Some time ago I interviewed University of Louisville Assistant Baseball Coach Xan Barksdale and turned it into a blog post. That post is still among the top ten "Most Popular Posts" from my blog in terms of readership. Xan Barksdale is one of the country's top coaches when it comes to catching and recently came out with a book on the position. If you read the interview (click HERE to read it), it is clear that Coach Barksdale knows what he is talking about when it comes to catching.
I had a chance to read his book (150+ pages) recently. When it comes to instructional books on baseball, you'll find that most books you read cover the basics pretty well. I have read many of them covering all the facets of the game and most tend to fall in that category. I'm taking the time to write about this book because this one is different.
If you are a reader of this blog, you know my passion for the little things in baseball that separate good players from great players. If you are a catcher, a parent of a catcher, a fan of catching, or if you are a coach, this book needs to be on your bookshelf. Throughout its pages, Coach Barksdale has gone far beyond the basics of catching and has included many of the behind-the-scenes little things that make catchers truly great.
The following are just some of the topics that are covered in an easy to read, easily understood style:
- How to choose and properly wear catching equipment
- The fundamentals of receiving, blocking, throwing, and fielding.
- Field awareness
- Options for giving signals
- Communicating with umpires
- Practice drills for players and coaches in all areas of catching
- ... and much more.
He even has a segment on how to properly handle a ceremonial first pitch!
But don't just take my word for it. Here's just some of what legendary college coach Ron Polk had to say in the book's Foreword.
"As I started to digest the information contained in his catching book, I was truly amazed at the depth and quality of the information he is passing along to catchers and coaches at all levels of play."
"... It has to be the most comprehensive, readable, and enlightening book on catching that I have ever come across."
"...I learned a lot of technical details on catching that I was not totally aware of."This is certainly high praise coming from someone with the knowledge of the game that Coach Polk possesses. I believe his praise is very accurate.
Note: If you'd like to get a copy of the book, the Amazon link I provided at the top right of the blog page will help.
