CRT Belt Use and Terminology Breakdown
Howdy everyone! Let's dive into some of the terminology we use when talking about the CRT Belt and receiving.
Terminology will always differ from player to player and coach to coach, and none of these terms are meant to suggest that every catcher should receive the baseball the same way. Instead, they give us a common language for describing what we're seeing, feeling, and training.
If you haven't already, check out the video below for a breakdown of proper CRT Belt fitment, intended use, and some of the outcomes we're looking for when training with resistance.
Here are eight terms you'll hear us use frequently:
- Strength
- Efficiency
- Connectedness
- "One-pieced"
- "Two-pieced"
- Leverage
- Flexion
- Extension
1. Strength
This one is pretty straightforward: receiving the baseball requires strength.
When the ball hits the glove, we want to be able to control what happens next. If we aren't strong enough—or aren't able to apply that strength at the right time—the force of the pitch can take the glove away from where we want it to go.
That doesn't mean the goal is simply to "stick" every pitch. Depending on location and the catcher's individual movement pattern, the glove may continue moving through the baseball and into presentation.
Resistance challenges the catcher throughout that movement and can help develop the strength and control needed to execute it consistently.
2. Efficiency
Think about getting from point A to point B.
If you're trying to run somewhere as quickly as possible, the most efficient path is generally the most direct one. Taking unnecessary steps left, right, forward, and backward only adds time.
The same idea can apply to the glove.
We want the glove to get where it needs to go on time without adding movement that doesn't help us accomplish the task. That doesn't mean the shortest possible glove path is always the best one, or that every catcher should move identically. Different pitches and different catchers require different solutions.
Resistance can be useful here because it exaggerates movement. If we're late, taking an unnecessarily long path, or making a movement we didn't intend, we're usually going to feel it.
The goal is not less movement.
The goal is efficient movement.
Note that the graphic above only illustrates one potential inefficiency. The glove may also move early, to the left, to the right right, etc. in a manner that affects how efficient a catcher can be. While wearing the CRT Belt, the cable will 1) force the glove to move efficiently to the ball or 2) provide exaggerated feedback on inefficient movements as in the video above.
3. Connectedness
When we talk about "connection," we're describing the relationship between the glove, arm, and body throughout the catch.
Generally, we want to avoid reaching excessively for the baseball and putting ourselves in positions where we lose strength or control. We also don't want to receive everything so deep that we've eliminated the space we need to work.
Somewhere between those extremes is a position that allows the individual catcher to remain strong and move effectively.
The CRT Belt can provide additional feedback for where the glove and arm are in space and help a catcher feel when they become disconnected from the movement they're trying to make.
4. "One-pieced"
We use "one-pieced" to describe a glove action that looks and feels fluid from the pre-pitch move, through contact with the baseball, and into presentation.
Think smooth, continuous, and on time.
That doesn't necessarily mean the glove travels along a perfectly straight line. It means the different parts of the movement work together rather than looking like separate, disconnected actions.
When a catcher does this well, the movement tends to have rhythm and flow.
5. "Two-pieced"
"Two-pieced" describes the opposite.
The glove may start one movement, stall or change direction, and then begin another movement into the baseball or presentation.
For example, a catcher might move the glove up, redirect down toward the baseball, and then move back up after the catch.
Is that occasionally going to happen? Absolutely. Pitches aren't thrown to the same location every time, and catching is an adaptable skill.
We're simply trying to reduce unnecessary changes of direction that make us late or make it more difficult to control the glove.
Notice that the glove travels up, then down to the ball, and finally back up into the zone. This is 100% going to happen from time to time but we should work to lower the frequency of such movements into presentation.
6. Leverage
When we talk about leverage, we're really talking about the catcher's ability to apply strength to the baseball from a useful position.
If we're excessively extended, disconnected, late, or otherwise out of position when the ball arrives, it becomes more difficult to control the catch.
Good leverage isn't one exact elbow angle or glove position. It's finding positions where you can remain strong while still having the freedom to move.
7. Flexion
Here we're referring primarily to flexion at the elbow—or, more simply, bend in the arm.
Some pitches and receiving styles may involve moving from a more extended position into greater flexion as the ball is caught. You can think of this as allowing or absorbing the baseball while still maintaining control of the glove.
The amount of flexion will vary based on pitch location, setup, movement pattern, and the individual catcher.
8. Extension
Extension is the opposite: the arm moving toward a straighter position.
Some receiving movements naturally work from flexion toward relative extension as the glove moves through the baseball.
Again, we're not trying to prescribe one amount of extension for every catcher or every pitch. What we generally want to avoid is reaching or "stabbing" at the baseball in a way that leaves us late, weak, or unable to control the glove.
One of the interesting characteristics of the CRT Belt is that it can resist movements toward extension while assisting movements toward flexion, depending on how the catcher is moving.
Example of receiving into extension:
Example of receiving into flexion:
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Understanding how and why you're using the CRT Belt matters more than simply putting it on and completing reps.
Strength. Efficiency. Connection. Rhythm. Leverage. Flexion and extension.
These aren't rules for what receiving has to look like. They're ways for us to describe the movement, understand what the glove is doing, and make adjustments when necessary.
Use the resistance as feedback. Pay attention to what you feel. Find movements you can execute consistently and on time.
And then fine tune what makes you, you.
Check out the videos below for a simple CRT Belt drill package and examples of how the resistance can relate to game-like receptions.
Keep the Game Simple.
