From Caracas to South Florida: Armando Ávila's Baseball Journey
Armando Ávila is a catcher from Caracas, Venezuela, who now trains and competes in South Florida. His path runs through Liga Chucho Ramos in Caracas, two Miranda State selections, a national tryout with Criollitos de Venezuela, catcher-specific training from 2020 onward and a National Championship as a catching reinforcement. This post goes through that path in order and notes what each stage added.
Where it started: Liga Chucho Ramos
Armando started organized baseball as a young child in Liga Chucho Ramos, a youth league in Caracas, playing for Team Santa Fe. He moved up through the league's developmental categories there.
In 2016 he moved to Team San Luis, in the same league. That meant a new team and new coaches while the league structure around him stayed the same.
Liga Chucho Ramos also closes this part of the story. In 2024, years after his first games there, Armando was a Junior League champion in the same league.
A camp in Miami, then regional selections
In 2018 Armando spent about two and a half months training at an international camp in Miami, Florida. It was an extended block of training in the United States.
Back in Venezuela, the next steps were selections:
2019: selected to represent the State of Miranda at the Gold Cup tournament (Copa de Oro).
2020: selected through a national tryout to play for Criollitos de Venezuela at an international tournament in the Dominican Republic.
2021: selected by Miranda again, this time for the Pre-Junior Gold Cup.
A selection means that someone outside the player's own club watched him and chose him. For a coach reading a profile, that is a signal in its own right, separate from any statistic.
Catcher-specific training
From 2020 onward, Armando's development turned to catching in particular. He trained first at Academia Masa and then at Wyn Academy. The work covered five areas: pop time, receiving, blocking, pitch framing and pitcher management.
The first four are the physical side of the position. Pitcher management is the other side: reading the pitcher, keeping him in rhythm and helping him through a difficult inning.
In 2022, two years into that catcher-specific work, Armando went to the National Championship in Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar, as the primary catcher reinforcement for league champion Team Cumbre. A team that had already won its league brought him in to catch at the national level.
Before moving his development to South Florida, he also competed in Caracas at Estadio Universitario and at the Sierra Maestra field.
Timeline at a glance
Each row shows the year, the team or event, and what that stage built.
Year | Team / Event | Role / What it built |
|---|---|---|
Early years | Team Santa Fe, Liga Chucho Ramos (Caracas) | Foundation: fundamentals and regular games through the developmental categories |
2016 | Team San Luis, Liga Chucho Ramos | Adjusting to a new team and new coaches inside the same league |
2018 | International camp, Miami, Florida (about 2.5 months) | Extended training block in the United States |
2019 | State of Miranda, Gold Cup (Copa de Oro) | First regional selection |
2020 | Criollitos de Venezuela, international tournament in the Dominican Republic | Selected through a national tryout; international competition |
2020 onward | Academia Masa, then Wyn Academy | Catcher-specific training: pop time, receiving, blocking, framing, pitcher management |
2021 | State of Miranda, Pre-Junior Gold Cup | Second regional selection |
2022 | Team Cumbre, National Championship, Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar | Primary catcher reinforcement for a league champion |
2024 | Liga Chucho Ramos, Junior League | League champion |
Then | Estadio Universitario and Sierra Maestra field (Caracas) | Continued competition in Caracas |
Now | South Florida | Training and competing while continuing development as a catcher |
Now: South Florida
Armando now trains and competes in South Florida, where he continues to develop behind the plate. Catching remains his primary position, and he also plays the infield.
Read as a whole, the timeline shows a player who stayed in one league for years, was picked for state and national teams along the way, and then put several years of training into one position. Coaches who want to know about his current team or upcoming games can ask his representative directly.
FAQ
Where did Armando Ávila start playing baseball?
In Liga Chucho Ramos in Caracas, Venezuela, with Team Santa Fe. He moved to Team San Luis in 2016.
Has he played for a Venezuelan selection?
Yes. He was selected by the State of Miranda in 2019 and 2021, and in 2020 he was selected through a national tryout to play for Criollitos de Venezuela in the Dominican Republic.
Where did he train as a catcher?
From 2020 onward he trained at Academia Masa and then at Wyn Academy.
To ask about any stage of this path, or about where Armando is now, coaches can request the video and information currently available. Contact Armando's representative through the Contact page.
