How much do catching lessons cost? (baseball/softball)

“My kid is falling behind. They need lessons,” is a thought many youth baseball parents have.

As travel baseball gets more competitive, more kids are getting private instruction.

Everywhere they look, parents see other kids getting private lessons.

And for catchers, there’s only one spot on the field.

At Catching Made Simple, we're making high-quality catching instruction available to the masses.

I transitioned from middle infield to catcher my Junior year of college, then caught at a DII level. Since then, I’ve coached hundreds of catchers at all ages.

By the end of this article, you’ll learn:

• How much a catching lesson costs
• 8 factors driving it up and down
• 3 options besides catching lessons

How much to expect to pay for catching lessons

Many factors go into how much a catching lesson costs, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $30-$150 for a lesson. For a 1-on-1 lesson with a quality catching instructor, you can expect to pay around $80.

Now $30-$150 may sound like a big range, but there are eight factors influencing the cost of a catching lesson.

8 factors driving catching lesson costs up and down

1. Quality of instructor

As the quality of the catching instructor goes up, the price of the coaching goes up as well.

For example, a lesson with Yadier Molina (one of the best catchers of all time) would be more expensive than a lesson with a local high school catcher.

As the quality of instruction goes up, so does the price.

2. Location

If you are renting a facility, the price of the catching lesson will likely go up.

That’s because on top of the catching instruction, you also need to pay for use of the facility.

Depending on how much the facility costs and how long the lesson is, you can expect to add $30-$60 per lesson for use of the facility.

Some lessons factor this into the pricing already.

3. Additional video coaching

If there is additional video coaching offered, you can expect the price to go up as well.

Video analysis coaching is one of the most helpful ways a catcher can get better, and often is an extra charge.

When I transitioned to catcher, video analysis sped up my development a lot.

You can get a free video analysis here.

4. Demand of instructor

As more people want instruction from a particular coach, you can expect the rates for that coach to rise.

As a coach does a great job with his or her clients, word spreads, demand rises, and price rise as their calendar fills up.

A common factor for the level of demand is the number of other instructors in the area.

If there are fewer catching instructors in the area, your demand will be higher.

But regardless of how many instructors there are, the instructors who deliver the best results will always have the most demand.

5. Frequency of training

You can expect to pay more for a one-time lesson than a recurring, scheduled lesson.

This is because the lifetime value of a recurring customer is more than a one time lesson.

For example, a $40 lesson every week for a year comes out to be over $2,000 for the year. Whereas a $100 lesson once a year comes out to be $100 for the year.

If your training is more frequent, you can expect to get a better discount.

Not all coaches do this, but most do.

6. Length of lesson (time)

If you are doing a longer lesson, you can expect to pay more money.

But, you could expect to get small discount for a longer lesson.

For example, a 30 minute catching lesson might cost $40, but an hour lesson might cost $70 (a $10 discount).

7. Relationship with the instructor

Your relationship with the instructor can influence the price.

If the instructor has a strong personal relationship with you, they may cut you a deal because they like you.

It is still best practice to pay for the coaching, but they may give you a steep discount depending on the level of your relationship.

8. Number of people getting trained

A private, one on one training, is more expensive than a small group training of three or four catchers.

For example, a one on one catching lesson my cost $80 an hour, but if a group lesson of four catchers, may only be $50 an hour.

This saves the parents $30 each and helps the coach make $120 more than if they were to do a private lesson.

3 other options besides catching lessons

There are three options other than catching lessons parents should know about.

1. Catching camps

Catching camps are a great way for catchers to get high-level group coaching at a decent rate.

Catching camps allow for players to see where they stack up with other catchers, learn from other catchers, and get access to high quality coaching.

Catching camps are becoming more popular.

Ten years ago, there were only a few catching camps that existed.

2. Online video courses

Online video courses can be a great alternative to catching lessons. This is for a few reasons:

1. The biggest problem people have is an information problem

Most people don’t know how to get better at catching, because they don’t know what they need to.

A course is a quick and easy way to get the basics of the position so that they know what to work on.

A course will shortcut years of learning by getting you the right information faster.

2. Same price, but have it forever

Most catching courses are around the same price as a private lesson is for that instructor.

So for the price of a one hour lesson, you get more than one hour of content… for life.

If the coach is a good teacher, you will learn a lot from their courses.

3. Condensed teaching

Courses force the teacher to be concise, structured, and clear.

Many times coaches rely on 'their guy' rather than a repeatable process or framework.

But in a course, coaches have to teach in a way that’s easy to follow and is a repeatable process.

This means the player learns in a structured, repeatable way to develop the skills they need.

4. Access to high-quality information

Getting access to high-quality coaching and information, especially for catchers, is hard.

Courses give you immediate access to high-level information at an accessible rate.

You get to see how they teach, with their motions, their voice inflections, and their words.

3. Video analysis (online video coaching)

Video analysis coaching is the fastest way to get better as a catcher.

When I transitioned to catcher, video analysis was a huge part of my development.

I worked with Justin Duarte from Next Level Catching Academy and followed this process:

• In-person lessons
• I'd do the drills at home, then film and send them to him
• He'd give me feedback, and I'd work on it
• We'd meet again in person.

This process was invaluable and significantly sped up my development.

There are four main benefits to video analysis:

1. You see what you’re actually doing

Many times the hardest thing about teaching a player, is they don’t see what the coach sees.

So when the coach says "get your feet wider," they don’t understand what the coach means.

They can't see what their feet are actually doing compared to what the coach wants them to do.

But as soon as you get the player on video, it clicks.

They see exactly what you’re saying and can make the adjustments faster.

2. You see the progress you’re making

Another amazing benefit of video analysis is you can see the progress you’re making.

When you’re doing in-person lessons, you know you’re making progress but you can’t always see it.

With video analysis training, you can see the development you’ve made over time.

You can compare your current self to your former self, being able to see the progress you’ve made.

3. You get trained on what to look for

As you do more video analysis, you understand more of what to look for.

The more you hear the coach say the same things, the faster you're able to make those adjustments yourself.

This helps you tighten your “feedback loops” so you can get better, faster.

4. Compare yourself to the best

“Coaching to good” is one of the most important coaching mental models. It allows us to see where we are and where “good” is.

Through video, you can put yourself next to the best players in the world and stack up where you are compared to where they are.

You can look at the positions of your body versus a pros body and figure out how to get your body closer to that position.

As you get closer to moving your body the way the best players in the world move their body, you will get better.

Download a video analysis on Wilson Contreras and how to throw a 2.0.

Next steps to helping your catcher get an edge

In this article, you learned about:

• How much a catching lesson costs
• 8 factors driving it up and down
• 3 options besides catching lessons

Although it can be scary for parents to invest their money in their kids, the investment is always worth it.

At Catching Made Simple, we specialize in teaching hungry youth catchers the fundamentals of the game.

And along the way, we'll teach you about the fundamentals of life as well. Because catching is a training ground for lessons about the rest of your life.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

• Online Courses (Blocking Made Simple)
• Video Analysis Memberships
• Instructional videos: (TikTok, YouTube)