Sometimes when I am teaching pitching lessons, I also work with catchers. It's not a paid thing, just a little something I enjoy doing.

One of those catchers is a young lady named Haley. We've worked on stances, framing, throws down to second, and of course blocking. We've talked a few times about getting into a good position, with the head forward and chin tucked in. She's worked on it, but has had a tendency to lean back instead of forward when she drops to her knees. When that happens she tends to lift her head instead of tuck her chin.

Tonight she found out the hard way why it's important to tuck the chin. The ball bounced up and hit her in the throat. Ouch!

It hurt, but she was fine and was able to continue. She told me afterwards she's pretty sure she'll remember to get that chin tucked from now on. Pain is a tough way to learn, but it's a good teacher.