Sophomore Catcher

Having no other information than the question asked, if he were my kid I'd rather he start and play a lot on JV.

If he's the 3rd-string catcher I'm going to assume he has a lot to learn.  You can only learn so much by sitting on the bench.

I agree with this - if he's good enough to sit on a bench as a third string varsity catcher then he's probably good enough to be the starter on JV.

Are the 2 ahead of him also sophomores? Can he play other postions? Is he just lucky to make the roster or is he a solid player with lots of upside?

Ran into this last year with my now sophomore son on varsity.  Once into district play he saw his innings on the mound and in the field decrease.  He asked to play JV so he could do that:  PLAY.

To me it is a no brainer.  Fresh/soph need to play on the level where they get on the field.  They don't need to sit and watch others play.  Too much missed development.

+1 for the above

Originally Posted by Passion4baseball:

Should a sophomore catcher be on jv or on varsity as the third string catcher?

WOW! That is one loaded question!

As others have said, more needs to be known before any kind of meaningful answer can be given. There are so many things that need to be considered, there’s no one size fits all answer.

I always enjoy your situational questions.  I'm going to bore you with my usual "it depends" answer.  Every situation is unique. 

You'll always get the response that he should be on the field playing and there is certainly a lot of merit to that but I've found that isn't ALWAYS the best direction. 

For example, if you have three good C's that are all playing at a level higher than what they'll see at JV and your 3rd guy plays a lot of summer/club ball, he'll probably benefit more from taking daily reps and working out with the V group.  What people sometimes forget is that most of the work and progress comes at practice and, typically, quality and depth of instruction is better at V.

Tons of other things to consider...

-Might one of the other C's also pitch or otherwise be moved around? 

-Might your 3rd string soph contribute elsewhere and be otherwise helpful catching bullpens in practice and games at V?

-Might he be your C of the future and can develop more under one of the V coaches?

-What is your C depth at JV and Frosh if applicable (where does he fit in the overall program)?

-Does your state allow for players to move up and down during the year?

-Where does his bat fit in?

-Does JV need a C to lift the overall quality of play?

-If all your C's are young, might he need to find another position anyway?

-Does his current skill set and experience level dictate that he would benefit more from instruction or game reps?

-What fits the needs of the team and program most?

..and on and on and on.

-2 juniors catchers better than him

-a third junior catcher can play outfield, run and is just a solid as the sophomore but does work a little harder.  This guy is an athletic kid who can be the third string catcher.

-the sophomore is an actual catcher and can't hit varsity pitching and doesn't run well. 

I think I answered my own question. lol

I think you did too! LOL!

generally speaking any sophomore needs to play, if the coach wants him on varsity fine but he needs to play not sit. if the coach wants to pull him up and down when he wants him in the line up fine - but in my opinion not to sit on the bench as a 3rd stringer. that doesn't add up at all.

My guess is this takes care of itself.  If the player has potential to start as Junior or Senior, then the coach would be foolish to not get him reps on JV only to have him sit idle on the bench for varsity (what HS team needs 3 catchers, sans injury?).  If the coach doesn't think he has potential, then he'd put him on JV anyway and maybe even see if there is a freshman who can compete for the starting job there.

Why would a third string soph catcher be on varsity? The varsity only needs two catchers. The third catcher can be called up from jv when needed. The only reason I can see to have him on varsity would be if the coach expects the kid to hit at DH.

If he has the choice, go to the team where you can play the most..

He might be a stand out, top guy on JV, but sitting and waiting three deep at V is not going to help his baseball.. Yeah he will work out with V but no field time hurts..

good luck to him...

***did the coach move him up for a reason..??

Don't the Varsity and JV practice + workout together?  If so, play on JV.

I'm sure every school is different.  When my son played HS ball, the JV and Varsity practiced on their own fields.  The JV was at the middle school field while Varsity was at the HS field.  Occasionally they practiced together.

I agree a 3rd catcher probably won't see much playing time at the varsity level.

Just curious - how many players are on the varsity team?  Lot's of teams around here have 25 or so players, so 3 catchers isn't too uncommon.

In our region most teams usually average 13-15 on varsity.  Sometimes the JV will have a bit more in case a few get called/moved up to varsity.  My son's school team had about 25 total between the two squads (JV and Varsity).

+1.  No question I'd want him to get more game experience and ABs.

It basically comes down to value of a player.  You look at each player for the varsity team and what is his value to the team?  The sophomore catcher can only catch.  The 3rd string junior catcher can catch, run and play all three outfield spots.  A pretty good freshmen outfielder can play all three outfield spots and can run.  So if there are 2 spots left on varsity for these 3 players, you have to take in account their total value to the team.  Just my opinion. 

What "Old School" said a few posts up /\

Playing time is key, but if he gets called up on occasion to play or just to be immersed with the whole Varsity set up, that could be a positive as well.

I agree with the thoughts on playing JV overall - players do need to play -  but there is another side to it:

• If you play Varsity you go up against better pitching and hitting, not only in games, but in daily practices.
• Where we live, all the Varsity head coaches have significant playing and coaching experience.  They may have their detractors, but for the most part they are well respected by parents and players alike.  The JV and Frosh coaches, not so much.  There's turnover, inexperience, & daddyball.  If you listen to the parents, this bunch is lazy, incompetent, abusive, and worse.  It seems like the parents of their players are having a competition to see which school has the unhappiest bunch.  Playing Varsity may avoid some of the drama and provide better coaching.
• Is the OP rhetorical?  You try out and the coaches decide which team you belong on.  Right?