advertisement

Baseball: Grayslake Central's Nozicka gets noticed, for the right reasons

"A good catcher goes unnoticed."

For Sam Nozicka, those are words to live by.

"I think you hear that a lot in baseball," said Nozicka, Grayslake Central's four-year varsity catcher. "And it's really true. Unless you're looking for it, and really watching intently, you really don't notice all the good things a catcher does. It kind of just happens on every play.

"But you will see the bad things, the mistakes. So I think a catcher is at his best when you don't really notice him."

Maybe so. But it's still tough to overlook Nozicka.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior catcher stands out like a sore thumb when it comes to work ethic, leadership and talent.

Nozicka, who will be playing behind the plate at the University of Memphis next spring, is easily one of the best catchers in the area. In fact, he was turning heads even as an eighth grader with his rocket strong arm and his keen sense for the game.

"He is our leader and his presence behind the plate is a difference-maker," Grayslake Central coach Troy Whalen said of Nozicka, a two-time captain who has been a part of a conference championship, 3 regional championships, 2 sectional and supersectional championships and 2 trips downstate. "All of his accomplishments have come through hard work and what makes Sam so special is that his accomplishments have only motivated him to work harder."

Whalen likes to tell the "Snowy Sunday" story because he says it sums up Nozicka best, and it gives some insight as to why the coaches at Grayslake Central were so certain that Nozicka was a fit for varsity even as a freshman.

"Sam's motor is 24/7," Whalen said. "When the season started, like most teams, we did a fair amount of conditioning, so the kids really appreciated having Sundays off.

"Well, Sam is not wired that way. I came to the school on Sunday with snowflakes falling and here is Sam running 40-yard sprints on the turf field. I kicked him off and told him to go home.

"Sam is one of the hardest workers I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. We just need to monitor that work so that he doesn't overdue it because that's all that he knows."

Physical attributes, or actually a lack thereof, served as early motivation.

Nozicka felt like he was always playing catch-up when he was younger.

"I was only 5-foot-6, 140 pounds as a freshman," Nozicka said. "Physically, I certainly wasn't a man-child. I could throw the ball hard, and I think that's what got me noticed early on. I got that from my dad (Steve). He played baseball at Illinois State and was always known for throwing the ball hard.

"I could do that, too, but I was small and I wasn't the fastest kid. I knew I really had to work on my strength and my speed."

Nozicka has spent hours in the weight room over the years and has also become very familiar with the track at Grayslake Central.

"I used to get pinch-run for all the time my freshman year," Nozicka said. "I just wasn't very fast. So I spent a lot of time on the track running sprints and working on my foot speed.

"Now, I'm batting lead-off and I don't get pinch-run for anymore. I already have about 10 stolen bases. I've definitely gotten faster."

Nozicka has always had a quick-trigger behind the plate.

He got a few starts his freshman year and made believers out of everyone, including himself, in a game against Crystal Lake Central.

"I threw three guys out in that game. I was 3-for-3 on throwing runners out," Nozicka said. "I had been pretty nervous about being on the varsity because here's this 14-year-old boy playing with 18-year old men. But during that Crystal Lake Central game, that's when it hit me.

"I knew that, 'yeah, I belong up here (on varsity). And I'm going to stay up here.' It's been a dream to be up on varsity since freshman year."

Interestingly, Nozicka once dreamed of another sport: football.

But since he wasn't allowed to play football at an early age, playing catcher was the next best thing.

"When I was younger, I liked all the gear for catching," Nozicka said. "I wasn't allowed to play football because I was so small, so putting all the catching gear on made me feel like I had football gear on.

"I got to really like catching, too. I like it that I'm in on every play, and being the catcher is kind of like being the quarterback of a football team. You have to yell out plays and learn reads and you're kind of calling the whole game. The mental side of the game is big for a catcher. When I was a freshman, it was kind of baptism by fire."

That might also be the case at Memphis, which will have Nozicka as well as a sophomore catcher on the roster next season. Typically, the coaches there like to split time equally between their catchers. Nozicka believes there's a good chance he could see significant playing time next season.

"When I visited there, I really loved it," Nozicka said of Memphis, where he will major in history and economics with the hope of someday becoming a lawyer. Nozicka has gotten only 2 B's in high school, the rest of his grades have been A's. "The coaches at Memphis were great, the school was great, and I'm excited there's a chance that I'll be sharing the games 50/50 with the other catcher.

"I have some big goals for college. I'd love to make all-conference, be perfect on defense with no errors and make it to Omaha (the College World Series) someday."

Nozicka also has some big dreams for beyond college. Like any life-long baseball-playing kid, he'd love to get drafted professionally.

"That would be a dream come true," Nozicka said. "At our Richmond-Burton game this year, there was a scout there from the Red Sox looking at the pitcher from Richmond-Burton … and I hit a home run off that pitcher.

"Hopefully, that scout wrote that down."

Guess there are times when a good catcher wants to go noticed.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

• Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw

  Sam Nozicka, Grayslake Central catcher, is a four year starter and has a scholarship to play at Memphis. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Grayslake Central catcher Sam Nozicka Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.