How to choose the best catching coach for your son’s needs

Catching is the most important position on the field, yet it is the least understood and least coached. Quality catching instruction is hard to come by.

Generally, anyone who offers coaching can help a beginner increase their fundamentals. But if you want top-notch coaching for your son so he has the best chance of achieving his dreams, read on to learn how to choose the best catching coach.

If you don't know who I am, my name is Anj Bourgeois and I am the founder of Catching Made Simple. I transitioned from infield to catcher my junior year of college, having never caught before, and now I have a passion for teaching other catchers the fundamentals of the game.

I have helped hundreds of catchers get into a better stance, learn the fundamentals of the game, and get their mindset right.

By the end of this article, you will know the 4 steps to choose the best catching coach for your son and a personal story of how a catching coach helped me.

4 steps to choosing the best catching coach for your son's needs

1. Explore your different catching coach options

Catching coaches come in all shapes and sizes.

Do you want in-person coaching or online coaching?

Do you want someone who will just teach the skill of catching, or someone who is a positive role model as well?

Do you want a coach who has played professionally? Does it matter if they can teach your son effectively?

2. Evaluate the different catching coaches

As a general rule, whoever provides the best free content will also provide the best paid coaching.

With the internet, there is an abundance of catching coaches online, and you can get a good feel for who someone is and how they teach based on their videos.

If I were you, I would watch their free content online. Then, once I found a coach I liked and wanted to coach my son, I would find out how to get access to that coach. Luckily, with the internet, online coaching gives access to people across the globe.

Here are some other catching coaches I have found to be great at what they do.

A great way to evaluate coaches is to look at referrals and reviews. If they have helped someone else like you, they will be able to help you too.

3. Test a catching coach out

Once you find a coach you like and trust, test them out! Book a lesson, start a program, or do something with them!

Remember, you can literally "buy" faster skill development with a coach. That's why coaches are valuable. You are really buying skill, speed, and certainty that you are working on the right things.

4. Go deeper with the catching coach

If you like the coach, they helped your son, and you think the impact on your son is worth the investment, keep going!

Catching (like life) is not a one-time thing.

It is a constant journey to master the fundamentals, the mental game, and the art of showing up with confidence every day.

A personal story about choosing a catching coach

When I was in college, I transitioned from an infielder to a catcher my Junior year of college. I literally had to learn to catch from the ground up, which is why I love teaching young catchers now.

When I decided to make the transition, I read everything I could find on catching, learning to catch, developing skill at the position, and more.

I watched hundreds of hours of videos.

By FAR, the thing that sped up my development the fastest was getting a coach.

We worked together in person, then I’d go do the same drills we worked on back at my school by myself. I’d often bring my girlfriend (now wife) out to feed me balls in the batting cage since it was over Christmas break.

And I got better in 6 weeks of coaching than I had in 6 months of working by myself.

So whether you work with me or not, give your kid a shot behind the plate and at least get them into a good stance and have a general understanding of the fundamentals of catching.

Next steps to choosing the best catching coach for your son

You came wondering how to choose the best catching coach for your son or daughter.

Now you know the four steps to choose the best catching coach for your son.

At Catching Made Simple, I create content, courses, and coaching programs to help hundreds of catchers increase their mobility, strengthen their mental game, and develop the physical skills they need to catch at a high level.

Book a call for a free 15-minute Catching Consultation with Anj if you want to get an expert take on what you need to do to get better.

And if you are not yet ready to talk with me, check out these other resources:

• 7-Day Stance Challenge - get a stance like the pros in 5 min a day