HIGH SCHOOL pitchers and catchers reported to their teams on Monday in preparation for the upcoming spring season. At left, Mt. Ararat hurler Torrey Charnock works on his mechanics, while in the top photo, Eagles pitchers and catchers run some laps in the gym.
“We are only allowed 10 players for pitchers and catchers this week. They must be the same 10 every night,” said Morse softball coach Will Laffely.
“I first see how many have listed that they are trying out for pitcher or catcher at the school sign- up I had two weeks ago. If I get 10 then it makes it easy. I will have all 10 show up. If I have more than 10, I will then choose the most experienced at each position.
“I will have returning varsity throw to a returning varsity catcher, a returning jayvee player, and an incoming freshman so as to judge if a new pitcher or catcher is ready compared to returning pitchers and catchers.”
At Morse everyone has input.
“The whole coaching staff has input in the decision making,” offered Laffely. “And, even the middle school coach is asked of their opinion as they saw the incoming freshman more then I, but I had seen them as well when I coached the AAU group the last two summer seasons.
“I try to get them ready for throwing some live batting practice during the tryout week. I will have non-varsity returnees and incoming new faces hit against a returning varsity pitcher to see if they are ready for this level of play. In order to do that I feel they need to build up their arm strength during the week. I try to have them throw 50 pitches the first night building to 100 by day five. If any arm soreness we back them off until able to continue.
For Laffely, communication is a top priority.
“We want them to work on communication between pitcher and catcher. Working on signs for the different pitches, etc. A lot of coaches will call the pitch. I prefer for the catcher to work with the pitcher to determine what they want to throw. I might call a pitch or two during the game only if I think it will benefit in a particular situation. I think a coach calling the game takes away some of the fun and development of the relationship that the two need.
This is a week for work on drills.
“The catchers have drills for themselves as well after the pitchers work is done,” said Laffely. “ Blocking the ball drills, foul pop- ups, quickness to the backstop, throws to bags, etc.
“We will work on conditioning as well. Catchers working on stamina in the crouch , not sitting on calves, quickness to throw position. No hitting is done during this week.
“Most decision-making on where a player fits in the program will be made during tryout week after some sessions with live hitters. It’s premature to make decisions until then. You already have some ideas if you have been watching what goes on throughout your whole program — Little League through varsity. After all, this is the building blocks that support your high school teams.”
Neron takes over
At Mt. Ararat, Smith-Tobey Post Legion baseball coach Bob Neron takes over for Bruce Kingdon.
“Criteria for selecting pitchers is that we are looking for guys who have pitched at some level in the last year in our program as well as knowing that some of these guys throw the whole year and some don’t,” said Neron. “ With only being able to select eight pitchers, some kids need this extra time and I wish we could have every kid there. I also like to have a spot or two for the younger guys ( sophomores) to get them acclimated to our program.
“Catchers are basically the same although a much smaller number (two), but still you wish all catchers could be there.”
Mt. Ararat will feature lots of practice.
“One of things we want to establish is better defense from our pitcher and catchers through repetitive practicing on PFPs ( pitchers fielding practice),” said Neron. “Which is to include holding runners on, throwing to occupied bases, bunt coverages, etc. I think we can, and need, to be better at doing those things. Also, we want to see our guys throw more strikes and cut down on walks and concentrate more on pitch command then velocity.
“On conditioning, we are very fortunate to have had Chris Farrell on our coaching staff, who is a certified personal trainer,” offered Neron. “ We start off with a 15- minute warm- up which includes stretching, flexing, light running and I’m sure coach Farrell will have a few other things up his sleeve. We’ll start off with light throwing, eventually building and leading up to bullpen sessions as the week progresses. Some kids will be ahead of others and we will let them progress at their own pace.
“Our plan is to do our practicing inside with the exception of possibly doing our running outside. We’ll see. The goal is to finish the week without any injuries and to slowly build these guys arms up so that when we start our pre-season schedule they’ll be ready to compete.”
Dragon skills
Brunswick softball coach Pat Roche has his gameplan for the week.
“Selecting pitchers and catchers is a process that starts the first day and continues the entire season,” said Roche. “During pitchers and catchers week we will have them work on their skills. The pitchers will work on all the mechanics of pitching, including grip, arm swing, releasing the pitch, leg push and finishing, and locations.
“Catchers will work on receiving, blocking, framing, throwdowns, fielding bunts, and pitcher management. We want our batteries to know that they play a very important part of how our successful we will be.”
When Roche selects a pitcher or catcher he follows a strict list of criteria:
“Versatility. Sometimes the player pool is limited and therefore players need to be capable of doing many things.
“Coachability. I want the player that is willing to take constructive criticism in any form and learn from it.
“Attitude. I am looking for those players whose attitude is above reproach.
“Willingness to play a role. A player may have to take the role other than the one they want or the one they think they deserve.”
Conditioning is also a priority for Roche this week.
“I want the pitchers and catchers to come out get some conditioning in, throw and enjoy the role that they play on the team,” said the coach. “Pitchers are not at peak after the first week and the foundation we lay during that time proves to be very important through the season.
“We work on both arm strength and general conditioning. Our beginning 30 minutes will cover conditioning, including core work, dynamic warm-ups, ladders, low hurdles, jump ropes, and sprints. We will also do some distance running.”
Like most coaches, Roche would love to get outside.
“I believe there is a chance we will be outside very early this year. We are blessed at BHS to have an excellent field crew and they work hard to get us outside and on the field as quick as possible. We are prepared to either practice inside or out.”
He also likes this newest squad.
“This season we have a nice group of young players and we are looking forward to the season. This year on staff we have two ex-BHS players, Meaghan Quinlan the jayvee coach, and McKell Barnes.”
Freeport baseball coach Hank Ogilby is looking at who can help at the varsity level.
“When I pick my eight pitchers and two catchers, I’m focused on picking the players who will contribute most to the varsity this year. I start with my catchers, picking who will be our starter and who will likely be the most competent backup,” said Ogilby. “From there on, I rank my pitchers based upon their varsity experience and the role they will probably have on the team.
“This list rarely gets eight players long, so I usually fill the last couple of spots with a jayvee pitcher or two from the previous year, a freshman or two that I have good information on, or maybe a project player.
Freeport mechanics
This week is all about mechanics.
“Mostly we want to establish good pitching mechanics and a good pitching routine,” offered Ogilby. “I don’t get to spend as much one- on- one time with my pitchers as the season goes on, so in the first week we need to establish all the communication, terminology, routines, mind-sets and practices that will be the baseline for our pitchers throughout the season.
And lots of work on arm strength and general conditioning.
“It’s impossible to fully condition a pitcher’s arm in one week, but what we try to do is get a good head start and start a conditioning program for each pitcher that will build up their arm strength by the time the season starts,” said Ogilby. “ We’re looking to establish who our primary starters are and get them on a program to be able to throw 80 pitches by the time the season starts.
“Throughout all of this, we are always working on general conditioning, especially lower body and core strength.
“In this week we can do all the work we need inside. We have two practice mounds and in many ways having us all contained in the gym allows for concentrated work, focus and good communication. Of course, we will go outside to run every day.
“This is the best time of the year to establish goals and leadership,” said Ogilby. “In general, the majority of these 10 players will form the core of the varsity. We cannot succeed without strong pitching and catching, and the development of these players, in large part, will determine the success of our club. I feel like we take the first, most important steps to creating the identity of our club during these five days.”
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