Peeking Behind Youth Catchers Gear
I’m on the hunt for of this new youth catchers gear, but I can’t help but think that this new catchers equipment is beyond what many kids need today . I also worry about the parents buying this stuff .
Always searching Some parents are in tune and know that every kid is different, but here’s an idea of today’s kids. Some play baseball for fun . Some are gifted athletes at an early age and others are mandated to make the team and to excel for the parents.
That being said, I’ve never had a team without some type of parent problems and a lot of those problems seem to be with parents of one particular position, catchers . Not sure why they seem to bring with them some more drama , but I am withholding opinion and will let you decide . So, besides the coaching aspect, catchers take up a lot of my time and since their position is so dangerous, I spend the majority of my shopping for baseball equipment on the catchers gear.
I’m coaching my fourth youth baseball team and each year, I am introduced to more expensive and more advanced catchers gear. Expensive might be a better description , but safety is another concern we all share. With pitchers now being raised on exotic vitamins and blessed with baseball qualities they seem to be throwing harder at an early age. Catchers don’t appear to be keeping up with those exotic supplements the pitchers get and like I already said , I’m always watching out for the kid who wants to be a catcher anyway. I just know they are going to demand a lot of attention. This is baseball.
Youth catchers gear has sure come a long ways in a short time . As a youth sports coach, my catchers equipment is the largest outlay my team has . Maybe I’m a stickler , but I don’t want any of my kids to get hurt. So, I’m prudent when it comes to choosing .
I fit the helmet and mask . This year we are trying to buy the real hockey style helmet and given the drive for raising money we should be able to get one . The problem is that each catcher is arranged differently. I have had to take chest protectors to have padding cut out or rearranged . I have had pads inserted and sewn in places not normally seen, but I am cautious about safety and I want them to be able to move when they are chasing a foul ball . While I am fitting the catchers, I am naturally spending a lot of time getting to know them.
We chat, they are usually timid at first and as we progress they start to speak their mind . I squeeze on the mask, tighten the shin guards and they may even think twice about their decision to play the position , finally emerging like a baseball catcher should . I explain about keeping the shinguards in the right position. They want to protect the legs and I pinch their fatty thighs to alert them of what can happen if a ball hits them in that tender spot . The kids always listen and I feel good about spending so much time teaching and prepping them-hoping they don’t get hurt.
Catchers are a strange group . It might be the actual equipment . All those pads and the mask. I’ve had kids try out for the catcher position simply because they wanted to hide behind the catchers mask. Behind it, they seem alive. You could almost feel this energy from behind the plate, but once out from behind their revered catchers gear, they turned inward . Quiet. I’d suspect some may be afraid , but perhaps vulnerable would describe some youth catchers.
One of my more troubled players was like this. He was awkward off the field and even before he put on the gear I wasn’t sure he could play . Once behind the chest protector or even with shin guards and a catchers mask on, he was almighty . I’d watch him spring from a crouch as he fired strikes to second base. He would throw behind a runner at first, even when I continually told him not to. He was everything a catcher should be .
Off the field he was shunned . Few friends, a capable student but in a complex world , he didn’t fit in . I tried to talk with his parents, but they refused to believe their son was anything but great . To them, their son was a superstar, a fearless competitor who would surely go on to become a great baseball player. Perhaps they are right. He may develop to be awesome , but I can’t help worry about him and his gear. The same baseball catchers gear he loved to hide behind.