Fielding is just another word for feeling …
Fielding …
Fielding a ball in the infield, outfield or blocking a ball as a catcher has less to with with technique and everything to do with feelings. Often position players are subjected to countless reps of ground balls and flyballs so that they can develop a sense of feel for how fast the ball is moving, how it’s bouncing and where they need to go with it. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely technique involved, however the great fielders spend a lot of their time developing a feel for their position and practice ten of thousands of reps trying to master it.
Team Training
Team Training …
In the past few years, Calgary Elite Baseball has gotten involved in team training. It is definitely different than private and small group training however, with the right group of athletes it can be equally beneficial. The same information gets conveyed to all athletes within the time frame given. In a team setting it’s more important than ever that each athlete take responsibility to listen and to apply everything that is shared and demonstrated. Its similar to a large lecture vs. a private tutor. Some team and athletes will thrive in a large setting, while often athletes often prefer a smaller more relaxed setting to learn and progress. None the less Calgary Elite Baseball offers team training for those who can request it.
Group Training
Group Training
Group training ( 3-5 athletes) is a great way of creating a competitive yet intimate training environment. Some athletes thrive in a small group while some thrive in a private or semi-private environment. Small Group training also helps athletes to watch others trying to perform similar things and can provide great visual feedback. Group training is recommended for athletes who have taken a few private lessons already or for a group of athletes who are all equally new to Calgary Elite Baseball Academy and want to learn everything together from scratch. Group training helps to reduce costs but also reduces the amount of reps and direct coaching time per athlete. I would say group training is the goal to get to long term once the fundamentals are in place and
Private or Semi Private Training
Private Training
Private training is definitely the most successful way to improve your skills in the shortest period of time. Working one on one with a professional coach is a great way to finally clarify anything that might be confusing to a young athlete or even a more experienced older athlete. I often encourage new academy athletes to book at least one private lesson to help go over the important fundamentals of hitting. There are so many small but important details that often unknown to many baseball and fastpitch players. Players can often feel behind when joining an experienced group of players. Private training is a great way to get up to speed and back on track.
Philosophy
My philosophy is very simple. I pride myself on communication and patience. As far as playing baseball and fastpitch, there are some very important fundamentals that need to be mastered in order to be consistently successful at any level. I help athletes to understand these fundamentals and also be able to perform them. Consistency is the key to success and private training is the fastest way to get there.
Hitting
Without a doubt hitting is one part of the game that requires the most amount of attention with young baseball and fastpitch athletes. Most young athletes have not learned how to swing properly and their bad habits get harder and harder to change as they get older. The sooner that they can learn the proper fundamentals if hitting the more success they can achieve.
Throwing
Throwing mechanics are relatively simple. I believe that each individual has their own ideal throwing mechanics but, they still need to have strong fundamentals to help promote consistency and to help limit the chance of an arm injury or discomfort. Throwing fundamentals have changed a lot over the years and there is now a lot of new cutting edge science to back it up.
Fielding
Fielding ground balls or flyballs as an infielder and outfielder revolves mostly around repetitions. Being a good infielder or outfielder has a lot to do with confidence and preparation. Both of those things are a biproduct of countless repetitions of good foot work, hands and coordination.
Catching
Catching is definitely one of the hardest and most important positions on the field. Having a good catcher behind the plate is typically a big part of why many teams are more successful than others. Being a good catcher consists of being comfortable and fearless behind the plate and having a high level baseball or fastpitch I.Q which means they understand the game very well and knows how to control the game from behind the plate.
Pitching
Pitching is what many young players want to get better at. More specifically they want to throw faster while still being accurate. I would say that pitching is one part of baseball that gets influenced the most by a variety of different sources. I rarely meet parents or coaches who have similar pitching philosophies or who can agree on pitching mechanics. Despite pitching being relatively simple, it is definitely one of the hardest parts of the game to coach. I try and apply the same principles of hitting to pitching. Pitching requires certain necessary fundamentals and certain understandings. Once those fundamentals are understood and are present in an athletes pitching delivery, they can then customize their motion to something that they feel more comfortable to perform.
The Origin of Calgary Elite Baseball Academy
It all began with with a simple decision
I always thought that getting into coaching meant the end of being a player. Believing that is what prevented me from becoming a full time coach a lot earlier in my life. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I realize now that coaching full time has made me a better player and has increased my passion for baseball even more.
Once I moved to Calgary after playing a season of baseball for a team in Seattle, I started helping a private U18 team train in the winters. I was eventually asked by a friend to help assistant coach a U13 team with him in 2017. That same season, my friend ended up leaving to play baseball in Germany, and I was handed the head coaching position. Despite the lack of success that season, it exposed me to the joys of coaching young athletes and I was hooked. In 2018, I moved to an organization that was called the Jr. Dinos at the time, and was the head coach there for 2 years for their U18 AAA “yellow” team. In 2020, I decided to transition from Head Coach to the Strength & Conditioning Director for the entire Jr. Dinos program. I had grown to prefer the off season training, and understood the value of strength training and how much of a role it plays with learning new skills and preventing injuries.
Of course we all know what happened in March of 2020. The pandemic disrupted a lot of baseball programs and forced associations, teams and academys to improvise and adjust. When the pandemic forced our first lockdown and prevented large gatherings, I was very fortunate to have been privately instructing a large numbers of baseball players across the city in a variety of different age groups and teams.
Calgary Elite Baseball Training
During the pandemic, I formed Calgary Elite Baseball Training. It was an opportunity for me to work privately with athletes within the restrictions of the lockdowns. I was extremely grateful to have been able to help so many athletes over the next couple of years and form strong relationships with them and their families.
Calgary Elite Baseball Academy
The goal eventually became to find a way to help more athletes and to create more positive change within the Calgary baseball and fastpitch community. Calgary Elite Baseball Training needed to become an academy. Despite some set backs, Calgary Elite Baseball Academy pushes forward with the same simple objective: to help elevate the caliber of baseball and fastpitch across the city, and to help as many athletes as possible discover their potential and help them achieve their goals.
Wake up with PASSION, Train with PURPOSE, Play with PRIDE
Our motto is the encapsulation of our beliefs, ideals and goals. It refers to how a player should think and how they should conduct themselves. I’ve always held a high regard for how players should carry themselves on and off the field. It’s something I learned when I attended the University of Jamestown. Coach Hager was a firm believer than even off the field, the colors of our school are always on our back, and how we conduct ourselves reflects on the school and our team. To this day when I talk to him, he still reminds me to act first class and to uphold being a Jimmie with integrity.