Like almost every softball player probably dabbles with, I initially started my softball journey by trying to be a pitcher. My older sister was a pitcher, and I wanted to be just like her. I tried really hard to throw well in the back yard to my father. I started trying this super young. My hands were small. It was difficult for me to throw overhand let alone underhand. I struggled to get the ball over the plate. It was not long before my father encouraged me to consider other positions. He phrased it in the way of, “Would you like to be a pitcher…or would you rather catch for you sister?”…I more or less understood what he was trying to say and did not mind it one bit. I decided to give catching a whirl and boy was I glad I did.

My sister was a great pitcher. She threw hard, was a lefty and had a natural drop ball to her pitches. She would call herself “Wild Thing” because she thought that she threw a lot of balls. She still jokes around about making me such a good catcher because I was always catching her wild, unpredictable pitches. Regardless of how well she thought she was, I thought she was great. When you catch for your sister, there is one thing you have to learn more than anything else, you have to have her back no matter what. Here are three things I learned from catching for her that I believe are characteristics that all catchers need to exhibit.

Cheer Her on No Matter What-

No matter what the situation, you should be talking with your pitcher each and every at bat LOUDLY. Make sure to tell her that she threw a great strike. Encourage her to make a little adjustment when she misses a spot. Be positive. Know what you can say to each individual pitcher that motivates them and realize that it can differ depending on which pitcher you are addressing. Talk to them in between innings. Tell her that she did a great job. Encourage her to do a better job next time and that we will have a different plan if the girl that hit a bomb comes up again.

If she strikes out a batter, throw a fist pump. Use your body language to support your pitcher. Any way that you can show the pitcher that you believe in her and desire for her to succeed, she will in turn believe in what she is throwing and execute it the best way she knows how.

Know What Motivates Your Pitcher

Every pitcher needs something different to motivate them. Some need encouragement, some need a joke to lighten the mood and some need a stern talking to in order to be motivated. You should know what will make your pitcher motivated to do her best when times are tough. The vast majority of the pitchers I’ve caught for in games usually need to hear some encouragement.

Pitchers want to hear you throughout each at bat and not just when you are five feet away from her in a huddle. By cheering her on when you are behind the plate she will feel more comfortable throwing to you and confident in herself. It is also important to know when a good time is to call a timeout. Some pitchers speed up their rhythm when they are under stress and need a pause to slow themselves down. Other pitchers need to be told to make a little adjustment to their pitch or a change in mentality.

Know Her Strengths and Weaknesses

Does your pitcher have a bread and butter pitch? A bread and butter pitch is a pitch that they dominate when they throw. It is the pitch they have most confidence in throwing. If a pitcher threw this pitch every single pitch in a game, it would probably become ineffective after a while because hitters would make an adjustment. Due to this fact, catchers must understand how they can set up that pitch and find out when the pitcher is most comfortable throwing that pitch. Likewise, knowing which pitches that your pitcher is not comfortable throwing in situations is also important. Every pitcher has a pitch or two that she does not feel comfortable throwing in many situations and the more you understand these things about your pitcher, the more confidence she will gain in what she is throwing and the more confidence you will have in your pitcher.

By catching for your pitcher in practices and even going with her outside of practice to catch you will be enhancing your skills and hers. When I was a catcher in college, I was astounded at the number of catchers who would say no to pitchers who asked them to catch for them outside of practice so that they could get in a pitching workout. Pitchers give so much extra time to the game. They are the ones that get to practice a little earlier, stay a little later or come in on days off to perfect their movement, control and speed. I don’t mean this to seem like other positions don’t do any work, but catchers should be happy to sacrifice some free time to help their pitcher get better after all the extra work she has put in to get to where can be most effective for the team. I believe that by saying yes when pitchers asked to pitch to me that I gained a better knowledge of them as a pitcher and was able to make better pitch calls in games because of it. Say YES when pitchers ask you to catch for them on an off day.