Baseball player signs with the University of Utah

CENTERVILLE — "Joe Pond has always had an unbelievable passion for baseball, and I do not think he ever lets a day go by that he is not trying to become a better athlete," said Jeff Myaer, Judge Memorial Catholic High School head baseball coach. "Joe is probably the best pitcher in the state of Utah and also one of my best offensive players."

Pond signed his Letter of Intent in baseball with the University of Utah as a pitcher the same week Judge Memorial played in the 2007 State Football Championship game against Logan High School Nov. 16. It was quite a week for Pond, who was the starting quarter back for Judge Memorial. "Judge Memorial came in second place, but Joe was an All State quarterback in the championship game," said James Cordova, Judge Memorial head football coach. "That is pretty impressive. "He is baseball star but played football as well as anybody did last year."

Myaer said although Pond is going to pitch for the University of Utah, he is also going to try hitting. He is one of the better hitters on the Judge Memorial team and in the state as well.

"Joe is an all around great athlete, and I am going to miss him," said Myaer. "Joe Ponds do not come around very often. He has made me look good. As a baseball player, Joe entered his freshman year and was a four-year starter for our baseball team. He came in at about 110 pounds and is now about six feet two inches and 185 pounds. Hard work has paid off for Joe. He is one of the hardest working athletes with whom I have been associated.

"Joe worked hard building his body to become a good athlete," said Myaer. "When he was a freshman he was a skinny kid, and now he is one of the strongest athletes at Judge pound for pound.

What is unique about Pond is he pitches right handed, but hits left handed. Myaer said there are a lot more right-handed pitchers in the world, and it is easier to hit a right handed pitcher if you are a left-handed hitter. So that gives him an advantage.

"But Joe is a better person than he is an athlete," said Myaer. "He is a fine young man. He is a good leader, and a great student."

Pond carries a 3.8 grade point average, and since baseball scholarships are tuition and books only, he is working on getting an academic scholarship as well.

Pond began his baseball career when he was 5 years old playing T-ball. He started pitching and playing infield when he was 7 years old with the Catholic youth league through St. Olaf Parish, Bountiful. His father, Steve, was his coach. Steve, too, has a passion for baseball, and has always coached Joe.

This led Joe to play for the All Stars while growing up and to play competitive baseball on a team called the Wizards in Davis County, for which Steve was one of three coaches. The Wizards were a summer travel team. When Joe was 16 years old he played for the Utah Junior Olympic Team that finished in the top 10 nationally.

For the past four years, Joe has been playing spring ball for Judge Memorial High School, summer ball with the American Legion at Judge Memorial, and also playing with Utah Select, a team which his father also coaches. Joe was able to travel with the Wizards to Cooperstown, N.Y., the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Last summer, Joe traveled with Utah Select to a national tournament in Florida where the team placed third.

Joe said playing in the competitive league shows the players a higher level of competition because the teams are made up of the best players from high schools throughout the country without any weak spots top to bottom, which is difficult to find on a regular high school team.

"Coach Myaer helped get my name out there and the scouts started getting interested in me last spring," said Joe. "They watched me a little bit more this summer, and that is when I started to get offers from the University of Utah (U of U), Brigham Young University (BYU), and some junior colleges. I did not know that much about the U of U. But when Bill Kinneberg, head coach of the U of U and Brian Conger, the U of U pitching coach, came to talk to me about their program, the direction they are going, and who they had recruited locally, that interested me. I thought the U of U would be a better fit and I would have an opportunity to excel there, and get very good coaching."

Joe just returned last weekend from playing in an Under Armor Pre-Season High School All American Tournament in Tuscan, Ariz. He said there were scouts there from 15 major league teams and it was a good opportunity for the scouts to get a look at his baseball abilities. Although he is not planning on getting drafted into the major league any time soon, he wants to pursue baseball and continue to see how far he can go.

"It would be a dream to be a major league player, but reality says finish college," said Joe. "That is why I want to get a business degree and see where baseball takes me."

Joe is hoping to finish the baseball season at Judge Memorial with a state championship and says the team is doing what they can to get ready. When Joe was a sophomore, the Judge Memorial team placed second. They were third his junior year, and they only lost two seniors last year. The whole pitching staff is coming back, so the team should have a solid season and be ready for the State Championship.

"I think we have the talent to win it," said Joe. "It will come down to how bad we want to win and how hard we want to work. Our goal is to not come up short again."