This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Young Highland Catcher Calling Her Own Game

Kaitlyn Fermano may only be a sophomore, but she is calling the pitches for the Highland softball team.

With a young catcher who lacked varsity experience behind the plate, softball coach Jan Johnston took on the duties of calling the pitches and relaying them to the catcher. It is a practice done not only with young players, but often with veteran catchers.

Yet, it was a practice that Johnston stopped just a couple of scrimmages into the Tartans’ preseason schedule. That’s how much confidence she has in sophomore Kaitlyn Fermano.

"What’s scary is there were times where I looked at her and I called a pitch, and she’s like 'Yeah, I already got that,'" said Johnston. “Her and I are on the same page already with pitches so that’s why I started letting her call her own game.”

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fermano excelled defensively and offensively at the JV level last year and was an obvious choice to take over the catching duties at the highest level this year. Being just a sophomore, Fermano wasn’t about to take anything for granted.

“I knew that the varsity starting catcher from last year was a senior so I knew I had a chance, but I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The drama didn’t last long. Fermano impressed Johnston with her fundamentally sound receiving abilities and her high IQ.

“She does a real good job of receiving,” said Johnston. “She can move her glove and very few balls will get past her, which is a huge plus. She is smart enough to know where the next pitch should go because she watches the batters. She knows what the best pitch is to throw.”

Fermano said she takes into account various factors when calling a game, and that her game plan changes depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent.

“I look at where the batter is standing, where they hit before, how big they are and what Brooke’s better pitches are,” Fermano said, mentioning pitcher Brooke Wilsman. “It changes with the team depending on if they can hit the outside pitch or if they can pull the inside pitch.”

As anticipated, Highland has struggled this season, winning just one game through Thursday while being mercy-ruled four times. No one likes the losing, but Johnston said both her pitcher and catcher do a good job of shrugging off the past and staying focused on the task ahead.

“(Fermano’s) a real focused student and athlete so that has never been an issue for me throughout,” Johnston said. “Kate doesn’t lose focus. I think she keeps Brooke focused, too. They both battle through it and do the best they can.”

“You just have to stick with the team and be positive,” Fermano said.

On the offensive side, Fermano has not adjusted as quickly as she would have liked to the varsity level. The pitching is a major upgrade, she said. But Johnston is confident that Fermano’s work ethic will help transform her into the hitter she wants to be in time. After all, she is still just a sophomore.

And as for the future, Fermano is keeping her goals high, but also realistic.

“A championship is really cool, but I just want us to stick as a team and have no drama,” Fermano. “I just want to be really tough as a team.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?