Three Pillars Continued...

Our goal with receiving is to control the strike zone and win every pitch. We focus on stance, setup, glove presentation, tracking, and movement to help catchers maximize strikes and create value on pitches around the zone. Ultimately, keeping strikes as strikes, and giving us a chance at making shadow zone pitches appear as strikes.

Our goal with blocking is to keep the baseball in front and limit opportunities for baserunners to advance. We focus on recognizing pitch shape, reacting quickly, and developing the ability to block different locations, angles, speeds, and pitch types.

Our goal with throwing is to create an efficient exchange and transfer while developing arm strength, accuracy, and consistency. We focus on getting the ball out quickly, making accurate throws, and executing when there is a runner on base.

By developing these three areas through purposeful drills, measurable data, and game-like variability, we can build catchers who are more complete, confident, and prepared to execute in competition.

Receiving Drills
  • Stance & Setup — Establish a balanced, athletic receiving position that allows the catcher to move efficiently and maintain consistent glove presentation.
  • Zone Emphasis — Target specific areas of the strike zone to develop consistency in the top, bottom, glove-side, and arm-side portions of the zone.
  • Glove Variation — Vary glove positions, angles, and presentation points to develop adaptability while maintaining efficient receiving movements.
  • Angled Receiving — Work pitches from different angles and locations to improve body positioning, tracking, and presentation.
  • Misfire Drill — Intentionally vary pitch location and movement to train reactions to imperfect pitches and develop the ability to recover without sacrificing receiving quality.
  • Offspeed Receiving — Incorporate changeups and breaking balls to improve tracking, timing, and receiving against different pitch shapes and speeds.
  • Lateral Receiving — Progressively expand pitch locations to develop efficient movement and presentation outside the center of the body.
  • Low-Ball Receiving — Emphasize maintaining posture and presenting low pitches without unnecessarily pulling the glove down.
  • Velocity Receiving — Increase pitch velocity to test receiving mechanics and consistency at game speed.
  • Random Location Receiving — Randomize locations to eliminate anticipation and force the catcher to react to the baseball.
  • Game-Sequence Receiving — Combine pitch types, locations, and velocities to evaluate how receiving skills transfer into realistic at-bat situations.
  • Receiving progression:
    Stance & Setup → Zone Control → Glove Presentation → Movement → Misfires → Offspeed → Velocity → Random/Game Simulation

Blocking Drills
  • Stance & Setup — Establish a balanced, athletic position that allows the catcher to react efficiently in every direction.
  • Fundamental Blocks — Build proper blocking technique, posture, glove position, body angle, and recovery.
  • Right-Handed Breaking Balls — Emphasize recognition and movement patterns against RH breaking balls (SW, SL, Gyro, CB, CT).
  • Left-Handed Breaking Balls — Progress to breaking balls moving toward the catcher’s glove side and develop efficient lateral movement.
  • Angled Blocks — Train the catcher to handle pitches moving at extreme angles while maintaining an effective blocking technique.
  • Offspeed Blocks — Develop timing and adjustment against breaking pitches and various pitch types.
  • Misfire Blocks — Introduce unexpected locations, movement, and velocity changes to simulate pitches that do not finish as intended.
  • Machine Distance Progression — Adjust the JR Hack Attack distance to manipulate reaction time, pitch velocity, and movement demands.
  • Short-Distance Reaction Blocks — Challenge reaction time and the ability to quickly get the body behind the baseball.
  • Long-Distance Tracking — Emphasize reading pitch shape, anticipation, and efficient movement with additional reaction time.
  • Random Blocks — Randomize pitch type, location, and movement to eliminate anticipation and force true reactions.
  • Recovery & Reset — Train the catcher to locate the baseball, recover efficiently, and transition immediately into the next action.
  • Game-Simulation Blocking — Combine breaking balls, offspeed pitches, misfires, and random locations to replicate game conditions.
  • Blocking progression:
    Stance & Setup → Fundamental Blocks → Right-Handed Breaking Balls → Left-Handed Breaking Balls → Angled Blocks → Offspeed → Misfires → Machine Distance → Random → Game Simulation

Throwing Drills
  • Exchange & Transfer Work — Develop efficient hand separation, footwork, transfer, and throwing preparation while tracking exchange and transfer speed.
  • Pop Time Development — Measure pop time to 2B and 3B, focusing on consistent mechanics and efficient movement.
  • Target & Accuracy Work — Use defined target zones and on-field throwing to develop accuracy from different positions and distances.
  • JR Hack Attack Drills — Vary pitch type, velocity, and location to challenge receiving-to-throwing transitions and eliminate anticipation.
  • Randomized Reps — Combine pitch variability and random locations to create unpredictable, game-like throwing opportunities.
  • Video Simulation — Use a TV setup with video of runners stealing from first-base or second-base angles, creating visual reaction and decision-making opportunities.
  • Verbal Simulation — Use verbal cues to initiate simulated steals and test reaction, exchange, and throwing execution.
  • Live Runner Reps — Incorporate actual baserunners to develop timing, communication, decision-making, and competitive execution.
  • Game Simulation — Combine variable pitches, runners, counts, and situations to test throwing skills under realistic game conditions.
  • Key Metrics: Exchange Time, Transfer Time, Pop Time to 2B, Pop Time to 3B, Arm Strength, Throwing Accuracy, Caught Stealing %
  • Key: Develop catchers who can receive, transfer, throw accurately, make quick decisions, and execute consistently under game-speed pressure. Throwing for catcher is the easiest to measure with video, a stop watch, and throwing accuracy.