By The Major, of Kay Nou = Our House
The start of the baseball season and the arrival of spring has put me in mind of an annual rite of passage between fathers (or mothers) and sons (or daughters) – teaching your children to play catch. Across North America, you can see parents and kids tossing balls around after supper. There are few springtime sounds more satisfying to the senses that the pop of a baseball trapped in a leather glove. And there are few accomplishments more gratifying than watching your child learning to catch a hardball.
When embarking on this adventure, it is important to remember that each step is part of a process. Willie Mays did not learn in a day. The fantastic catch that he made over his shoulder off Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series was the culmination of many years of hard work that began when Willie was a small boy growing up outside of Birmingham, Alabama.
Thus, it is important to stress persistence and patience. What doesn’t work today may work in a few weeks or months. Never give up.
The Butterfly – Most children can throw a ball by the age of 18 to 24 months. Why not take the first steps toward catching at that time? Have your kid work on this drill – place the two hands with palms up joined at the pinkie edge of the hand. Teach your child to slowly bring the palms of the hands together like the wings of a butterfly. The thumbs should touch each other at the top of the butterfly. Gaining this muscle memory will give you child an idea as to the basic mechanics of trapping a ball between the hands.
The Clap – When your child is ready, practice tossing a soft ball into the center of the butterfly wings. If you time it right, your kid will trap the ball. Gently tossing the ball into the platform formed by your son’s extended hands will also give him confidence, and help to overcome fears of being hit.
When your boy is ready, try the clap. Have your young champion hold his hands body-width apart and toss the ball toward the center of his chest. Tell him to clap. Once again, this is a matter of timing. Some kids get the choreography of the whole thing immediately. Others take longer. I have found that those squishy, orange Nerf balls work best at this stage.
The Strap-On – It is really hard to jam a little kid’s little fingers into the designated slots in a baseball glove. Instead of stressing out over this, I’ve found that it is more important to get the child accustomed to wearing the glove on his non-throwing hand. Let the fingers go wherever it is most comfortable for the kid.
Also, look for a baseball glove with a Velcro strap that goes around the child’s wrist. Once this is fastened, it works wonderfully to keep the glove on their tiny appendage. They also make gloves and special balls that use Velcro to help the little tyke snare the ball in mid-air. This is an incredible confidence builder.
Fuzzy Balls or Small Balls? – Now you’re ready to move your boy into a real glove. What kind of ball do you use? Obviously, you don’t start with a Rawlings Major League ball coated in Lena Blackburne (the rubbing mud applied to all MLB balls by umpires before a game). By the way, until about 20 years ago, all major league baseballs began their life in Haiti where they were hand-stitched. This fact is not lost on me as I teach my own Haitian-born to throw and catch.
Start with a tennis ball. Although those suckers tend to bounce right out of the glove, this is a great excuse to start your young Derek Jeter with the best of all possible catching habits – using two hands. It will be tempting for the wee man to attempt to spear the ball one-handed with his new glove. After all, it was such a struggle to get that sucker on, why not let it do all the work?
As the parent, you must overcome this instinct. Have your player grasp the mitt with his free hand holding the glove’s thumb. The fingers of the free hand should be in the form of a letter “C” to protect them. When the ball comes in, the free hand assists the glove in closing, thereby trapping the egg in its new nest. Those of you paying attention will note that this maneuver is a combo of The Butterfly and The Clap. If played right, this can be your Mr. Miyagi, “Wax on. Wax off.” moment.
When your young man is comfortable with the palm-up presentation, have him adjust to the palm-facing-the-thrower position. If you thought hitting the target was difficult before, it’s about to get more challenging for you as a parent. Be prepared to hit your child in the face. Repeatedly.
Even if you hit the mitt perfectly with your throw, there is no guarantee that the ball will not pop out and find an eye or a kisser (they always seem to do that). These instances present a great chance for you to demonstrate to your child that getting hit with a ball does not herald the destruction of the planet by firestorm. In fact, it is part of the game.
Now you’re ready to move up to a hard ball. I would seek out a youth baseball at first. These tend to be about two-thirds the size of a real ball, and they are packed to be significantly softer. Tell your kid that this is a “real ball” and see the pride in their face when they learn to catch it. Even more rewarding is that look of “Wow. This shit really works,” the first time that your son actually uses the glove to protect himself from being struck with a thrown baseball.
Hard Is Better Than Soft – Over time, your star of tomorrow will come to learn that the faster the ball spins, the easier it is to catch. Just ask any big league catcher whether they’d rather wrangle a fast ball or a knuckle ball (a floating, diaphanous pitch that barely spins). It may surprise you when your angelic boy says to you “Come on, Mom. Throw it harder. Stop being such an old lady.”
Let him have it. He can probably take it. But, make sure that you put some spin on the ball. In other words, step into the direction of your throw with your opposite foot, bring your elbow forward in advance of your hand, and let the ball roll off your fingertips. No more girl throws.
Now, the ball should be making a nice, satisfying pop in the youngster’s glove. If he catches it on the fingers, fine. That’s what the glove’s webbing is designed to handle. However, when he takes one on the palm, his hand will smart like a cartoon character’s paw that gets slammed with an oversized hammer. Once again, this is part of the game.
His hand will toughen over time. Fight your maternal urge to insert protective padding into the glove (in particular, under no circumstances are Maxi-Pads to be used in baseball). Taking a hard throw in the part of the glove where some player has signed is one of the best ways to break the glove in.
Lube It Up — After the catch is done for the night, apply oil to the glove. This will help to treat the leather and to break the monster in. Spalding, Wilson and all those Japanese glove manufacturers put out oil just for this purpose. You will find it in the same aisle where you bought the glove.
Play ball.
PS – Some of you may have read the section titles of this post and thought of non-baseball subjects. Shame on you.
About the Author: The Major is an attorney and former Army officer. He and his wife (and fellow blogger) Running Girl are doing their best to raise a family of five in Western New York.
Please visit their family blog at Kay Nou = Our House
Photo of ball by theseanster93, found on Flickr
