How to Play Catcher in Softball

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Jill Weiss and I'm going to tell you a little bit about how to be a catcher. First thing you want to take into account is equipment for a catcher. Safety is the biggest thing so you want to make sure that they're properly equipped. A catcher has the headgear, the face mask, the chest protector, the shin and knee guards and a proper catchers mitt. Once you have all that together, that's the first step on being a catcher. Second thing is a catcher is probably the most, one of the, if not the most important person on the field. They are the only player on the field that can see everything. They are kind of the communicator of the group. They're the ones that deals with the umpire, they're the ones that touch the ball the most. Getting people out, things like that. So they've got to be definitely one of the biggest communicators on the team. As a catcher, you can do a couple different things. You want to make sure that you're just far enough back from home plate to where the batter is not going to swing at your face because if a batter swings and it hits the glove, its catchers interference. So you got to kind of give enough room between home plate and yourself. Once, when you're receiving the ball from the pitcher, you have to do anything you can to block the ball because sometimes a pitcher's going to have a bad day and they're going to be throwing it in the dirt or they're going to be throwing it up here. You got to be agile. You got to be able to move around, things like that. Be able to catch the low ones. Be able to jump up and catch the high ones. Whatever you can to block that ball from going behind so somebody doesn't come in and score. Another thing is you want to remember to use two hands if you can. Anything you can to block it. On a low one, you're going to try and drop to the knees. Use your chest, use your knees. That's why you're kind of protected to do anything that you can to block that ball. My name's Jill Weiss, those are just a few tips on how to be a catcher."