Systematic Catching

This book is intended for baseball catchers and coaches. Though many aspects of baseball catching can also be adopted in softball, many of the techniques discussed in this book can, and probably will be, dissected by a softball mind and not approved for their catchers. That is perfectly valid as the flowing knowledge of this book is baseball oriented.

While the intention of this book is to provide you with a series of instructions and techniques, the tone reflects the one I use when teaching in person. I strive to be personable, and at times entertaining, because learning should not be laborious. After all, we are learning about a game. Please join me in this conversation; I hope that by the end I have met my goal of helping you become a more skilled athlete.

Juan Torrealba Jr. grew up in the typical tale of an immigrant family with parents who worked around the clock to ensure that he had as many opportunities as fiscally possible. They made sure that he always stayed out of trouble by keeping him in athletics, particularly basketball, no matter what. Juan dreamt of becoming a professional athlete and got his start in baseball later in life thanks to his mom who saw his potential after watching him play a school pickup game. Starting a sport so late led to many obstacles and setbacks such as being cut from almost all the baseball tryouts in high school. Juan made the best of a bad situation and chose to play football in order to take advantage of their weightlifting program.

While playing football he was introduced to the program's strength coaches, Lee Fiochii and Pete Bommarito, who would go on to give him an opportunity to intern at their facility before college. In this facility Juan was introduced to hundreds of professional athletes from all sports. Thanks to his confidence in that environment, many of the athletes took a liking to him and mentored him. Those lessons helped propel Juan to play in two universities and enjoy several professional opportunities. Though he ultimately did not achieve the goal of reaching the MLB as a player, the knowledge acquired through practicing the craft of baseball consistently and rigorously for over a decade led Juan to many developments and understandings that can only be attained by making the game a profession.

Currently Juan runs year-round training programs that cater to athletes of all levels in many different fields, specializing in performance training for professionals that includes a combination of strength, speed, skills, and medical services. The road of his career has led him to emphasize the fusion of skills and performance development being explained and implemented through the lenses of a practical rather than a theoretical approach.