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Hello! Sorry this is my first post! x)
I'm a freshman at a 2A school here in Indiana. I have a 2.2 pop time and I am on our JV team. If i improved my hitting a little, i might make varsity. (I dress and do bullpen, but don't play) I wondering the best thing i could do to get noticed by a college scout. It has always been my dream to get recruited and be able to play in college. My Grades aren't a problem, i have a 3.5. I am not yet on a summer travel team yet, but I am looking. Also, if you know of any catcher clinics here in Indiana, I would greatly appriate it! Thank You for all tips and thoughts! Big Grin
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Hey there bud,

You will obviously grow some more,since you are only a freshman,so let nature take its course first and foremost

Id work on getting your throwing arm stronger.Do rotator cuff exercises and things like that(stretch bands are great and you can do these every night). Long toss is good too. Another thing to work on is your footwork. Jump rope,latter drills,etc are good for this.It will help you a lot with throw downs and pitches you have to move around for. The difference between a 2.2 and 2.0 isnt always arm strength,but footwork. Make sure you are firing out towards the bag at second base,and not falling off to the sides,or putting all the weight on the back leg of your body

Get in the weightroom and get stronger. Down the road you will have to pass an eye test at a camp,and you want to look like an athlete,but also play like one when you get the chance. Its better to not load up the weights to the point where it nearly breaks your form.Rather,put on a weight which you challenge yourself at,but still move the barbell and dumbbell at a quick speed.This way you develop explosiveness,and not just bulk up like a body builder. Stay consistent in the weight room,and dont skip workout days

I wouldnt worry about showcases until later next year. Work on getting your game better,and improving your defensive ability. When you are hitting,swing hard and dont cheat yourself. College coaches love batspeed,and so do drills to improve your batspeed.

Also dont forget,stretch VERY well before games and practices,and workouts too. You will be happy down the road. Take it from me. Dont forget to eat fairly well too.
Last edited by futurecatcher27
Futurecatcher is on the money ....Work on arm strength but work on mechanics too. I remember my son throwing a baseball up in the air while watching TV hundreds of time just to feel the seems for the perfect throw. He went from 2.3 to 1.9 by senior year. He also got bigger and stronger.....he also used to put 2 bags of rice on the floor while watching TV and constantly run his fingers through them ...he said it would make his hands strong ....kids are strange ....God love them.
Last edited by Ozone
Out hustle everyone. All the time. Do the little things that others don't. Get there early and be ready before everyone else.

Spend as mush time or more working on speed and agility, footwork, as you do on hitting and arm strength. You can have a gun for an arm and a great bat, if you don;t have the foot work you won't catch.

That is assuming you want to catch.

Work hard, have fun and remember, you never know who's watching. ;-)
It's good to set goals and work toward them, but don't get too hung up on numbers. When I watch a catcher the last thing on my mind is POP time. It's said that the base is stolen on the pitcher ...well it's the catchers job to make the pitcher keep the runner close. Throwing behind a runner, running at him when he bluffs a steal, getting a pitcher to step off or throw over. An active catcher is what I look at first.
Last edited by Ozone
When you do get your varsity chance,block everything,even when nobody is on base. Dont yell at your pitcher,or teammates if they make an error. I recall one game my junior year,just a conference game,where we lost 3-2. After the game,a JUCO coach approaches me and asks if I am interested in their program. I had no clue he was there. As mentioned,you never know who is watching.

Hustle on and off the field and stay positive,you have a lot of time to develop.As mentioned,keep your grades up. A lot of guys can play baseball,but not all of them have a good GPA or ACT.
Ok thank you! I really never understood why people didn't block even if there wasn't anyone on. I think it kind of intimidates the other team if me or another catcher is blocking everything, making them second think stealing on me or another catcher. A example would be that i did block when no one is on, ( This is 2 weekends ago) and they were second thinking stealing on me. So when i blocked it, i sprang up and picked the ball up and they just decided to steal, giving me time to got my proper footwork and throw right to the SS mitt for the out. It really does make baserunners kind of nervous knowing that a catcher can block and will make the throw.
Work on athleticism in addition to honing your catching and hitting skills. Collegiate coaches like athletes. Spend some time on ground balls and fly balls as well. You get noticed by playing. Give the coach a reason to have you in the line-up everyday when you make the varsity team. Be able to play everywhere.

In addition to all the great advice so far, here are some mental aspects that I found useful when I caught. Always anticipate that a runner will steal. Wild pitches and passballs do not exist, there are only balls that get past the catcher, minimize those occurrences until they do not happen...But don't beat yourself up over itSmile
MGBASEBALL2012,

You don't mention how involved your parents are. If they don't mind spending some money my advice to you would be to find a private catching coach. My son's game went way up after a winter with one. We did it between freshman and sophmore seasons.

It took me some time to find a quality coach but it was worth all the effort. My son went from being an athlete who looked good catching to a catcher who looked good catching.

The instructor we used was great. He was a real teacher who was really into the details. We had tried a couple of guys who just couldn't be bothered with the little things. So don't be afraid to shop around. The best players don't always make the best teachers.

So listen to the other posters and keep working to improve your tools, but try to get as fundamentally sound and technically perfect as possible.
quote:
This is for everyone... would the fact that MGbaseball goes to a 2a school effect him getting recruited by a d1 school?


I'm in the same boat. I go to a 3A school, and I can't help but wonder if the guys that are 5A aren't apt to get more attention. It just seems logical, bigger school, better team, better players. I'm not saying that's how it is, but that might be how it is sometimes.
quote:
Originally posted by sugarstud32:
quote:
This is for everyone... would the fact that MGbaseball goes to a 2a school effect him getting recruited by a d1 school?


I'm in the same boat. I go to a 3A school, and I can't help but wonder if the guys that are 5A aren't apt to get more attention. It just seems logical, bigger school, better team, better players. I'm not saying that's how it is, but that might be how it is sometimes.


If you can play, you will be seen and attract attention. Stick with it and keep playing hard!

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