By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Baseball is one of those sports that no matter how long you are involved, you can almost guarantee that you will see something new every day.

Kent Roosevelt junior Teddy Maccarone made a position change from shortstop to catcher this season to help the Rough Riders after injuries ravaged the position.
Robin Golden/Special to Portage Sports

Something that you have never seen before.

Mike Haney is in his 23rd year as a coach and the 2025 preseason brought a new challenge to the veteran Kent Roosevelt mentor and his staff.

“It was unbelievable,” Haney said.

At the beginning of the season, the Rough Riders lost one catcher to an ulnar nerve surgery, a second catcher to the same surgery and a third catcher broke his hand.

“That put us in a tough spot from a personnel standpoint,” Haney said.

It would for any team.

Haney and his coaching staff began a conversation on where to turn next to fill the vital position.

“After a lot of discussion in our coaches office, we made the decision to entertain the idea of moving our all-league shortstop behind the plate,” Haney said.

That was junior Teddy Maccarone.

Oh, and by the way, Maccarone had never played an inning of catcher before in his career.

But Haney saw something.

“He has the arm strength, fast hands, game sense and toughness as a football and ice hockey player. On paper, we thought he could handle the position. It was just a matter of getting him to buy into the thought of doing it.”

Like the true competitor and team-first player that he is, Maccarone saw the new opportunity as a challenge.

And also as an opportunity to step up as a leader.

The plan was that Maccarone would catch during Suburban League games and play shortstop during non-league games. The only drawback is that he would see less time on the mound as a pitcher to protect his overuse.

“He was excited and took it as a challenge,” Haney said. “I was not shocked by his mindset. He is a very accomplished and competitive athlete. We could see right away that he was going to approach it with the same determination that he handles everything with.”

So many of the same skills that have made Maccarone a standout defensive player for the Rough Riders since his freshman season, made him a natural leader as a catcher.

Quick hands, instincts, elite communication skills, knowledge of the game and overall toughness.

“He is a physical football and ice hockey player and that allowed him to embrace the idea of putting his body in front of the baseball to block and receive,” Haney said. “That is a skill that typically takes years to develop, but Teddy mastered it in a few months.”

Maccarone’s position change was nothing more than an investment into the team. A true sign of leadership and humility.

He had already established himself as an all-league shortstop and many players would view the request to change positions without any enthusiasm because it could present demands that alter their personal stats.

By not only accepting the change, but embracing it and attacking it, he set an example of what the standards are to be a Kent Roosevelt baseball player.

“His investment in the team to switch from a position of strength to a position he has never played before helped show the boy what they meant to him as teammates and brothers,” Haney said. “The catcher position is demanding and can oftentimes affect the offensive production of the guys behind the dish due to all that is asked of them in practice and on game day. Teddy weathered the storm and got back to being himself at the plate. I believe that his teammates fully understand the personal concessions that he made for the sake of the team.”