When his playing days are over, junior catcher John Cannon wants to teach high school math or history.
During his career as a backstop for the Cougars, he is already getting on the job training through managing pitchers, mentoring younger players and having to deal with tedious activities like squatting for 27 outs or blocking 0-2 breaking balls in the dirt.
Cannon was offered a scholarship to UH while attending a summer showcase camp at Cougar Field going into his senior year at Hutto High School.
“That week I think I threw out about four guys and hit really well, so right there, they brought me over and offered me a spot,” Cannon said.
As a backup his first two years on campus, Cannon was like a sponge soaking up information from starter Chris Wallace and coach Jorge Garza.
“Coach Garza was a really big player’s coach,” Cannon said. “I learned a lot from him.
“He kind of took me under his wing. He did a lot of things to help me prepare for where I am right now.”
From Wallace, Cannon learned the ins and outs of being the pitching staff’s personal shrink.
“He actually helped me mature and learn to talk to the pitchers,” Cannon said. “He taught me that with different pitchers, it takes different things to motivate them. Some guys you have to go out there and get in their face and they’ll step up if you start yelling at them.
“But there are other guys, if you yell at them, they’ll just fold. You just have to go out there, and calm them down and try to relax them.”
Cannon recalls as a freshman having to jog out to the mound to calm down an upperclassmen that had worked himself into a jam.
“I went out there and told him to calm down and he was still struggling, so I went out and told him a joke,” Cannon said.
“I don’t even remember what the joke was. I just got him laughing and from there on he went out and threw three scoreless innings after that.”
It is not enough to know what makes the Cougars’ pitching staff tick and what motivates them, Cannon also must be on top of their repertoires and know what to expect on each pitch — some of the Cougars throw hard, some softer.
Reliever Dustin Fuerst throws from a submarine angle.
“Everything he throws just moves a different way,” Cannon said.
“His changeup actually rises, which I don’t know how you do that, but he learned somehow,”
Having to endure the endless squatting does have its advantages.
“When we’re at home I get to learn the umpire’s strike zone in the first inning,” Cannon said.
“It gives me a chance to see how far the umpire is going to give off, which gives me better plate discipline when I’m up at bat.”
In 17 games at Cougar Field this season, Cannon is hitting at a .392 clip, compared with .250 on the road.
On the diamond, Cannon enjoys nothing more than throwing out potential basestealers.
“It’s the biggest joy,” Cannon said.
“Going out there and just showing off your arm and just seeing how many people you can throw out.”
Off the field, Cannon reverts to the role of teacher. He has taken freshman catcher Kyle Bacak under his wing .
“I’ve helped him learn along the way,” Cannon said.
“He hasn’t had a lot of playing time this year, but he has been working hard to get better and to help the team later on, like next year.”
