I was invited to attend a hitting and defensive boot camp in Boise Idaho, hosted by the Boise Hawks (Minor League Affiliate of the Cubs) with no idea of what to expect.
There were shuttle buses from airport to take us to the hotel and somehow I ended up with all the Cubs officials. So here I am sitting in the back of the bus listening to David Keller (Head Minor League Hitting Coordinator) talk to the other coaches about Major League players as if he had them all on speed dial. I didn’t have much to add to the conversation so I just shut my mouth.
I checked in at the hotel and was rooming with a kid from Idaho; little did I know that this kid was the epitome of a “seppo”. Before I got his name he went on to tell me that girls were annoying and every girl at his school wanted him. He was also the best hitter in high school, hitting .520. I’d heard enough already and knew that if it was going to be like this all weekend, I may not make it back to Iowa.
Day 1 came and everyone started arriving at the field, players from all over the place. We were given legit Cubs playing shirts with our names on the back and a pair of batting gloves for the weekend. A man by the name of Gary Van Tol ran the clinic and instructed everyone for the weekend. His knowledge of the game was incredible and when he spoke you listened. He started the camp off with a little exercise, simply to tie your left shoelace as quick as you can. Everyone kind of looked around at each other, not knowing whether he was serious or not. I thought why not, so I began and the rest started to follow. I tied my shoelace and didn’t think much of it until he said swap hands when tying your shoelace, to add some difficulty. His lesson in this exercise was don’t be afraid to try something new this weekend. Be open to what you’re being taught and give it a shot, if it doesn’t work then so be it but don’t shy away from new things.
The session consisted of 5 stations; hitting, base running, defense, conditioning and a classroom activity. The level of coaching at each station consisted of JC coaches; D1 coaches, NAIA coaches, MLB coaches, and some high draft pick players. At each station you were taught the basic fundamentals of each area, and then you put these skills into practice. Most of these kids were high schoolers and then there were roughly 20 JC guys. Being at a junior college for a year and half, I knew all these basic fundamentals so it wasn’t anything new to me. Everyone kept to their little clans, and sort of steered away from mixing with each other. That left me with my so-called roommate, which you could bet I was thrilled about. We finished up late into the night, so the only thing on my mind was dinner and bed. Big fan of room service and I must say I did abuse it a little this weekend.
Day 2 was a long day consisting of 3 sessions, each 3 and half hours. The same thing was covered in each session but was put into play more and looked at in depth. So you progressed from the fundamentals to the more advanced skills. This day saw everybody open up and relax a little as the pressure of a first day had diminished. Soon I was the centre of attention as rumour started to flow that there was an Australian at the camp. I had the usual questions of; can you say put another shrimp on the Barbie?, say crikey mate. All the questions that Americans seem to think we get by on saying.
Today was the best day for me as we broke our swings down and evaluated them. Positive and negative feedback from Keller and Brett Jackson (Round 1 Draft Pick) about certain aspects of my swing gave me something to master and work on. Gary expressed that during this weekend someone will say something to you and it will just click and it’ll change everything about your swing. What clicked with me was Keller explaining that when you’re in your stance your elbows should create a triangle and if they aren’t your grip is wrong, the weight should be distributed through the inner parts of your feet, Brett Jackson used the term, ‘ Crushing your dick’.
I was amazed at how much a small world it was as JC coaches were asking me if I knew players such as Toby Barnett, some past South Perth players. I also had the strength and conditioning coach ask me if I knew Andrew Kyle - they had worked together and was good mates according to him.
Classroom activities were set up for different coaches to teach us about that next step after high school or in my case junior college. They discussed what questions you need to ask coaches, what background history you need to find on programs, whether or not the program is right for you, are you going to be able to get the degree you want. All things I never knew anything about, so that gave me a lot more knowledge on how the higher level college system works and what is best going to suit me.
Day 3 saw the weekend wind down, as everyone was a little worn out from the amount of baseball. Coming from practicing all day, every day at junior college to this clinic showed as I wasn’t as fatigued as everyone else. 18 odd hours of baseball related drills and exercises were too much to handle for some of these high school kids. Upon leaving the camp they gave us swing evaluations and drills that would benefit what needed improvement. Each section of your swing from your load, bat path, weight transfer, and finally your follow through were looked at through videos we took on the first day.
I came with little knowledge of certain tendencies relating to my swing and left with a basis to work with and an improved baseball IQ. The main idea of the camp was to prepare people for the next level and educate them on how to get there and I think it was done extremely well. I knew nothing about the college system until a group of elite coaches took the time to sit down and discuss it with me.
Great work Max, the Defensive Specialist appreciates the time and effort you have put in with this post. As the readers can probably tell, it’s the West Australian lads who are dominating on the guest blog front. Can some of you east coast guys put fingers to keyboard and outline your experiences?
Remember, the Defensive Specialist is keeping the competitive juices flowing by establishing an AFL Dream Team league and is welcoming all challengers in the 2010 season. Register your team at http://afl.virtualsports.com.au/ and enter league code 625080.
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