could get back to you. You're absolutely right, the footwork will be slightly different when a pitch is to the throwing arm side. The footwork in this video is based on a standard situation where a catcher is receiving the ball relatively close to the setup position. Therefore, regardless of pitch location, the footwork is determined by the setup of the catcher. For example, if a catcher is set up outside (to a right handed hitter) and the ball is thrown down the middle, the ball will be to the left of center stance to the catcher, but down the middle relative to the strike zone. Put simply, the footwork is solely based on the ball location relative to the catcher's stance. Thanks again for the comment, and if you ever have any questions, just let me know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
As of right now we are in the developmental stages of our Throwing/Pitching programs. We will have full arm care and strengthening program available. Unfortunately it takes a lot to get this together, so for now I would recommend researching good arm care techniques and a throwing program that doesn't seems tough but not too strenuous. If you sign up for the free lessons at ProSpeedBaseball.com, you will be notified right away when these programs are released. Wish we could help more right now, but we are sure working on it! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
My son is 9 and has an average arm, but because he is super quick on his replacing his feet and exploding , he throws out runners! And this video is exactly right about throwing from a tall position rather than staying low, it works much better to explode up while transferring the ball and replacing your feet!
Hey Keith! Great question. If your stance is staggered correctly, blocking glove side is no big deal whatsoever. Obviously a good thing to practice... but by far the best thing a catcher can do concerning blocking is anticipate the ball in the dirt. For example, if the pitcher is throwing something off speed, we can anticipate the ball diving. Blocking to the glove side from the secondary is easy stuff, especially with a little training! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand
2 things... 1) Taking the middle of your R foot to your L heel will have an exaggerated effect causing the back hip to slide out and over rotate your "square to 2B" positioning. "Heel to heel" is a better cue. 2) Am very disappointed that you would not do a better job of explaining the concept of "coming out low" to young catchers. No, you do not want to throw from a hunched position. But popping up immediately (as most young catchers already do) removes any ability you have to drive off your back side, and can make it more difficult to stay balanced because you are raising your center of gravity so quickly. (Come out low and gain height as you gain ground)
There are many different ways catching can be taught. I personally do not agree with the foot setup. Staying square to the pitcher not only allows the umpire for a better view of the pitch but it also does not decrease the time trowing down. It may seem like it helps with the bodies rotation, but if you look into it it does not. Also, gaining ground is helpful to arms that are not fully developed but it does impact the pop time. Why not setup a T and just pivot the feet instead of making a leap forward that causes the catcher to be closer to the right handed batter and losing balance, therefore making it a harder throw. By simply standing up out of the squat and rotating the feet the results in your pop time will be dramatically decreased. If looked at frame by frame and the time from the ball to hand to releasing the ball is below 20 frames and the throw is 75 mph or above it's basically going to be a sub 1.9 pop time. It's math at that point, given wind and all but that shouldn't impact the throw dramatically. Overall, my opinion on the foot setup is my opinion, do I think it is a better way of doing it? Sure, but it's just how this can be seen in a more advanced way.
Pat Brothers Hey Pat Brothers! Thanks for the comment! The setup taught in this video is modeled after some of the best catchers that have played in and are still playing in the big leagues. (Ivan Rodriguez, Yadier Molina, Buster Posey etc...) However, as an instructor and avid student of biomechanics I would have to agree that there is always the possibility of finding a better way to do things. I would very much like to see some video of what you described in the comment so that we can research it and see how it stacks up against the mechanics in this video! In the mean time if you have any questions on this or anything else don't hesitate to let me know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
For a young catcher setting up not square has several disadvantages. First for a pitcher, when the catcher sets up not square once someone gets on first, you changed the look for the pitcher. You increased the chance of a pitcher throwing an errant ball. When setting up not squared up to the pitcher you also handicapped yourself on blocking a ball in the dirt, especially if the ball in the dirt is to the third base side. And like Pat stated, it has been shown not to save any time. Young players need time for their arms to travel to the throwing position so that it is one smooth motion and setting up crooked does not change the amount of time it takes for the arm to get to the throwing position.
Staying low keeps you in an athletic position and you’re less apt to let that left shoulder fly open. Also throwing from an athletic position helps save your arm because you incorporate your core and lower half. Baseball isn’t a sport you play standing up...
Actually your right foot should be going more forward than to the left to replace the left foot. The spot your right foot should go is to the imaginary spot your chin goes down to.
+Anthony Boyer Sorry Anthony! I was trying to make it non-confusing! haha. If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
First person to practice standing up. Please educate your brethren. Everyone else is clueless. Only mistake is the secondary. If you can't pick your butt up by the time the pitch arrives, then you lack the coordination necessary to be an athlete. Stay in yoir primary and explode up through the ball. Time them both and get back to me. Secondary is the worst sin on catching ever perpetrated. I
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.
My 10 year old son loves to play catcher... and he loves watching videos on TH-cam. I found your channel a while back and have now shown him 3 videos and the improvement in his game over the last 5 games has been incredible. Three games after watching this catching mechanics video on throwing to second, he picked off his first base stealer. Although the steal attempt was to third, it’s still impressive to see how the mechanics in this video resonated with him and gave him the confidence to throw out the runner. In addition to this video, he’s also watched two hitting videos on “load, stride, swing”, and taking your hands to the ball. Before he watched them, he had struggled all season. In the past six games since watching the hitting videos, he has only gotten out twice, but on both occasions, they were balls that he hit hard to the outfield , but right at the fielders and the defenders made good catches. In his game yesterday morning, he hit two strong doubles and has become the leader of the team. Thanks Pro Speed Baseball!
@ProSpeedBaseball perfect explanation of footwork, I especially love how you don't stress on staying low. Being a catcher myself I feel a whole lot more comfortable and powerful when I come up instead of staying low. To be honest you have the best baseball channel on TH-cam thank you for your videos it's stepped up my game and I'm sure many others!
Fabian Chapa Thanks Fabian! That is very awesome and motivating to hear. I really appreciate the comment and am ecstatic to hear the channel is helping to excel your game! And yea it's a night and day difference for catchers when they don't worry about "staying low," it really puts you in the ideal position to throw runners out. Thanks again for the comment and as always, let me know if there's anything I can do to help out!! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Great example of your use of "good teaching" techniques: repetitions, sideviews/different angles, review of information, progressions to each skill... great stuff!
Jeff Colburn Thanks again Jeff!!! Definitely put a lot of work into being thorough, thanks for noticing!! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
That was 100% the best catchers mechanics and drill video on TH-cam. Thanks for the drills they're going to help this offseason
+Nick Villano You're more than welcome! Glad you like the instruction and thanks for the awesome comment!
~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
I have been playing catcher since I was 9, and now i am very good. This video is amazing!! Exactly what i was taught by my private coach.
This is my first year playing catcher and this video helped me get a jist of what i need to do. Thank you for making this
You are most welcome James! Glad to hear it helped you transition into the catcher position! Nice work for taking the time to research catching so you got it right!
If you ever have any questions, just let us know! ~Michael Pro Speed Basbeall
This is a great video, I haven’t been catching very long, your vids have helped me a lot, thanks for the content
I really liked the video, I'm at catcher on a varsity baseball team in woodland ca, my catching coach on the team played AA, baseball and he taught me just about all the things your showing, except he suggest that when I throw to second I stay low so I can get more power in my throw instead of standing up higher and using most arm to throw it down, the only flaw I have in throwing down is falling through my throw, and sometimes my transferring the ball from my glove to my hand
+HBK_DAN1EL Thanks for the comment! I will say that you definitely don't want to stand straight up, yet, as you can see in the pro examples, staying low is not a must when it comes to throwing guys out or throwing down to second properly.
Just keep working on your footwork, the more repetitions you get in, the better it will feel. I would also suggest checking out the Quick Transfer video on the PSB TH-cam channel to help with your transfer.
Good luck out there! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
I'm a catcher and this video has really helped me improve. And also, that picture at 5:47 is awesome.
+Evan Graham (ekewlmanfries) That is an awesome picture :P Really glad the video is helping out! Thanks for the awesome comment Evan!
~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
really nice video, im a freshman in high school playing catcher for the varsity team. this was really helpful and good luck to you and your channel. great job!!
Thanks for the comment truman bazar!! Glad you found the video helpful and good luck to you as well this season! If you have any questions or need help with anything just let me know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Thank you coach, that was really educational 👍
thank you for this. i’ve always add a hard time with throwing down. i apricate it!
You're so welcome! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Pretty solid video here with the lines, etc. Replacing your feet is great for pitches that are down the middle or slightly in (to RH) or slightly away from LH, but not practical on most pitches that catchers must throw on.
To learn proper footwork, TH-cam Next Level Catching Academy and find any video titled "Foot Tracking"
+Justin Duarte (NLCA) Hey Justin, thanks for the comment, sorry it's been a second since I could get back to you.
You're absolutely right, the footwork will be slightly different when a pitch is to the throwing arm side. The footwork in this video is based on a standard situation where a catcher is receiving the ball relatively close to the setup position.
Therefore, regardless of pitch location, the footwork is determined by the setup of the catcher. For example, if a catcher is set up outside (to a right handed hitter) and the ball is thrown down the middle, the ball will be to the left of center stance to the catcher, but down the middle relative to the strike zone.
Put simply, the footwork is solely based on the ball location relative to the catcher's stance.
Thanks again for the comment, and if you ever have any questions, just let me know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
I'm going to show this helpful video to my 11 year old. Thanks!
You are most welcome, glad you found the instruction helpful!
If you have any questions, just let us know! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
+Pro Speed Baseball yes sir, do you have advise videos, on develope arm strengthening especially for a catcher at his age?
As of right now we are in the developmental stages of our Throwing/Pitching programs.
We will have full arm care and strengthening program available. Unfortunately it takes a lot to get this together, so for now I would recommend researching good arm care techniques and a throwing program that doesn't seems tough but not too strenuous.
If you sign up for the free lessons at ProSpeedBaseball.com, you will be notified right away when these programs are released.
Wish we could help more right now, but we are sure working on it!
~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
hOW TO PRATICE TO BE A BETTER CATCHER AND IMPROVE OUR FOOTWORK PRO SPEED BASEBALL TO STEPPED UP MY GAME FASTER!
I’m only in mosquito, but my coach makes me catch 4 innings straight and this helps with those long throws to two.
Great video it will help me a lot.
I play softball and I’m a catcher but I struggle with throwing the ball and that holds me back a lot......tips to get stronger?
Pushups. Pull-ups. And core exercises
My son is 9 and has an average arm, but because he is super quick on his replacing his feet and exploding , he throws out runners! And this video is exactly right about throwing from a tall position rather than staying low, it works much better to explode up while transferring the ball and replacing your feet!
Well said! Quickness in the feet and transfer trump a strong arm. Thanks for the comment! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
nice shin guards, what brand/ style are they? looks like nice coverage.
Thanks! They are All-Star Brand. Very comfortable and solid! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Helped a lot
Is gear with padding better or no padding
Do you hop forward with the right foot or along the horizontal line of the stance?
excellent...thank you. Look forward to sharing with my 9/10 catchers.
How difficult is it to block a ball glove side with your feet staggered ?
Hey Keith! Great question. If your stance is staggered correctly, blocking glove side is no big deal whatsoever. Obviously a good thing to practice... but by far the best thing a catcher can do concerning blocking is anticipate the ball in the dirt. For example, if the pitcher is throwing something off speed, we can anticipate the ball diving. Blocking to the glove side from the secondary is easy stuff, especially with a little training! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
good instruction
rkapiko13 Thanks for the great comment rkapiko! Glad you liked the instruction! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Good stuff
+Doug Hanson Thanks Doug, really glad you liked the video! Thanks for commenting as well!
~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
Your the best
thank you
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand
2 things...
1) Taking the middle of your R foot to your L heel will have an exaggerated effect causing the back hip to slide out and over rotate your "square to 2B" positioning. "Heel to heel" is a better cue.
2) Am very disappointed that you would not do a better job of explaining the concept of "coming out low" to young catchers. No, you do not want to throw from a hunched position. But popping up immediately (as most young catchers already do) removes any ability you have to drive off your back side, and can make it more difficult to stay balanced because you are raising your center of gravity so quickly. (Come out low and gain height as you gain ground)
Mike your exactly right!!!! What Mike is saying is exactly what the Yankee's catching coach taught my son before going on to play in college.
There are many different ways catching can be taught. I personally do not agree with the foot setup. Staying square to the pitcher not only allows the umpire for a better view of the pitch but it also does not decrease the time trowing down. It may seem like it helps with the bodies rotation, but if you look into it it does not. Also, gaining ground is helpful to arms that are not fully developed but it does impact the pop time. Why not setup a T and just pivot the feet instead of making a leap forward that causes the catcher to be closer to the right handed batter and losing balance, therefore making it a harder throw. By simply standing up out of the squat and rotating the feet the results in your pop time will be dramatically decreased. If looked at frame by frame and the time from the ball to hand to releasing the ball is below 20 frames and the throw is 75 mph or above it's basically going to be a sub 1.9 pop time. It's math at that point, given wind and all but that shouldn't impact the throw dramatically. Overall, my opinion on the foot setup is my opinion, do I think it is a better way of doing it? Sure, but it's just how this can be seen in a more advanced way.
Pat Brothers Hey Pat Brothers! Thanks for the comment! The setup taught in this video is modeled after some of the best catchers that have played in and are still playing in the big leagues. (Ivan Rodriguez, Yadier Molina, Buster Posey etc...)
However, as an instructor and avid student of biomechanics I would have to agree that there is always the possibility of finding a better way to do things. I would very much like to see some video of what you described in the comment so that we can research it and see how it stacks up against the mechanics in this video!
In the mean time if you have any questions on this or anything else don't hesitate to let me know!
~Michael
Pro Speed Baseball
For a young catcher setting up not square has several disadvantages. First for a pitcher, when the catcher sets up not square once someone gets on first, you changed the look for the pitcher. You increased the chance of a pitcher throwing an errant ball. When setting up not squared up to the pitcher you also handicapped yourself on blocking a ball in the dirt, especially if the ball in the dirt is to the third base side. And like Pat stated, it has been shown not to save any time. Young players need time for their arms to travel to the throwing position so that it is one smooth motion and setting up crooked does not change the amount of time it takes for the arm to get to the throwing position.
Staying low keeps you in an athletic position and you’re less apt to let that left shoulder fly open. Also throwing from an athletic position helps save your arm because you incorporate your core and lower half. Baseball isn’t a sport you play standing up...
Actually your right foot should be going more forward than to the left to replace the left foot. The spot your right foot should go is to the imaginary spot your chin goes down to.
Matthew 3:2 .
I’m like #999
you confused me
+Anthony Boyer Sorry Anthony! I was trying to make it non-confusing! haha. If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know!
~Michael Pro Speed Baseball
First person to practice standing up. Please educate your brethren.
Everyone else is clueless. Only mistake is the secondary. If you can't pick your butt up by the time the pitch arrives, then you lack the coordination necessary to be an athlete. Stay in yoir primary and explode up through the ball. Time them both and get back to me. Secondary is the worst sin on catching ever perpetrated. I
Repent Jesus Christ is coming soon .
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand
My husban us a profeccional baseball player with LA Dodgers and he said you doing very well you foot step but for a kid to learn how to move there feet is very difficul for them to learn to do it you can use more youre right foot more faster for them to now you have to move youre right foot first them left foot a dont my housban dont said youre are wrong because you are the first person to said the right word and move for a college or pro for kids is very difficult for them to understand.Thanks for the video he said he like to see more about you.