Have only used it in a few games so far but I think it is great. I recommended it to all of my association's officials last week. It is great to not have to worry about the last second moves of the catcher.
Caught the slightest amount of flak about it a couple of days ago.... pitcher was throwing what I felt were high pitches - ball, ball, ball. Pitcher is whining. Rookie catcher is set well back in the box and is coming up from his stance to catch the pitches rather than raising his glove... I STILL HAVE A GREAT UNIMPEDED VIEW from above the catcher! Coach comes out in a friendly way between innings, "I don't want to argue balls and strikes." My imediate response was, "So what are you doing out here." But then he went on to plead his case and made a fleeting comment about me being well back of the catcher. So I explained ... "Your catcher is back a foot more than the opposing catcher and he is rising up to catch these high pitches... Do you want me to call the pitches based upon where they cross the batter or upon your catcher's abilities (it wasn't really a choice)? Because I think they are high." He responded that if I would like, I could expand my zone a little. "Well coach if you want your kids trained to swing at pitches around their shoulders (still wasn't really a choice)..." He left and the next inning the pitches were a foot lower and well in the zone.
I like the stance. It is more comfortable. It is similar to a slowpitch softball stance (position, as Childress calls it). The only drawback is that now you are a bigger target and you may catch more foul balls, so wear good gear and try it!
