Drills for catchers for proper "loading and throwing"?

Don't know the age or other specifics of your catcher (lead-offs, etc.), so I'll give you a basic drill. This drill is a little unorthodox. I'll go over the drill, then explain the reasons for it.

(1) Have catcher set up with right foot a little behind the left. Hand should be behind the mitt, with the fingers curled around the thumb.

(2) As the catcher receives the ball, have him rock straight back with the right foot -- directly AWAY from 2B. As he transfers the ball from his throwing hand, have him slap his upper left shoulder with the mitt. (At this point, his feet & shoulders should be directly on line with 2B). The ball should be next to his right ear, fingers on top.

(3) Have him step forward directly at the target. Toes can be opened to closed, depending on natural comfort. He MUST NOT lift up out of the crouch and then move forward; rather, he will naturally come up during the step. Have him think horizontal, not vertical.

(4) Release the ball on line, in front of his forehead or nose (four seam preferable, if he's that advanced).

I recognize that this isn't how he'll do this later; he will take an angled step at about 45 degrees to gather momentum, and the glove work will be different. But there are several techniques that need to be taught ASAP:

(A) Release time beats arm strength. In 10u., you may be tempted to put anyone who can reach 2B at C; in 12u., you might think about putting a strong-armed pitcher behind the dish. But a player who can deliver the ball on target in 3 seconds or less (pop to pop) will throw out almost all runners. With this drill, your C will eliminate the extra step (or two or three) that many youth catchers develop, and he'll get rid of the ball very quickly. As long as the ball's on the bag (even on one hop), you'll discourage base stealing.

(B) Accuracy comes from alignment. Throwing hard requires the large muscles of the body, not just the arm. Players stepping forward and to the side often generate sideways momentum, making their throws curl and come in less accurately. Be sure he's aligned and moving straight at the target.

(C) Get it out and get it up. A motto for much of baseball. Teach him early to get the arm up and ready: catching requires a short-arm action, and the "windup and the pitch" won't last at a higher level.

(d) Snap throws come after the C gets comfortable with making long, accurate throws to 2B. Then it's just a matter of adjusting the footwork and aligning the shoulders at a target. A good 12u. C will discourage both coaches and baserunners from trying a running game: as soon as the C's shoulders move on line with a base, the runners will tend to go back.

(D) You can work on the wrist action and the "disguise" of using batters to shield the pickoff throw to 1B and 3B after he can hit 2B on the bag waist high or below 10 straight times. It sounds like a lot, but try the drill against some live runners for spice and see how quickly he improves.

By the way, don't overdo the throwing: I used to let 10u. catchers throw 3 sets of 5 runners each, with several minutes between sets. It's like a pitcher's long toss: until they get really comfortable with the distance, do less rather than more. you should do some "dry runs" without throwing to check these mechanics.

Let us know how it's going.