catching your kid

[Vegasdad]

Sometimes I forget to bring my catcher's gear. Stupid. DD threw a drop that hit me in the ankle. Made a grotesque "THWACK!" sound. Other coach looked up and saw the tears in my eyes. Now he won't catch her either.

I have seen your kid throw.......OUCH

he's so tough he can catch his DD with a slice of bread in the palm of his hand.

He's not tough, he's just hungry!

[Sam]

Got a couple.....stories:

Catching DD at 10U ASA Nationals in warmups. First game of DE and it is her first game of the tournament....and apparently 10 year olds get adrenaline pumped through theirs systems...something I didn't know. She throws one in the dirt that evades my glove and catches me mid shin....I bled for quite a while after the hopping and cursing stopped.

Warming up a 9 year old pitcher (going to UW next year, not as a pitcher) at a tournament in San Clemente. Just as she pitches, a foul ball from another field crests our fence and tips the front bill of my cap....I flinch....which causes me to whiff on the pitch coming in from this young lady. The ball hits me squarely on the forehead. I get up, cursing under my breath, and notice that I am bleeding like a wrestler...WW takes me to the emergency room where I receive 6 stitches....kinda freaked out the rest of the team....first time a lot of them had ever seen a coach bleed....I think they liked it.

[Killer Rabbit]

He's not tough, he's just hungry! [/quote]

It's true...I am hungry.

[ballguy]

I catch both of my kids. Last fall we had a mid west thunderstorm during one of my DD's pitching lessons. It was inside a small barn with the lights on. She was throwing rise balls. She let one rip and I catch it. A split second later the power goes off! If that split second would have happened that other way around, it wouldn't have been pretty. I don't know which is worse, my daughters drop ball or my sons 2 seam fastball off the shin!

[hit4power]

Shinguards are on my Christmas list, and I walked around for a week with a seam imprint on my right check after a drop hit the plate, bounced over the top of my glove and hit me smack in the side of my face. Another girl who takes lessons with my DD had a curve ball get away from her, went wide of her dad. Behind him was the netting for the pitching tunnel, and on the other side of that was a baseball team of about the same age in line for a hitting cage. The ball hit one of those kids in the back and knocked him down. He cried. I was out of town earlier in the fall and DD got her BF to come catch at her lesson (mom won't do it anymore). He lasted about 6 pitches into the walking drill and had enough. However much it hurts from time to time, I aint giving it up until I have to. Its just too much fun and I look forward to each lesson as a chance to spend time with my DD that many other dads don't get.

[etx bd]

About mid summer I was catching my DD at lessons. 5 or 6 other BD's lined up beside me. And in the OF behind my DD was the next shift warming up for their lesson. Well one of the girls in the OF played for me and between pitches I was watching her throw- I'm wearing sunglasses. Yeah I watched just a little too long... next thing I see is a little flash of yellow about 6" in front of my chest. Thank God she threw that fastball for a strike. It hit me dead center in the chest, knocked me off the bucket and against the fence. Fortunately it hit my sternum and I just got a lovely bruise. Scared me good. I don't take my eyes off her when she has the ball anymore. Someone asked DD if she felt bad after hitting me "No, he should of been paying attention". At least she has her head on straight.

[Chin Music]

I give pitching lessons throughout the week so I catch many pitchers. The older girls 11-12 and up I sit side saddle so I can get my feet and legs up out of the way if necessary. The only time I really got drilled was by my own kid. She hit the front of the plate and it ricoceted and hit me in the throat. Temporarily sucking the life from me! I now position the plate so I can reach over it.

[FPDD_cabbie]

I was catching for my DD at her pitching lesson back in February and at the time she was throwing inside drops when the pitching coach told DD to start throwing inside fastballs. Nope, she had one more inside drop for me, the best one I have every seen her throw. Too bad for me I could not move my glove down quick enough to prevent the ball from hitting my big toe.

The toe nail has finally grown back enough that I can trim it.

[fastpitch7]

catching for DD at a lesson. she was alternating between fastballs and change-ups. The PC told her to throw another fastball, but I didn't hear her and was expecting a change, so I relaxed alittle sitting on the bucket and I reacted and it bounced off my glove into my shin.

DD warming up doing wrist flicks, me sitting on bucket about 5 ft away, she takes her arm back about a foot or so and uses it so it was alot more than just a wrist snap, the ball goes under my glove bounces off the top of bucket and hits me in the balls. I gave her a glare and bit my tongue. She said "what it hit the bucket" as to which i responded no it didn't!! Her PC was in the next cage laughing....

[Cannonball]

I coach at a high school and so, we have access to a 70' cage that my dd throws in. Well, this cage is on a balcony which is secluded by bleachers. Long story short, dd was throwing last year and the custodian shut off the lights in the gym. DD had just dropped the ball out of her glove in her motion. I knew the ball was in flight and I dove to the ground. Good thing she didn't miss low.

Now, I wear shin guards and mask. BTW, how many of you are starting to get scared when the dd does the walk ups?

One final question. DD is 15 but very strong. We are having her throw most of her workout from 43 feet. I've heard that this is typical. What's your opinion?