To buy catcher gear, or not to buy catcher gear...

[R00STER]

Hello, I had something I wanted to run by you guys. First some background so you know where I’m coming from. I have a son who plays baseball and he’s turning 12 next month. I was a basketball guy myself so I don’t much about baseball and how all this works, so forgive my ignorance. My son seems to have some natural ability in baseball, but he has neglected it thru the years, playing a year, skipping a year, etc. He is playing now and claims he loves it and that is going to stick with it. Despite his on again off again approach, he is always one of the top two players on his team despite most of his teammates having played continuously. Keep in mind, this isn’t the level most of you guys are talking about though. We’ve always just played for our Church so I’m not claiming he’s a prodigy or anything.

So, having said all that, he was asked to play catcher this year and he has loved it and wants to continue playing the position. Now to my question (you’ll probably be wondering why I told you my life story when I ask the question). His birthday is coming up and I was considering getting him some catcher’s gear. I want to really keep him interested in this and I figure if he gets some cool new gear it may keep him excited and wanting to practice since our season is almost over. Finally the questions:

Is it dumb to spend money on catcher gear since don’t the teams usually own and supply that?

If I do buy it, would it be a bad idea to buy colors other than black or grey. I saw some cool stuff in like red and blue, but since we don’t know what team we’ll end up on and what their colors will be, would it be a bad idea to get colored gear?

Given the level of ball he plays (although I hope to get him playing a little more competitively) and the fact that he has been apt to quit playing baseball, I would like to keep it relatively lower level gear, like in the $100-$150 range for the set. Is that reasonable and what brands and/or sources do you recommend?

Also, like I said he's turning 12 but he's pretty sizable for his age, weighing about 115 I think it is. Most of this gear is divided into like "youth" and other divisions and the ages will say like 9-12. Since he's turning 12 now and is already bigger than most other 12 yo, should I go ahead and get him the next size up? I don't really know what is different about it anyway...shin guards are longer? Chest protector wider?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[JRH11]

Hello, I had something I wanted to run by you guys. First some background so you know where I’m coming from. I have a son who plays baseball and he’s turning 12 next month. I was a basketball guy myself so I don’t much about baseball and how all this works, so forgive my ignorance. My son seems to have some natural ability in baseball, but he has neglected it thru the years, playing a year, skipping a year, etc. He is playing now and claims he loves it and that is going to stick with it. Despite his on again off again approach, he is always one of the top two players on his team despite most of his teammates having played continuously. Keep in mind, this isn’t the level most of you guys are talking about though. We’ve always just played for our Church so I’m not claiming he’s a prodigy or anything.

So, having said all that, he was asked to play catcher this year and he has loved it and wants to continue playing the position. Now to my question (you’ll probably be wondering why I told you my life story when I ask the question). His birthday is coming up and I was considering getting him some catcher’s gear. I want to really keep him interested in this and I figure if he gets some cool new gear it may keep him excited and wanting to practice since our season is almost over. Finally the questions:

Is it dumb to spend money on catcher gear since don’t the teams usually own and supply that?

If I do buy it, would it be a bad idea to buy colors other than black or grey. I saw some cool stuff in like red and blue, but since we don’t know what team we’ll end up on and what their colors will be, would it be a bad idea to get colored gear?

Given the level of ball he plays (although I hope to get him playing a little more competitively) and the fact that he has been apt to quit playing baseball, I would like to keep it relatively lower level gear, like in the $100-$150 range for the set. Is that reasonable and what brands and/or sources do you recommend?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

There's nothing wrong with having his own gear. It sure makes it easier with proper fit/year round practice. Just be careful on the colors. Many teams/clubs may mandate the color scheme. Our team uses rawlings gear and it is good stuiff at a decent price. I'd say $175-$200 for everything. I do recommend the newer style hockey mask. It provides much better protection than the older masks.

The FIRSTthing I would do is get him a quality mitt.

[wogdoggy]

Buy it for him..:thumbsup:

he's only a kid once he's only a little leager once..and get him a cup too!

[Drill]

Welcome to the world of catching as a father, I contemplated the same thing so I bought him some Easton catching gear stealth which is good quality gear that will keep him safe at this age group level. He loves akadema line of gloves so I continued the tradition and bought him a apm 40 mitt for around $130.00. He still uses it in High School.

figure on 300-400 dollars and don't forget a good size bag to carry everything in.

You will find you will go through a bag about every year do to cramming equipment in it at the end of a game, Always expect to be the last one to leave the field. As you go up in levels he will be warming down pitchers, or doing a lot of bull pen work. It is a fun position to watch with some heart stopping moments for mom. It got easy for me in the very beginning when there was a close play collision at home plate, there was a cloud of dust and all I saw was a hand in the air holding the ball up showing the ump. he hung on and the umpire giving the out sign and there my son is with a big smile on his face as the dust cleared. That's when I knew that he was really hooked on catching.

I just bought him new catchers gear this season since he has grown about 4 inches since Dec. of last year. Puberty and growth spurt hit him hard and I bought him ALL-Star catchers gear ($329.00) and will be buying him another mitt which will either be a pudge mitt from wilson or the top of the line All-star mitt. either one cost between 250-300. So as he gets older you can expect to have about $1,200-$1,500 tied up in bats to bags cleats mitts and gloves. Yes I did just get done calling my insurance company up and lower my deductible to $100.00. After we got done talking about the cost of bats and glove if everything was to walk away. Keep receipts!

one of the best investments i made in the beginning was getting the New England catchers coach DVD http://www.catchingcamp.com/about/merchandise/index.php plus he has a wealth of information on catching.

Don't let the price tag scare you off when it comes to your sons safety behind the plate. He is involved in every play.


IMHO,

drill

PS its hard to deny my son when he carries a 4.1 gpa. the .1 comes from a A+ in Guitar that he has just started this year. He took Biology. algebra, world history, Latin, French 2, English and Guitar. Last summer he went to summer school to take PE so he could take an extra course this year. Some of the courses are advanced courses. If he wants to play baseball I will provide the best I can. He is playing in Jr. league and American Legion ball this summer plus helping out in a wood bat league for advanced High school players and college player and ex single A and AA players. He was asked to catch bull pen for a ex single A player and was complemented on his catching skills for just being a freshmen in High School.
He is also rehabilitating another college pitcher plus will be working with developing other pitcher on his JV team. So you never know when he your son will run into a highly skilled pitcher, have the proper equipment and get the DVD; really!


My son now that puberty has hit will be lifting weights this summer with the football team. (He will be working on legs, fast twitch movements and running) He also runs cross country in the fall. Oh I never force him to do anything except keep his room clean.

[JRH11]

Buy it for him..:thumbsup:

he's only a kid once he's only a little leager once..and get him a cup too!


Forgot about the bag and cup. :blush:

[R00STER]

Great stuff guys, thanks so much for taking the time to answer. And yeah, we've got the cup. LOL

[JRH11]

Great stuff guys, thanks so much for taking the time to answer. And yeah, we've got the cup. LOL


Being a catcher is kinda like being a hockey goalie. Just gotta deal with the fact that your expnses are going up.

[DukeK]

I figure the higher up level they get (when kids start dropping out of sports) the more I'm willing to invest to keep them properly equipped - especially if it will keep them interested and away from the dang tv/computer.

So, I say go for it and get him the gear. I'd hate to be sharing a catcher's mask/helmet with somebody else anyway.

[RodCarew]

I'll never forget being 12 years old and having to share Catchers gear with a kid on my team who sweat like a freaking maniac,

He sweat so bad that the chest protector would be completely soaked through after just an inning of work.

He didn't have his own gear so we'd share the team stuff.


Still gives me nightmares to this day.:rainy:

[ralanprod]

I'd hate to be sharing a catcher's mask/helmet with somebody else anyway.

Very true...

During a game last season the other team's catcher's mask had gone missing, so the coach asked if he could use ours. Well, both of my catchers - my son and his backup had their own gear, so I never bothered to check one out from the league.

I told my son that the other team needed to borrow his mask when they were in the field. He asked, "Why"? I explained the situation. He yelled that he didn't want the other teams "funky stank" in his helmet, and would I have asked him to loan out his cup too if the other catcher forgot his? I didn't really have a good comeback for that one...

[songtitle]

You guys are cracking me up.

[MrUmpireSir]

Just be sure to teach him how to put it on and off. Nothing worse than wasting 30 minutes of a time-limited game waiting for catchers to dress and undress after every half-inning....

[deaconspoint]

Ditto the info shared about New England Catching Camp. Coach Weaver is first rate.

Clips out! :-)

Buy him the gear dad. Teach him how to care for it. My son and I spend time together cleaning his gear after games and re-live the dirt!! I get to get him the gear he and I both want him to have and I also get an opportunity to teach a little lesson about taking care of what you have along the way. Lots of good lessons to be learned from baseball. I've found that most of the good ones don't take place on the field.

When my son started catching I invested in a reasonably priced set of gear. Once he advanced a little we moved up a level in gear. Still all together $150-$200. I kept the old gear and that is the loaner stuff others on the team can use if needed. Since we cared for the gear when he used it, it's still nicer than anything the league has in storage. He now has a practice set and a game set. Each gets cleaned after every use wether they need it or not.

Had a coach tell me once that dirty gear shows a catcher is working hard. Gear that's dirty prior to the game doesn't tell me anything. :-)

Tim

[Jake Patterson]

Ditto the info shared about New England Catching Camp. Coach Weaver is first rate.

Clips out! :-)

Buy him the gear dad. Teach him how to care for it. My son and I spend time together cleaning his gear after games and re-live the dirt!! I get to get him the gear he and I both want him to have and I also get an opportunity to teach a little lesson about taking care of what you have along the way. Lots of good lessons to be learned from baseball. I've found that most of the good ones don't take place on the field.

When my son started catching I invested in a reasonably priced set of gear. Once he advanced a little we moved up a level in gear. Still all together $150-$200. I kept the old gear and that is the loaner stuff others on the team can use if needed. Since we cared for the gear when he used it, it's still nicer than anything the league has in storage. He now has a practice set and a game set. Each gets cleaned after every use wether they need it or not.

Had a coach tell me once that dirty gear shows a catcher is working hard. Gear that's dirty prior to the game doesn't tell me anything. :-)

Tim
I agree with Tim... If he's going to catch - buy the equipment.

[shake-n-bake]

My son has outgrown his quickly. We got it last year, and this year it's small, and next it'll be a hand-me-down for my daughter someday maybe.

He hasn't caught an inning all year this year. He brings the bag to every game and practice. Since he hasn't caught, he's getting tired of hauling it around. I appreciate that he still keeps bringing it, so I usually help him out with his gear.

Last year he caught a lot and we worked together on catching a few days a week. Now, he wears it when we bring one of his buddies along to practice with us and work with him on his pitching. Even then, I usually catch for both of them. I don't think I'm going to replace it.

[metrotheme]

You've picked a tricky age because kids grow wildly at that age. I'd say get at least his own mask / helmet and glove. If you are concerned about him sticking with it, make HIM pay for it with his allowance / birthday money. If he pursues this into high school and makes his JV / Varsity team, invest in a full set of gear with the KNEE SAVERS.
I praise the person / people who created the Knee Savers, and I only wish they had them when I was even in youth ball, I think they would have saved alot of wear on my knees. I got back into catching after college (I played infield throughout college) and those knee savers are a great invention.

[R00STER]

Shake-n-bake, what is your advice then in light of your own experience? Are you saying it may be a bad idea given that he very well might not even catch for his next team?

Metrotheme, I like the way you think. Actually the only thing my son has asked for is a paintball gun and he has NEVER even done paintball before. He claims he has some friend that he'll go with (that I don't even know, by the way). I told my wife that since most everyone but us will give him money, let's get him something else and wait and see how important that paintball gun really is when he has $100 that he can spend on anything he wants.

[shake-n-bake]

Shake-n-bake, what is your advice then in light of your own experience? Are you saying it may be a bad idea given that he very well might not even catch for his next team?

Metrotheme, I like the way you think. Actually the only thing my son has asked for is a paintball gun and he has NEVER even done paintball before. He claims he has some friend that he'll go with (that I don't even know, by the way). I told my wife that since most everyone but us will give him money, let's get him something else and wait and see how important that paintball gun really is when he has $100 that he can spend on anything he wants.

It is possible. My son isn't a bad catcher. He works hard and plays it like he really enjoys it. No other catcher in our league backs up first base either. But, it all depends on the coaches. There's 3 coaches, we've played 14 games, and the total # innings played at catcher and pitcher combined by anyone not a coaches kid = 8. And the team hasn't played many close games. There's opportunity.

It ticks me off. My son played fall baseball for the same coach. There were a couple weekends where my son caught both ends of double headers and one where he played both ways for his football team in between. Indian summer 85+ temps and he was quite fatigued. An umpire told him purposely loud enough so others could hear, "Kid, you're tougher than .50 cent steak."

Unless you coach, it's a crap shoot unfortunately. My son used his gear a lot before not getting to use it much, so it isn't as bad. He won't catch without his own gear, so this year is it I guess at catcher - he might see some time there during AS.

Funny, my son also wants a paintball marker. He's been a few times. They can be rented. Some of my son's friends are really into it and have multiple guns. As much food as those kids eat at my house, he shouldn't feel bad borrowing. He turns 12 this fall and I'm taking him elk hunting. He'll need a rifle if he wants to hunt. I told him he could get a paintball gun or a new hunting rifle. He's still trying to sell me on ways to have both.