What a week.

Not only was Cooperstown sophomore catcher Philip Pohl named the Center State Conference Division II Player of the Year over the weekend, he also found out Monday night he has earned one of 18 spots on the Empire State Games baseball squad this summer.

How did this 16-year-old catching phenom get so good so quickly? In a word: work.

Three times a week during the winter months Pohl met before school with Glen Noto, a former catcher for the Milford Macs and a teacher at CCS, and the two would work on catching drills and fundamentals.

"I owe a lot of my success to him," Pohl said on Tuesday. "From framing pitches to blocking balls and just catching fundamentals, he's worked with me on everything."

All the hard work paid major dividends this past high school baseball season, when Pohl threw out 10 base runners, including five trying to steal second and five who had wandered too far from first base and were picked off by Pohl's strong right arm. He allowed just two passed balls all season and committed only three errors.

"After a while his reputation preceded him, and runners didn't really take too many chances on him," said Cooperstown baseball coach Frank Miosek. "The great thing about Philip is that not only is he a very good baseball player and loves the game, but he has a great disposition too. He's easy to coach, he listens and works hard. He's just a tremendous young man."

Pohl said he and his father and older brother Andrew, a senior, watch a lot of baseball games together, especially the New York Yankees.

"Ever since I was young I wanted to be a catcher because they're in on every play and right in the middle of the action," Pohl said. "The one catcher I model myself after is (Detroit Tigers catcher) Ivan Rodriguez. He's got a great arm and he's a great defensive catcher and I try to pattern my game after him."

Pohl was much more than a defensive wizard this season, batting a team-high .508 with 12 doubles, one triple, one home run, 18 runs batted in, 17 stolen bases and 34 runs scored for the Redskins, who finished 16-6 overall and lost in the Section Three Class C semifinal game.

"My ultimate goal is to play in college," Pohl said. "I've got two years left here and I'm just going to take it one pitch at a time."

Pohl was far from a one-man show for Cooperstown this season, as two of his teammates, juniors Frank Petroskey and Luke Banner, were also named to the Center State Conference All Star team.

Petroskey, a three-year starter and shortstop, hit .506 with nine doubles, six triples and two home runs. In sectional play, Petroskey hit safely in his final eight at bats, including a 5-for-5 performance in a quarterfinal victory. Petroskey also had a team-leading 34 runs batted in.

Banner had a team-high seven wins to lead the Redskin staff, including a complete game shutout of Beaver River in an opening round sectional contest. He had a minuscule 1.48 earned run average, and struck out 49 batters in 52 innings.

Banner, the team's leadoff hitter, also had a solid season at the plate, batting .429 with 22 stolen bases, 29 runs scored, 11 RBIs and 19 walks.

Three other Cooperstown players, including seniors Andrew Pohl (.371 batting average) Robbie Orenstein (.427) and junior Zack Sittler (.393), earned honorable mention status in the conference.

"I'm very excited about next season," said Philip Pohl, who will begin Empire State Games play July 29. "We have a great foundation coming back and I can't wait to see what we do next year."