Softball Catcher Drills – Pitcher-Catcher Drill

This is one of my favorite softball catcher drills. It is the best offense/defense drill I run and the work really pays off. Give it a try!

One of the most common situations I have found in our ponytail league is for a runner to be on 1st and 3rd and the ball get by the catcher after the pitch.

What usually happened (partly because this is the first year they can steal) was the pitcher covered the plate and the catcher threw her the ball.

But whether the runner coming from 3rd to home was called out or safe, the runner from 1st almost always made it all the way to 3rd because our players lost focus of what else was happening.

I now always include a short period during every practice with that situation and make sure I am also using the 1st and 3rd base coaches who will actually be coaching in the game (because we need the practice as well).

This drill not only helps the pitcher and catcher get down the basics of covering the plate and throwing low for the sliding tag, but also helps my 2nd/3rd base defense.

In addition, we emphasize the importance of the runner going from 1st to 2nd picking up the 3rd base coach when running to 2nd in case they can continue to 3rd.