catching your kid

[KT93]

These story's bring back painful memories.... DD has always threw hard even at a young age now control that's another story... I love the time spent with DD catching her during lessons & in the back yard but if there is a catcher around I will gladly pass the job off.

Worse one I can remember was when DD was 12 (i think) & we had been working on control all winter so her speed had fell off a few mph... (thank god) We were doing walk on's with a weighted ball & went back to a regular ball from 40'. I wasnt expecting what was about to come & completely whiffed on the pitch when she threw it. The ball tipped my glove & nailed me in the chin. By the time I stopped seeing stars & made it into the house to check & see if I still had all my teeth, my chin had a nice purple goose egg on it & all my bottom teeth were bleeding around the gums... took almost a month for the swelling & color to go away...
The other was the dreaded inside Drop Curve. I sit side saddle on the bucket so this pitch is a killer for me. When I catch it, it kills my thumb, but this time it really broke & nailed me on the hip bone. I couldn't wear a belt for weeks.


Cannonball:
I hate DD's walk-on's... she will pick up 5mph + when doing them. We have started doing the walk-on's from about 50' unless she has a geared up catcher... We also work from 43'. The only problem I have found is that on game weeks when playing at 40' it takes her a little longer to dial in her drop after working from 43'....

[pdj]

From my experience, the catching side thumb will never heal. Hand pad between my wrist and thumb has been swollen for too many years. As I enter my 60's the left thumb and wrist give out before my knees. Now I use a wrap and support glove on my catching hand. No big deal though, when my left hand finally gives out there is always the right.

Poor catching position is mostly responsible for me getting thunked the most. The worst is when I am on my knees and the drop gets under my glove. Painful area where the quad attaches to the knee area.

Several pitches a practice I like for the pitcher to try to fool me with their pitch. Helps me stay sharp picking a pitcher and helps the pitcher to learn to hide her pitch.

Fastpitch catchers in the past seldom used anything other than a mask and mitt. Now I am seeing some that even use a chest protector. Just goes to show that catchers are getting smarter.

[Coach_Frisbee]

DD's PC keeps asking me when I will be using shinpads - "When I need them" is my reply.

I don't know if it is my age (46), my eyesight, DD's speed, or all of the above??? All of a sudden she is over the 50mph mark and breaking pitches are starting to break.

I have yet to get on on the shins or the face, but a few weeks ago a rise completely missed the glove and I caught one in the chest (my left nipple was bruised for over a week). I put shinguards on my christmas list.

Thanks for the posts, I actually laughed out loud at a couple of them. Not out of sympathy, out of empathy...

[Tucson]

(my left nipple was bruised for over a week)

You obviously weren't wearing a sports bra. Amy

[ballguy]

My DD is 15 and we started pitching from 43' at both lessons and our own practices. It has worked out well for her. She is mainly a change up,rise and screwball pitcher with only a couple of drops during games so it hasn't been a problem so far. Now the walk throughs can be a little tricky!

[Cannonball]

DD and I actually have our "favorite" stories. Her's is the one that took off and hit me in the ear. My ear started bleeding. She told me I needed to be tougher. Mine is the one I related earlier. Others in the "chase" include the one where she threw her first series of drops. One hit the plate and then hit Dad in a bad place. Coughed a few times on that one. Didn't want to act hurt. I think we've all had cather's thumb, bruised shins, that occasional one on the toe, and the one off of the top of the mitt. It get to be alot of laughs for us. Laughs, a few weeks after the fact!

[blogndogn]

i was catching for my 13 yr old dd on my driveway with cracks in it and and a fast pitch hit a crack and came up so fast and hit me in the cheekbone, about 59.99 mph to the face i thought i was deformed i had to look in a mirror to see the damage, a nice bruise. another time i was watching her feet when she threw a pitch, thinking i was fast enough to see the ball,i got hit square in the stomach with no mask on,i just said ,im so stupid, i need to get hit in the face to buy a mask .lol! anyway no matter who laughs at you for wearing protection at the park . do it. even if you look like darthvadar.