Catchers & recruiting

[PDad]

I believe most college coaches will disagree with your regarding POP time. Many cathers will not even get a look if there POP time is not below a certain level. Also, many college teams have a plyer/asst coach time the POP time of the opposing catchers to determine who they think will have success stealing against them.

Again- I know a lot of girls at catcher that caught a lot of runners at lower levels with "just" a strong arm, but were run on at will later on because no one ever worked on their release

I would bet college coaches don't trust posted pop times because people fudge them as much as batting stats, pitching speeds and running times. They make their own evaluations, including determining what the player is capable of doing with proper coaching and mechanics.

Anyone that is serious about catching at the upper levels works on it and seeks outside instruction if their team's coaches are not able to provide it. It's just like any other softball skill.

[jonriv]

True POP times (like true pitching speeds) tend to come out at Showcase Camps. I recall how at Pennsbury when we attended a few years ago there were very few under 2.0(despite the stat sheets) Just like a shortage of Pitcher's over 60mpg

I certainly agree about the extra instrustion, just wanted to point out the lack of attention(to a key position) that is paid by many coaches

[ron2691]

Agree with touch times being the key measuring stick over ball speed. There are many other aspects to catching that must be added in. Framing, handling a struggling pitcher, blocking, dealing with the daily aches and pains of the position and having a presence behind the plate can influence everyone from her teammates, other team and the umpire. Learning to be a consistant hitter is the biggest way to separate from the rest!

[Amish_TB]

True POP times (like true pitching speeds) tend to come out at Showcase Camps. I recall how at Pennsbury when we attended a few years ago there were very few under 2.0(despite the stat sheets) Just like a shortage of Pitcher's over 60mpg

I certainly agree about the extra instrustion, just wanted to point out the lack of attention(to a key position) that is paid by many coaches

What I don't understand is how easy this is to measure with today's technology. Just go video tape the kid and it is easy to measure touch to touch. No fudging required.

[AlwaysImprove]

Maybe everyone in softball is Amish .