Play Catch
Baseball is a game of catch. You throw the ball and someone else catches the ball. It’s that simple. An infielder throws the ball to the first baseman and they catch the ball. An outfielder catches a fly ball and throws the ball to an infielder who catches the ball. A pitcher throws a ball to the catcher who catches the ball. IF YOU CAN’T PLAY CATCH, YOU CAN’T PLAY THE GAME!
Unfortunately, a growing trend that I am seeing in baseball is that kids struggle to catch the ball. Even if they catch it, they look awkward doing it; almost lucky that they even caught the ball. And this isn’t just what I see while coaching my younger son’s Coach Pitch team; this is also what I am seeing at my older son’s High School JV games. Kids just simply struggle to catch the ball, whether it’s a thrown ball or a batted ball. If playing catch is a fundamental skill of the game, then why do so many struggle with it? It’s simple, kids just don’t play as much catch as kids from 10-20 years ago.
It should start at a young age, and I am not talking about 10 or 11. It should be starting as soon as a kid steps onto the field at age 6 or 7. Unfortunately we try to protect our kids. We don’t want them to get hurt by a missed ball or errant throw. So, what do we do? We avoid playing catch at all costs; or we opt for the “one coach throws a ball one at a time to 12 kids”. This is something, yes, but how many reps can you do during this drill? Maybe 5 for each kid because of time.
In the past two seasons (last Spring and this Fall) for my son’s Coach Pitch team, I have not seen one other team line their kids up in the outfield for them to play catch. NOT ONE! I tell our team all the time. The five minutes I give them to play catch before each practice and every game is the most important part of that day for them. If that is the only thing they do that day, it would have been a good day. And the results are nothing but positive. Our team is now at a point where I feel comfortable enough (as do the kids) with putting any one of them at first base.
The best way to get the younger kids started with playing catch is with tennis balls. It takes most of the fear out of the act of playing catch. And it takes away the worry from the coaches and parents. And playing catch at a young age is not about actually catching the ball. Its about developing the proper technique in catching the ball as well as reducing/eliminating the anxiety during the act of catching. The more one does it, the more comfortable they get. And that is the space where we need our kids to be, comfortable in displaying the right technique to catch the ball. If they catch it great. If they don’t, no worries as long as they demonstrate confidence and the right technique.
Outside of worrying about someone getting hurt, I do know that many coaches avoid having the kids play catch because of time. Kids will make bad throws or they won’t catch the ball. This leads to chasing balls. Fine, who cares? YOU HAVE TO DO IT! Playing catch is the most important thing you can do at practice. Don’t involve parents or coaches. Kids should be playing catch with kids. It helps the thrower develop accuracy and gives the kids many needed reps in catching the ball.
It’s not a surprise that I see kids at the High School level struggling to catch given the lack of attention it gets at a younger age. But it is a very simple issue to fix. And if you’re a coach that cares about winning the plastic trophies, PLAY MORE CATCH! The better EVERYONE is at catching a ball, the better your team plays on defense. The better the defense, the more likely it is that you will win.