Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Bobcat baseball bigs show up-and-comers the way
Practice makes perfect.
Master the fundamentals first.
Don't ever give up.
However cliché each phrase about working hard may sound, each stays relevant in baseball from Little League all the way through the pros.
Coaches and players from past and present Battlefield varsity baseball teams drilled those instructions to 42 kids aged 8-14 years old this week in an effort to not only help the aspiring ball players become better athletes but also to help groom the next generation of Battlefield athletes.
“We're trying to get as much information to the feeder systems that are going to come to our high school,” said Battlefield pitching coach Dave Carroll who worked as one of the instructors at “The Bobcat Way” summer baseball camp.
Coaches at Battlefield have worked with groups like the Gainesville Cannons travel teams, which are among the best in the state. Players from those teams that stay interested in baseball long enough may just end up playing for the Bobcats in the next few years.
“We know a lot of our kids throughout the community,” said Carroll.
At around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, two lines of campers stretching from the right field foul line to center field practiced throwing and catching while most wore baseball uniforms ranging from a New York Yankees Derek Jeter shirt to a Gainesville Cannons one.
They then gathered in front of Carroll, Battlefield head coach Matt Caudle and two other instructors as they were quizzed on the day's lesson and reminded that Friday would be test-day.
“Practice these four things tonight and I guarantee you'll see a huge difference tomorrow,” Carroll told the kids.
“I'm trying to improve my skills and get ready for high school ball in the spring,” said Sean Monks of Dominion Valley. The 14-year-old pitcher and third baseman plans to play for Battlefield in the 2009 season as a freshman.
“I like how they're telling us how to throw and pitch and the mechanics in particular,” he added.
Centreville resident Tom Bradley, whose 9-year-old son Tommy was one of the ball players practicing the basics this past week, liked that his former semi-pro and American Legion teammate Carroll worked with Tommy on similar fundamental refresher courses like other training facilities have done.
Doing so develops “muscle memory,” which according to Bradley, is the name of the game.
That skill set is “something I want my boy to have,” he said.
Fundamentals taught at the camp include topics like body balance, throwing from the power position and how players should properly take their hands out of their gloves before throwing.
Caudle compared the lessons he preached at the baseball clinic to those he has done in his 27 years of coaching high school teams.
“Believe it or not, you face some of the same demons,” Cauldle said, referring to his varsity players. “But if they don't have solid, solid fundamentals, they're going to have some of the same problems an 8-year-old has.”
He also provided prospective about how some of his former players developed their skills during high school.
When star pitchers Matt Crouse and Evan Scott, the latter of whom was just drafted by the Major League Baseball Los Angeles Angels, were freshmen, they pitched in the 72-74 mph range, he said. By the end of their senior seasons, their heaters maxed out in low 90s.
That came from time spent in the weight room and constant practice.
Clinic students Ryne Caudle (son of Matt Caudle) and Conner Maday (son of Dave Carroll) have benefited from constantly being around the game and seeing their dads work with players like Crouse and Scott when they were underclassmen.
“Every year they go more in depth, so you learn more every year,” said Ryne Caudle, referring to the clinics.
Matt Caudle mentioned his main goal of the camp was “to show them really the correct way to play the game” by focusing on throwing and catching techniques.
“And the game is very ugly when you can't catch the ball,” he added.
You must be logged in to post a comment.