About Headfirst
Since 1996, Headfirst has been the #1 baseball and sports instruction company in Washington, D.C. Nationally, Headfirst is best known for its popular National Honor Roll Showcase in Florida, run each of the last 6 years in Jupiter, FL. Last winter, Headfirst organized and conducted the country's first annual Sidearm & Submarine Pitching Camp with featured guest, Todd Frohwirth.
This year, Headfirst has teamed up with world-renowned pitching guru, Bill Thurston and catching guru, Boyd Coffie to offer the most comprehensive digital video-based pitching and catching clinics in the country. These clinics are designed for coaches (all levels), high school catchers and high school catchers (ages 14-18) of all styles and abilities: Overhand, sidearm, submarine, LHP or RHP.
Coach Bill Thurston is one of the leading pitching minds in the game of baseball today, currently serving as a consultant for A.S.M.I. (American Sports Medicine Institute; nationally known as the premier pitching mechanic analysis research clinic) and is going into his 39th season as head coach of Amherst College. He is 12th on the all-time Division III college baseball wins list. Coach Thurston has worked with thousands of catchers on the high school, college, and professional level and has been involved with international baseball including representing Team U.S.A. in 1986 as the team's pitching coach. He has been named New England Coach of the Year four times and has been elected to the ABCA Hall of Fame.
Coach Boyd Coffie holds the record for the most wins in Rollins College history (coached for 19 years) and has recently served as the Field Coordinator for the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians Minor League Organizations. Coffie was an All-American baseball player and an All-Conference basketball player at Rollins College. His jersey was retired before he went on to hold the coaching career wins record in basketball and baseball. He also played 5 years in the New York Yankees organization and has since been elected to 4 Hall of Fames: Rollins, Sunshine State Conference, Orlando Sports, and McMinn County (TN) High School. He has coached Major Leaguers: Sandy Alomar, Einar Diaz, Victor.
Catching Clinic Goals
- Introduce each catcher to a flexibility program aimed at preventing injury.
- Teach the balance and posture required of catching stances.
- Identify various faults and teach techniques and drills to help each catcher make the proper adjustments required of his position.
- Quicken reaction times to lower pop-times and expand the blocking range.
- Introduce framing and proper presentation of the catch to umpires.
- Discuss the theories of the pitcher-catcher relationship, including tempo and the application of signal systems.
- Instruct campers on auxiliary skills such as tag plays, force plays, bunt plays, pop-ups, pitchouts, and intentional walks.
- Discuss the mental makeup required of catchers including fearlessness, leadership, and intelligence.
Digital Video Analysis
The video analysis element of this catching camp is tailored for catchers who truly desire to excel at their position and who are dedicated enough to become students of the game.
Our digital camera equipment and JC VIDEO software system offers an opportunity to break down and analyze each catchers’ techniques on a much more detailed scale than with the naked eye. The benefits of video analysis have been utilized for decades by major league teams and coaching legends; and the JC VIDEO system brings this task to the next level of efficiency and effectiveness.
If you believe you have the mental aptitude and physical potential to become a top-flight catcher in high school or beyond, our state-of the-art digital JC Video analysis may be what takes you to the next level. Each participating catcher will receive a personal CD-Rom of his mechanics with voiceover instruction and discussion from our coaching staff.
Video will also be used as a teaching tool during the clinic:
Throughout the weekend clinic, emphasis will also be placed on identifying improper catching mechanics and the negative results they produce. Time will be set aside to show video of many common faults observed in high school, college and professional catchers. This information will assist coaches and players in recognizing various faults and suggesting potential solutions that will improve performance and also reduce reaction times and wasted movement.
Each Attending Catcher and Coach Will Receive:
- Personal CD-Rom of each catcher’s mechanics with voice-over instruction, so each CD-Rom will have instruction and discussion on the CD-Rom to be taken home.
- Written hand-outs and materials on catching mechanics and drills to help improve and maintain proper catching techniques.
**PLEASE NOTE: While Headfirst and Bill Thurston are running their pitching clinic simultaneously, our catching clinic will not include catching extended bullpens. Cooperative work with the pitchers will be very limited.
Flexibility and Injury Prevention
Throughout the clinic, we will be introducing catchers to flexibility programs and agility drills that will reduce injury and improve footwork required for a healthy season and year. We will also discuss the role of long toss to increase arm strength.
Injury Prevention:
It is very important that players and coaches understand the physical stresses placed on the lower body in catching. These include knee inflammation and tightness or strains on the hamstring, quadriceps, and hip flexor muscle groups.
Utilizing dynamic warm-up routines and moving beyond static stretching programs, we will learn how to prepare the joints, muscles, and connective tissue of the lower body and core muscles for the rigorous physical exertions inherent in the catching position.
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