receiving

Question
hi i have a question about receiving the ball when your catching. i am having a little trouble doing it right now. sometimes the ball will bounce off the inside of the glove near my hand and not near the pocket or sometimes i think i am not relaxed enough becuase i can not move my hand it time when the pitch is outide or inside. how should i be watching the ball and how far out should i hold my glove away from my body. thanks

Answer
It sounds like you are not getting soft enough in the hand and forearm. Take your hand and hold it open as if you are giving the pitcher a target. Feel how the muscles in your forearm are tight.

Now drop your hand down. Feel your forearm again and see how the muscles have now relaxed. We call this getting soft.

You want to give the pitcher a nice big target with your glove, but after he begins his delivery there is no need for you to continue to give him a target. As he begins the delivery, turn your hand a quarter turn downward as if you were turning a doorknob.

Now you should be in a much softer and ready position to receive the ball and make the necessary adjustments to the pitch.

Hope that helps.

Best of luck this summer

Coach Stauffer