What can I do to get better? Increase my chances in making Varsity next year.

Become an excellent hitter. It will carry youvery far.

Raider catcher,

The most successful way to impress your coach is to dedicate your self totally to doing what it takes for you to become the best you can possibly be which takes a dedicated, enthusiastic and positive attitude with a consistent, constructive practice schedule in all phases of your game starting right now, you say you are going be very busy playing games and will not be able to practice during those game times, you are going to virtually eliminate your chances of overall improvement during those times if you eliminate practice times,  Good regular, everyday/consistent, constructive practice is the only thing that will get you the improvement that will allow you to become the best that you can be,{BE DEDICATED TO YOUR WISHES of wanting to be the best} {PAY THE PRICE},  playing games only will not allow you to improve your game.

Take a word of advice here, When I was your age I spent many hours on the ball field, then when at the age of 19yrs. old I signed a contract to play professional ball in the Philadelphia organization, after a period of time my caliber of play diminished some what due to the fact that all I was doing was playing games only and I had for several years geared myself to many hours of practicing and playing so consequently I had to get out and spend time practicing along with playing every day or nite.

There is more to becoming the best than just talking about it, if you  sincerely want to be the best then you will have to add doing what it takes to satisfy your wants/wishes which is spending many hours on the ball field and even indoors.

On your computer go to {Joe Wilkins, catching,} he has a lot of good fundamentals to work on,{Coach McCready} here on this site or go to {baseball by the yard} can help you, I can tell you things but you need some live visual aids which I do not have at the present time.

Acquire a burning desire to be the best and {PRACTICE}, {PRACTICE} {PRACTICE} and  {PRACTICE| SOME MORE.

I hope there something here of value to you.

The best of luck with your game.

Don Ervin

Great question.

Realistically evaulate the weakest part of your game and work on it. If you don't know, ask someone you trust who has seen you play.

As mentioned, always work on hitting.

If you aren't there already, get in the weightroom. Focus on nutrition. Show up looking like a conditioned athelete.

And have fun!

Yea I have been lifting with the football team since January 15th. Have gotten stronger, slimmer and dropped 9 pounds. Realistically my weakest point is blocking, and hitting oppo and also bunting. I have been working hard at it, but we only practice 2 times a week and most of the time I just cahuh bullpens

RaiderCatcher, when I came to my present school, I inherited a senior catcher and a freshman stood out above all others.  So they battled for a job.  The senior was a whiner and complainer, hated catching bullpens, and was not coachable.  The freshman was like a sponge.  He soaked up everything.  Senior started first couple of games but then forgot his equipment.  Put freshman in and the senior never played again.  In fact, he quit.  That freshman went on to do extremely well in baseball. 

Hello and welcome to the forum.

As others have said, work on your weaknesses, and make yourself the best hitter you can with lessons and hard work.

As to whether you should play V vs. JV, I'd suggest playing for the level which will give you the most innings. Will you realistically be able to start for the V? If not, then maybe the JV will serve you better if you play more there. Then again some competitive programs allow kids to play both. If the V coach determines you are the guy, he will probably have you drop the JV if you are getting worn out/ beat up too much.

The bottom line is that you, like other kids, love the idea of playing V asap, but make sure it is the right thing to do. It is better to get experience by playing, rather than riding the pine. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

If you aren't doing already, make sure you block during bullpens. It is great practice. Volunteer to catch bullpens for other folks. When my son was about your age, maybe a year older, he called a pitching instructor and offered to catch his lessons so he could get more practice receiving and blocking.

I completely agree. Hitters will always play. Learn to bunt, learn to have control of the strike zone. Learn to resist rotation and leverage that resistance. Figure out the zones in which you hit the ball hardest, and don't swing unless it's in that zone-up to two strikes, naturally.

As a kid who was on Varsity as a sophomore at a new school my advice would be just to stay within yourself. I made Varsity my sophomore year as a transfer and catcher. Make sure you're flexible and I cannot stress it enough, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS block balls. Whether it's the bullpen, coach bp, or in intersquad, always get dirty. My coach told me that was the main reason I got pulled up. Also don't fall in line with upper classmen who are lazy, don't want to work. You don't need to try to fit in with them, obviously just be a good teammate. But remember you want to be up there and play your best. Work your tail off, ask for extra bp, grounders, fly balls from your coaches. Don't be afraid to learn a secondary position. If the coach sees he can play you multiple spots that's killing two birds with one stone. Best of luck.

What is with the instant desire to automatically be on the Varsity squad.  It seems that there is some kind of prevelant idea these days that if a kid isn't playing Varsity at 14 years old that somehow he is a failure.

Look, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be on the Varsity squad but as an incoming Freshman you should really concentrate on playing, heck even making the team not just being on a certain team.  If making Varsity means sitting on the bench for a year or two while being on the JV squad means meaningful playing time then you might want consider what you want. 

My son is a Sophmore and was what called a 'bubble' Varsity player.  He was considered talented enough to play Varsity but there were several other players cemented in positions where he normally plays.  The HC decided to play him on JV so he could get continued experience and actually get reps instead of working on his groove on the bench.  Like his first year, where he played on the Freshman team, so far my son has played every single inning at multiple positions.  Next year he will be playing Varsity but most likely he will be starting for two years, and contributing meaninfully at that level. 

Ultimately look at what you need to do to grow as a ballplayer and what and where you play will help you grow.  If you are a talent to start on Varsity as a Freshman then by all means work towards that but don't feel like a failure if you end up on the JV squad or even a Fresh/Frosh team if there is one.  Playing should be your ultimate goal, sitting on the bench is boring.

It's pretty difficult to make Varsity as a freshman in most large competitive schools. Setting a goal that is largely outside of your control is not advisable. You can't control what the coaches do nor can you control what another player does competing at your position. All you can do is improve yourself. In that regard, I recommend you tackle your weaknesses first. For instance, a slow Freshman will be noted as such, and unless his stick is outstanding on a varsity level, he will be tagged as not being worthy of playing at the varsity level. Beyond that, the best way to be on the varsity squad is to be one of the 9 best hitters at your school. See as much varsity-level pitching this year as possible, work on your technique, and get stronger.

Couldn't agree with Wklink more. My son and one other freshman made the varsity squad this year. The other one is our starting second baseman and my son pitches out of the pen. 

I am very proud of my son as he worked very hard on his game and in the gym to get placed where he did. 

Initially it is very easy for both player and parent to get sucked in by all the congratulatory slaps on the back, but if in my son's case you are a role (mostly undefined in his case) player that feeling can wear off quickly. He has successfully lobbied to play some JV but has spent many a game watching from the varsity bench just in case. 

To the OP work hard on your hitting most off and then concentrate on your other weakness. Get in the gym and get stronger. Always hustle and then let the chips fall where they may, hopefully where you can get the most playing time. Good luck. 

I agree with you on most of your post, and it mirrors some of what I posted as well.

I did however what to note that wanting to play varsity at such a young age is nothing new. I went to a top basketball school that groomed players even before the JJV(middle school team). They were always contenders for a run at the state title. When I was in the 7th grade I dreamed of making the varsity, but it was unrealistic because the talent was so good, and even being tall for my age, I was a shrimp compared to the older kids.

Anyway, my family wanted to send me to another prep school in the 8th grade for a stepping stone to another HS that only had 9-12th grades, and I did not want to go.

When I wound up at this new school in the 8th grade I was horrified they did not have a middle school, freshman or JV team, only a varsity. When I complained to my Dad, he said just go out for the varsity and see if you are good enough to make it(very old school). To my surprise I not only made it, but got some playing time. All my friends and teammates from my other school were very envious, and I must say I was on cloud 9. We made the playoffs, and had we won one more game, I would have been playing against my old schools varsity.

The next year I went to the new school, tried out for the varsity as a 9th grader, and the coach asked me why I was not going out for the F or JV.

I explained my story and he said he liked my ambition, but I would be better served to skip F ball, and play JV where I would get more minutes. It was a good move and helped me to develop more as a result. Then again I really started to sprout up so I got more work at my natural position than I would have playing a part time guard for the V.

Anyway the bottom line is that wanting to play V at a young age is nothing new, and has at least been around since the 70's. 

Hopefully the OP is reading all the posts and will make the best choice regarding playing time. If he can get it at V then more power to him. Otherwise do both or just JV depending on what his options are.

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Wklink, that was an excellent post.  I really can't add anymore than that.. maybe a comment.. there is a prevelant sense in today's society of instant gratification.  I want it now.  I'm entitled.  This is excactly the opposite of what's required of a baseball player:  patient resolve.

My son is also a 8th grade catcher, but he *merely* wants to beat out the current 9th grade catcher and be the starter next year. He's been working on hitting a LOT from late fall through the winter. His batting has never been better. His batting coach, the hitting coach for a *very* prominent VA HS impressed upon him that a great defensive catcher who is also a great hitter will not sit on the bench.

Hitting LH also helps, especially given the current JV roster has 2 LH hitters total, and neither are very good. Good luck.

Thanks for all the responses everybody! I wanted to make it clear that the Starting Catcher is a senior. The backup is a freshman. There is going to be a spot open and I would rather it be me, than another freshman. I would split time on JV and Varsity just like the freshman this year