Cole Schwing received some new catching tips that he plans to use when he and his teammates on the Prince George bantam Knights double-A baseball team head to Kamloops for a tournament on the weekend.
The 13-year-old was among about 30 bantam and midget players who attended the Prince George Grays free clinic at Citizen Field on Saturday where the members of the men's all-star squad coached the youngsters on throwing and catching drills, running, pitching and fielding. Sunday the focus switched to the offensive side of the game as players worked on batting stances and hitting techniques.
Schwing was one of three catchers, along with Jarin Sutton and first-year midget Miles Kazakoff, receiving tips on how to cope with bunts, pass balls, pop flies and foul balls. After six years crouching behind the plate, Schwing said he has no desire to change positions.
"I love controlling the plays in the game," said Schwing. "Especially when the game is tight and it's a high pressure situation. It's exciting. Although, when you're pounding a team it's kind of fun too."
Schwing said his Grays' coach told him that when he's receiving the ball he'd get more called strikes, even when the pitch is outside the strike zone when he relaxes and keeps his focus on the ball.
Catching comes natural, said Schwing but, he needs to improve his batting so he can help his team out more.
"I can hit all-star [pitchers] but I can't hit in the house league," he said.
The bantam Knights take their four win, two loss record to Kamloops this weekend where they'll get four guaranteed games in a tournament starting Friday. The playoff games are scheduled for Sunday.
