The Sports Family Club, Enriching Lives Through Sports and Activities

Brent Mayne Catching Clinic

We were honored to bring Brent Mayne to CO in December. Brent is 4th on the all-time list for fielding percentage among catchers. This accomplishment was compiled during his 15 years of big league experience, making Brent one of the highest qualified instructors in the nation.

Beyond his qualifications, Brent is an excellent instructor who communicates with the students very well. This makes the experience for the young catcher incredibly valuable.

Brent has shared with us his guide for catchers communication.

CATCHER COMMUNICATION

As a catcher, you MUST communicate.

You don’t need to be a “rah-rah” guy, a cheerleader, or possess an out-going personality; however, you’ve gotta come out of your shell enough to risk embarrassment and verbally help your teammates.

You are the focal point of the infield, the closet player to the coach, and the only defender who looks out onto the field of play. You have a perfect perspective from which to direct traffic.

Here are a few simple suggestions passed on to me from Australian coach/scout Peter Gahan. These are automatic catcher responses to particular game situations. Memorize them and speak up every time they occur.

These are just a few of many opportunities you’ll have to help out your teammates and become the defensive leader of your team. Pay attention and add to this list.

1.  A bunter at the plate:  ”Stay alive”, etc.

2.  Left Handed Hitter up to bat:  ”Be ready to cover 1B.”

3.  Ground ball to the right side:  ”Get over!”

4.  2 out, runner on 2B:  ”Diving, keep the ball in the infield.”

5.  2 out, full count, runners moving on the pitch:  ”Going over to 1st base on a ground ball.”

6.  Empty base at 1st, runners on, good hitter at bat: make sure you and the pitcher are on the same page, tell the pitcher “make him hit your pitch.”

7.  Clear assertive call when pitcher fields a bunt.

8.  Clear assertive communication on 1st and 3rd plays.

9.  Before the game, make sure the pitcher knows the signs for controlling the running game (five series).  Throw over, step off, pitchout, etc.

10. Before the game, sort out what signs you will be using with runners on second base.

11.  If pitcher throws 3 or 4 consecutive balls to a hitter, go see him:  ”Hey, lets keep it simple.  Forget everything else and get the hitter.”

12.  2 outs or any 1st and 3rd situation especially with an average runner on 1st:  ”Stay alive for the delayed steal” with appropriate hand gestures.

Here are some photos from the event!