Boot Camp #2

Back by popular demand the baseball "Boot Camp".

Several people have asked me if I was going to put on the Boot Camp again this year. With so much going on I just did not think I was going to be able to do it. But because some folks have stepped up and refused to let me not do it here we go again.

On Jan 3rd Saturday at 9am the second annual baseball Boot Camp will be held this year at Clinton , High School home of the "Dark Horses". I was very hesitant to do it there because I have some very bad memories of that place. My senior year I played my last hs football game in that town when the Southern Durham Spartans were knocked out of the third round of the state playoffs by those $^$& Dark Horses in Double OT. Oh well.

The Boot Camp last year had 58 players attend from all over NC and some players attended from SC and VA. We had a great time , got to hang out with alot of good friends and met some folks that have become our friends. We had an all star cast of players in attendance and many that were unknowns at the time that are now known by everyone.

9:00 Check In
9:15 Motivational Speech - I will talk straight up #%$^

The camp will consist of the following
Dynamic Stretching
Core Strength and Conditioning
Speed and Agility Training
Arm Strength - Mechanics of Throwing - How to build a strong and healthy arm.

The morning session will be tough! We are going to show you the drills so you can learn how to train properly. Then we are going to put you through the workout. If you are soft at heart , weak and afraid of challenging yourself this is not for you. Stay home and play X-Box.

We will break for lunch. There will be a concession stand provided by the good folks at Clinton , HS.

The afternoon session is devoted to baseball related activities. We will have infeild work , outfield work , catchers work , pitchers work.

We will then have unlimited BP for everyone that wants to hit.

There will be a cost of 20.00 per player that attends. Part of the proceeds of this camp will go to the "Will Fund".

I need everyone that plans on coming to PM me asap. I already have several players that have contacted me and are already coming. You will take back with you some great ideas and training methods. The whole thing about this is - Becoming a better baseball player does not just mean working at hitting and fielding. It has alot to do with becoming more athletic , faster , stronger and mentally tough. This camp is devoted to helping you understand how to do that. The Tractor tires are ready. The telephone poles connected to the harness are ready. Now the question is "Are you ready?"

Jan 3 , 2009 - 9am - Clinton , High School , Clinton NC.

 

Boot Camp......

Coach you are killing me here! I googled clinton, nc and it is only about 400 miles from the house, but Josh and I will be there.

Just for future reference, there are a few baseball fields on the western end of the state and if you give me enough advanced notice, I can have everyone get their livestock off the grass!

You know I am just kidding and we are looking forward to it. Anyone who didn't attend the first one, this is a must do! If you want to know what you need to do to outwork everyone else, this is the place to start.

By the way, what can we expect on the concession stand food menu in Clinton, NC?

 

Merry Christmas

to everyone and Kevin I am looking forward to seeing you and Josh again. The response has been great and it looks like we are going to have alot of players coming from down east. Please pm me or email me at [email protected] asap to let me know you are coming.

I encourage every player that wants to learn some great ways to improve your arm strength , core strength , speed and agility to attend. Also we will be having some pitcher and catcher instruction. Anyone wanting to get some hitting instruction , that will be provided as well. I am looking forward to seeing all of you next Saturday.

 

Update

For those planning on attending check in will be at 9am at the Clinton High School Baseball field. The response has been great and I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday.

If you have any questions please send me a pm. Make sure you bring tennis or turf shoes along with your cleats. Catchers make sure you bring your gear , we will have several instructors present to work with the catchers in the afternoon session.

See you on Saturday.

 

My apologies!

Our High School AD scheduled a basketball game for saturday and I will have to be here to coach.

I am very sorry and I apologize to everyone as Josh and I were looking forward to the trip to see some of our friends.

I hope our paths cross very soon on the baseball field or somewhere else. Less than 60 days until they suit up and take the field and I will be checking websites on a daily basis to see how they are all doing.

Please tell all your kids that we wish them the best and good luck!

Hope you all have a happy and prosperous New Year!

 

No problem Kevin

good luck to Josh this year at Tenn. It looks like we are going to have a great turn out and it should be alot of fun.

 

looks like great weather for the boot camp

 

Thanks

I want to thank all the parents and players that came today at Clinton High school. I will post about the players and how the day went soon. I know some guys will be sleeping well tonight "including me."

 

Thanks!!!

Thanks for a great day in Clinton! We enjoyed the day and appreciate the hard work you guys put into it!

There will definitely be alot of people sleeping good tonite! Thanks again!

 

Report

We started the day with some dynamic stretching. Then we moved on to the morning workout. We set up five stations that were designed to focus on agility training , speed , core , strength. The players were split into five groups and they rotated from each station to the next. We showed the players alot of exercises they can take back with them to strengthen the core , increase their speed and agility and arm strength.

After the morning session we broke for lunch. When we returned the players took the field at the posistions they wanted to work at. We took a very long round of infield and they got tons of ground balls and fly balls. The catchers got some pop times and worked on making plays at the dish. After the defensive workout we broke down to 3 groups. One group went to the cage for T work and bp , one group shagged and the other hit. Then they rotated after everyone went through twice to hit.

The players attitudes were outstanding and they worked very very hard. I hope that they take back with them what they learned and work very hard to continue to be the best they can be. There were some guys that stood out to me and the other coaches in attendance. I hate to single guys out because ALL of them were winners today because they took an opportunity to get better and they made the most of it. But I think its the right thing to do to give these guys some props.

Britt Kuchen Pine Forest HS 2010 CF - Britt showed and above average arm from the outfield with above average speed. He showed very good range and solid fielding fundementals. He attacks the baseball and can flat out play. At the plate he showed quick hands and juice from the right side. He has a solid approach at the plate and is an aggressive hitter. Britt is a def college guy who will defend and hit at the next level. He loves the game and plays very hard. Very coachable player who understands the game.

AJ James JM Robinson HS 2011 MIF OF - AJ is a very athletic player and is very strong for his age. He showed an advanced approach to fielding and an above average arm. His approach and fielding mechanics are very solid and he has very soft hands. AJ hammered the baseball all day. A very short compact swing with a flat swing approach. Line drive after line , gap to gap all day. You can tell AJ works hard at conditioning his body he is put together and in great physical shape. He is another player that is def a college prospect. AJ is all business on the baseball field. He is very mature and gets after it big time.

Brad Evans Hobbton HS 2011 MIF - This is one of the reasons I love doing these type of events. I would have never known who this young man from Hobbton HS was if I had not made the 2 hour trip to Clinton today. When we went to the defensive drills I noticed him at SS. Great approach to the baseball setting up his throws with a proper path to the baseball. Good arm strength that will play at 2b at the next level. Good hands and solid fielding mechanics. Gritty kid that you can tell loves to play the game. At the plate he is a true switch hitter. Basically he shows the same tools from both sides of the plate. Great flat swing that gets in the zone quick and stays there a long time. He hammered the baseball from both sides of the plate with consistent line drives to all parts of the field from both sides of the plate. This kid can flat out hit. He can flat out play.

Trey Talley Oxford Webb HS 2010 C - The first thing you notice about Trey is his great baseball body. Tall , lean and strong. Trey worked his butt off in the morning session and you can tell he works because he was going full speed the whole time. He was a consistent 2.03 2.06 with a best pop time of 2.00 to second base. He has arm strength and with some tweaks in his footwork and transfer will get better. At the plate he hits from the left side and runs very well. He has juice and attacks the baseball. He has a quick hands and generates a ton of batspeed. He gets a little long at times trying to generate too much pop. But the tools are there. Trey is a def college guy and will garner alot of attention this spring playing for the Warriors and Coach Jeff Tate.

Ryan Allen Oxford Webb HS 2010 MIF - Ryan is a David Eckstein at the HS level. This kid can play. Soft hands , great approach to the baseball and he has arm strength. Ryan is a spark plug kind of player he really gets after it and the guy plays with a chip on his shoulder the kind I really like. At the plate he shows surprising power for a young man his size. He has very good bat speed and is a very agressive hitter. He attacks the baseball bigtime. This guy might not be very big in size but what he lacks in size he makes up for in ability and toughness. There is no doubt he can play at the next level. Someone is going to end up with a heck of a player in Ryan Allen.

Taylor Stanley Clinton HS 2010 MIF RHP - Man is this kid good. Great baseball body , tall lean and very strong. He showed an advanced approach to the baseball with soft hands and an absolute cannon. Great arm strength and very accurate as well. He made every play , to his right up the middle , to his left in the hole and the slow roller. At the plate he was outstanding. Very flat swing that stayed in the zone. He consistently barrelled the baseball and showed juice to all fields. Taylor is one of the better 2010 players I have seen this fall and winter. I didnt get a chance to see him on the bumb but the arm strength is obvious from this guy. I will be back in Clinton this spring to see the Dark Horses and Hobbton play. And I will be pumped to see Stanley on the hill and Brad Evans facing him at the plate. Stanley is a top tier 2010 talent no doubt about it.

Will Byrd St Davids School Raleigh 2010 C - My first look at Will was last year at the first Boot Camp. I liked Will alot but he needed to work on his arm strength and he was a little raw behind the plate. His progress is obvious and he showed very well today. Will was a best 2.06 pop and consistently in the 2.08 range. He has a solid approach at the plate with present gap power. He is very aggressive and could show a little more plate discipline but he can swing it. Will is a hard worker who loves the game. If he continues to work and I know he will he will have a solid future at the next level somewhere. He loves to catch and continues to get better. I have no doubt he will be even better this time next year.

Grant Cain Terry Sanford HS 2011 1B - Its hard not to notice a kid that is 6-4 and about 230 lbs. Especially when he wears a size 19 shoe! I always wonder when I see a kid this size " I wonder if he can swing it or is he going to have one of those long loopy swings. " Well I got my answer today. The kid can swing the bat and he has juice to say the least. He showed the ability to go the other way and did not try to jerk everything. He was very good around the bag at first base and moves very well for a guy his size and age. He has a solid glove and a good arm as well. He needs to continue to work to tighten up his body. But he is young and is still growing. If he continues to work hard and getting in great physical shape he has a chance to be an elite player in the 2011 class. Ridiculous power from the right side with a very good swing.

TJ Brown Smithfield Selma HS 2012 C - I loved this kid. What a great young man. Of course I am a little biased to those catchers but its hard not to like this guy. You can tell he loves being on the baseball field. During the work out session in the morning I noticed how hard he worked. He gave it everything he had and never took a drill off. He showed a best pop time of 2.24 and thats not bad at all for a 2012 catcher. And he probaly throws a little better but I have been known to have a slow stop watch! At the plate he showed the ability to consistently barrell the baseball to all fields. I dont think he hit one weak ground ball or a single pop up the entire day. I loved his approach , very confident and quiet at the plate. TJ is going to be a heck of a player for Smithfield Selma.

Two Players that I have to say something about are Tyler Hardee from Carroll Middle School in Raleigh and Matt Proctor from Ligon Middle School in Raleigh. These two young guys are 8th graders and 14 years old. The work out we did was brutal. It was very physically demanding. The tractor tires were tough , pulling a telephone pole with a harness strapped to your back is not a walk in the park. These two young fellas got after it and worked their butts off. Out of everyone there these two guys got the most from their 20 bucks today. Both of them swung it man! They are both going to be outstanding players. They are already outstanding young men.

I want to thank everyone that made this happen today at Clinton HS. Thanks to my good friends at Rocky Mount HS , Ben Fish and Brian Goodwin for coming and helping out. Thanks to my four college players who took the time to come and help out , of course the BP was an incentive. And thanks to Coach Kevin Ferrell for coming and helping me out. I enjoyed it and I look forward to doing it again next year. Thanks Guys!