"Stay in the Game" Clinic

The University of Chicago Physicians is hosting a free "Stay in the Game" clinic led by Tony Garofola, former head Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Cubs. The session will provide information regarding how to prevent shoulder and elbow injuiries.

The event will be held on March 2nd in Tinley Park. Click here for more information.

How Baseballs Are Made

CLICK HERE to view an interesting video which shows how baseballs are manufactured.

Warriors Take a Break...and Other Ramblings

Not too long ago, baseball began in the Spring. As a kid, I always looked forward to hearing the crack of the bat as it was a sure sign that Spring had arrived.

Now, youth baseball travel teams practice nearly all year. This helps players develop their skills. However, baseball will always be a Summer game. Much of the appeal of the game comes from being able to play in nice weather outdoors.

Since I will be vacationing for the next two weeks, our Warriors team will take a break until mid-February. Our next practice is an 8:00 pm batting cage session at Junior Diggins on February 18th.

After that, we'll continue our individual development, batting cage sessions and indoor workouts until mid-March. Hopefully, the weather will improve by mid-March and we can finally move outdoors for some practices. Weather permitting, we will begin scrimmaging against other teams in late March. Things will pick up more in April as we begin to play games.

Our team will begin Chicagoland Metro play in mid-April. The OYA season begins in late April. And, our first tournament is scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend.

As soon as our team enters a tournament (and we are striving for four), I will post the information on our team's website. Our team is made up mostly 8th graders--and many events arise surrounding graduation. The OYA Pony League and our Warriors team will be idle on June 5th as most graduations in the area are scheduled for that day.

As tournament scheduling information is provided to you, PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY. If you are planning a graduation party, sometimes adjusting the start time by just a few hours can make the difference between the player participating or being absent for a team event. When players miss games, the team is at greater risk of losing (or even forfeiting) games--which means a higher risk of elimination from the tournament and fewer games played for everyone.

In an effort to promote greater participation, I am investigating the possibility of having those players on our team who make their High School team eligible for play with the Warriors. This is a new approach (most likely in accordance with all OYA, Chicagoland Metro and ISHA rules) which will allow us to retain all of the players on our current roster. More on this later.

The Importance of the Count

In a recent posting, I wrote about how Ted Williams refused to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone. At the Pony level, it is critical for hitters to be selective at the plate and only swing at strikes. Once a hitter is ahead in the count (e.g., 2-0, 3-1), the pitcher is forced to throw a very hittable pitch--or he may start aiming the pitches and walk several consecutive batters.

The statistics support the fact that a hitter's count benefits the offense. In a recent study of college baseball statistics, the batting average for hitters with a 2-1 count was 150 points higher than for hitters with a 1-2 count! This benefit becomes even greater with more favorable counts such as 3-1.

Letting pitchers off the hook by swinging at pitches outside of the strikezone has just the opposite effect. Pitchers get an immediate sense of relief when a bad pitch turns into a strike. They can then ride that momentum to get back into a groove. We often tell our hitters to "make the pitcher work" or to "make the pitcher earn it."

Although it is more difficult than it looks, one of the goals for this team is to be more selective at the plate. We want our hitters to be aggressive, but we also want them to be aware of the count and when it is appropriate to be aggressive.

Positions by Number

Typically, baseball position numbers are used for scoring purposes. However, our team will use these numbers as part of calling certain plays--particularly when a runner is on third base. We'll talk more about how these plays will be called during an upcoming practice. All of our players should be familiar with these numbers.

Following is an illustration of how baseball positions are numbered:

Warriors Enter First Tournament

The Warriors registered for its first tournament of the season. The Chicagoland Memorial Weekend Tournament is scheduled from Friday, May 27th through Monday, May 30th. Most likely, the opening round games will be played in Frankfort or Palos.

For this tournament, the team will play three "pool play" games. Only the top teams from each pool will proceed into the next round.

The Warriors will enter three more tournaments in June/July. I'll publish those dates as soon as they become available--most likely in late February. Please be sure to plan accordingly.

Pat O'Connor Wins Ground Ball Challenge

Patrick O'Connor won the team's first Ground Ball Challenge on Saturday morning. Pat edged out Jim Robley in the final round of the competition.

Winning these challenges requires outlasting 12 opponents and usually means successfully fielding at least 35 to 40 ground balls.

Ted Williams

During tonight's practice at Future Stars, we talked a little about the Hall of Fame hitter, Ted Williams. In my view, there are at least three important lessons our players can learn from him.

#1

As a hitter, Ted Williams always kept his eyes on the ball. Many thought that he could pick up the rotation of the baseball by viewing the seams just upon the release from the pitcher's hand. Later in life, he denied having any kind of superhuman vision and admitted that he really couldn't read the label on a phonograph record while it was spinning on the turntable. But, he made every effort to see the baseball as soon as possible and to follow the ball all the way in.

#2

Early on, Ted Williams learned not to swing at balls that were out of the strike zone. Try as they might, pitchers could not get him to chase bad pitches. "Getting on base is how you score runs," Williams explained. "Runs win ball games. I walked a lot in high school, and in the minors I walked 100 times...You start swinging at pitches a half-inch outside, the next one's an inch out and pretty soon you're getting nothing but bad balls to swing at."

At the Pony level, it's critical to let bad pitches go by. This places the pitcher under more pressure--forcing him to give the hitter a good pitch to hit. Many pitchers at this level simply start aiming the ball and then walk several more hitters.

#3

In my opinion, the following story displays what strong respect Ted Williams had for the game of baseball:

In 1941, only his third season in the majors, Williams captivated the nation by chasing a .400 season batting average. On the last day of the season, Williams was hitting exactly .400, and Red Sox manager Joe Cronin offered him the chance to sit out a doubleheader. "I told Cronin I didn't want that," Williams recalled. "If I couldn't hit .400 all the way I didn't deserve it." He got six hits and finished at .406, a mark many experts believe will never be equaled.

Pitching Grips

Pitchers have three weapons at their disposal: speed, location and movement (spin). At the 14U level, pitchers will work most on speed (and how to vary it) as well as location (and how to vary it).

Using a few different pitching grips will help a pitcher develop the ability to throw pitches at different speeds accurately.

CLICK HERE to view some grips--paying particular attention to the 2 and 4 seam fast ball grips as well as a couple of the change-up grips (circle and three finger grips).

Baseball Bats

The Chicagoland Metro League enforces High School bat limitations during the season for the 14U level. Those limitations are as follows:

1. cannot be more than 2 5/8" in diameter
2. its drop cannot be more than 3

A bat's drop is calculated by taking its weight in ounces less its length in inches. For example, a 34 inch bat must weigh at least 31 ounces for it to be permitted. A bat's drop contributes to swing speed. Clearly, a greater drop (lighter weight to length ratio) adds to swing speed. Apparently, this creates a greater risk of injury (particularly to pitchers) as the players get older.

CLICK HERE for a table of a sample of approved bats for the 14U level.

As we proceed through our Winter batting cage sessions, hitters will benefit by swinging a regulation bat. I also highly recommend that batters use the same regulation bat throughout the OYA Pony League recreational season--even though OYA imposes much more liberal bat requirements. It's important that the players build strength and become accustomed to the heavier bats before entering into a new season.

Coach Michael Heathcott

I'm pleased to announce that Coach Michael Heathcott will also be providing pitching instruction for our team. This instruction will supplement the development sessions already scheduled with Coach Al Hasan at Junior Diggins.

Coach Heathcott will be working with our pitchers on the evenings of Friday, January 14th and Friday, February 25th at the On-Deck Baseball Academy of Orland Park. As with our other development sessions, pitchers will be assigned a time during the evening for more individualized instruction. Please note that these events have been added to our team's schedule.

Coach Heathcott is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher, with experience with both the White Sox & Cubs organizations. Playing during one season at the major league level for the Chicago White Sox, Coach Heathcott is a Chicago-native who now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 13th round of the 1991 amateur draft. Coach Heathcott played his first professional season with their Class-A (Short Season) Utica Blue Sox in 1991, and his last with the Triple-A affiliates of the Chicago Cubs (Iowa Cubs) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Edmonton Trappers) in 2000.

Uniform Fittings

The uniform fittings for our team are scheduled for Monday, November 29th from 8:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the OYA Office. The fitting session is necessary as almost all of the uniform components are fitted for size--even the hats. Players will also select uniform numbers at this time--on a first come, first served basis.

Players may arrive anytime between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm for the fitting. The process should take less than 10 minutes.

As always, please be sure to contact me if you are unable to attend any team event.

Warriors Kick Off Meeting

Following is a message that I just received from Brian Gaspardo, the OYA President:

"We will have our annual Kick Off meeting for all the Warrior teams on Tuesday, November 23 at 7 PM at the Orland Park Civic Center. Like last year, we will be getting the entire Warrior organization together to talk about our program, hand out some Warrior gear, order some spirit wear for Christmas presents, and generally get fired up for next season! General meeting should take about 20 minutes, and then you will have some time set aside to talk to your teams. Every player should attend with at least one parent (the whole family is welcome). I am using the opportunity to collect a second installment from my parents, and you might want to do the same.

SportStation will be there with a display of spirit wear with guaranteed delivery before Christmas."

Warriors 2011 Schedule

Following is a list of currently scheduled events. All dates are preliminary, so be sure to check this website to monitor any revisions to the schedule. Players are expected to contact me if they are unable to participate in a team event.

• Oak Lawn Tournament: Saturday, July 23rd and Sunday, July 24th (CLICK HERE for scheduling details)

Warriors Schedule 3rd Fall Workout

The Warriors have scheduled its third Fall workout. Weather permitting, the practice will be held from 4:45 pm until 6:00 pm on Monday, October 25th at the Cachey Park soccer fields. The fields are located about two blocks west of 82nd Avenue on 157th Street.

The team has published a preliminary Winter practice schedule. The Winter practice schedule consists of three types of events:

Batting cages
Batting cages are scheduled for one hour on selected weeknights. These sessions are optional. Players may also decide to come for just a portion of the hour if they wish.

Megaplex workouts
Megaplex workouts are scheduled for 90 minutes--generally on weekends. These workouts are used to work through drills involving multiple players (i.e., infield drills, rundowns, pickoffs, etc.). Player participation is highly encouraged, but not mandatory if a player has other obligations.

Individual player development sessions
These sessions are targeted to provide individual feedback to our players to improve their hitting and throwing (pitching) skills. Although these sessions will run through the night (from 6:30 pm until 9:00 pm), players will register for a 45 minute time slot within that time frame. So far, six of these sessions (3 hitting and 3 throwing) have been scheduled. Players are highly encouraged to participate in all of these sessions. However, attendance of at least 4 sessions is expected.

We will invite an expert consultant to assist with the development. These consultants will be people who have played at a professional level and have the ability to diagnose issues and teach the skills. I plan to add a few more sessions which will be targeted for those players who wish to further develop pitching skills.

Please call me with any questions or comments.

Warriors Schedule 2nd Fall Workout

The team has scheduled its second Fall workout. The workout will be held on Saturday, October 16th @ 9:30 am on Centennial #1. Please call the OYA Rain Line at 708-403-6290 in the event of questionable weather or field conditions. The session is expected to end by 11:00 am.

The following items are due no later than October 16th:

1. Copy of the player's birth certificate
2. First installment ($150) of the registration fee

The first installment should be paid by check payable to the “Orland Youth Association.”

OYA has communicated an estimate of $900 for all baseball fees (including Warriors and OYA Pony League registration fees). The $150 due in October is the first installment. The remaining $750 will be due in two installments--$400 in late January and $350 in late February. We have some part-time players on the roster—and the fees for those players will be reduced.

Please contact me if you are unable to participate in a team event.

Fergie Jenkins

At our first practice, we talked about the importance accurate throws. With younger pitchers, just being able to throw a strike (any kind of a strike) is usually the goal. At the Bronco & Pony levels of play, it becomes important for pitchers to continue to throw strikes. However, pitchers must now start hitting more specific locations within the strike zone.

I usually think of it like this. For Pinto and Mustang, the target is a big rectangle (the strike zone). For Bronco and Pony, the target is now a quadrant within the rectangle--in other words, take the strike zone and place a plus sign within it. A pitcher should be able to hit within at least one of four spots within the strike zone to be effective. At the highest level of play, the strike zone becomes divided into a tic-tac-toe type board. Pitchers with outstanding control (e.g., Greg Maddux) can target a pitch within one of the tic-tac-toe squares inside the strike zone--and he can do it at various speeds!

To be truly effective, a pitcher must be able to mix speeds as well as location. Practicing change-up grips will enable a pitcher to change speeds without making it obvious to the hitter.

Ferguson Jenkins is a Hall of Fame pitcher who was one of the best control pitchers in the history of baseball. In 1971, Fergie pitched over 300 innings, striking out 263 hitters while walking only 37. Nearly all of his 37 walks were either intentional or semi-intentional. In large part, he attributes constantly throwing to a specific target as a reason for his great control. During his off days, he insisted on throwing batting practice to hitters (this is unheard of today!)--so that he could continue to toss baseballs to a very specific target. This is one of the reasons it can be helpful to have our pitchers throw batting practice--rather than the coaches.

Warriors First Workout

The team has scheduled its first workout. The workout will be held on Sunday, September 26th @ Noon on Centennial #3. Please call the OYA Rain Line at 708-403-6290 in the event of questionable weather or field conditions. The session is expected to end by 1:45 pm.

We plan to schedule a second workout in October. The Fall is our slowest time period—so we won’t have many practices over the next two or three months.

The following items are due no later than October 15th:

1. Copy of the player's birth certificate
2. First installment ($150) of the registration fee

The first installment should be paid by check payable to the “Orland Youth Association.”

OYA has communicated an estimate of $900 for all baseball fees (including Warriors and OYA Pony League registration fees). The $150 due in October is the first installment. The remaining $750 (estimated) will be due in two installments--$400 in late January and $350 in late February. We have some part-time players on the roster—and the fees for those players will be reduced. It’s also very possible that the total fee will end up coming in lower than these estimates—but I can’t commit to a lower number until all the cost estimates (indoor facility fees, development sessions, tournament fees, umpires, etc.) are provided. Players who make their High School teams will qualify for a partial refund.

I look forward to the first team workout in September. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

Team Goals

Our team has three main goals for this season:

One goal is for our players to learn more about the game and to further develop their skills. We would like all of our players to gain an appreciation for the great game of baseball.

Next, we want everyone to have fun this season. It's fun to be part of a team. Every player should enjoy making a positive contribution to the team, regardless of his talent level.

Most importantly, we hope to take advantage of this experience to help our players develop a positive attitude. Players and coaches are expected to give it their very best effort every time they step on a baseball field. Players and coaches must also respect the game, the opponent, the umpires and each other.

The following five quotes capture a large part of what this experience is all about:

“If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner…a winner is somebody who gave his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can…who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn’t mean that they accomplished it or failed. It means they’ve given it their best. That’s a winner." – Walter Payton

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying." - Michael Jordan

"My greatest concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." - Abraham Lincoln

"If a man does his best, what else is there?" - General George S. Patton

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." - Pat Riley


"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it." - George Halas

Warriors Announce 2011 Roster

The Warriors are pleased to announce its roster for the 2011 season!

Please CLICK HERE to view the roster.