Alexa Collins In The Kitchen Wearing Something You Won't See Martha Stewart In, Annie Agar's Meeting & Meat!
12U house ball update: I might've found a diamond in the rough pitcher!
Throw it over the plate. I don't care if they hit it 400 feet.
On the way to the park last night, my pulse was racing. Screencaps Jr. knew it because I kept verbalizing that I'm not sure we have enough arms to get us through a 2 ½ month season when I know for a fact that families will take well-deserved week-long vacations and pitchers will come and go.
I need arms.
During warmups, I went to my 12-year-old sequoia first baseman and asked if he's pitched before. He has.
Would you be available if I'm in a pinch?
Yeah, I can do it.
Perfect. We're rolling. The kid is six-foot and reminds me of kids I grew up with who were called country strong. He's just built differently.
I'm thinking he's a closer.
Then, to my surprise, a 12-year-old catcher – my Varitek – came to me saying he'd been throwing with his father and expressed interest. It was the as if the baseball gods were speaking to me.
OK, let's see what you've got.
After 15-20 pitches, I knew. He reminds me of the boy last year who said he wasn't interested in pitching only to learn that he was a top 3 arm in the league.
This 12-year-old catcher might be my secret weapon. He just needs coached up. Positive reinforcement.
Slow down, get it over the plate, don't overthrow.
He wants so badly to make his father proud, but I already know that his father is a stand near the dugout parent,. I have my work cut out for me, but I can see it in this boy's face that he wants to get better and compete. He's my project.
Pitching staff observations:
- My No. 1 and 2 are set. I have my Billy Wagner and my Tom Seaver ready to roll. I'm very excited about my Wagner. Absolute nails as a ballplayer. He shows up ready to battle. Like I mentioned about Seaver, his arm strength is up. The ball is exploding out of his hand as his body matures. The mechanics are already there. He's ready to roll.
- My No. 3 is an 11-year-old lefty who comes to me via travel ball. I'm concerned with his mechanics and that's not because I'm at war with travel ball and I have to say something condescending about travel ball. He's a leaner. Falls off to the right which is affecting his accuracy. The ball naturally runs away from righties, but with him falling so far to the right, he's missing too far off the left side of the plate.
- With the emergence of the 12-year-old catcher, my No. 4 might not see much time on the mound, but that doesn't mean I've given up on him. His grip was a mess. I'm hoping with a new two-seam grip, he'll see more success.
- Varitek and Sequoia are likely to see quite a bit of time at No. 3 & 4 as we move along, especially because there are innings limits.
Overall observations: We're going to out-compete the other teams
Last night, to end practice, I split up the boys; 6 standing on second base; 6 at home. We're going to see how much dawg these boys have in their system. Are they ready to battle this summer?
Let's race.
The boys at home plate are legging out a double. The boys on second are trying to score on a base hit.
Head-to-head battles.
GOOOOO!
The boys started going wild cheering for their side. I had boys hauling ass around that field unlike anything I expected to see just three practices into the season.
Next up….GOOOOOOOO!
The emotions started rising. I ask who's winning. Sequoia chimes in. He's keeping track and wants to win bad. He's next up, but he's an absolute beast to go against. He's also a soccer player. Fast as lighting at six-feet tall.
So I throw him up against an 11-year-old who's going to play shortstop. Let's call him Woody. I want my shortstop to want it bad night after night, even after spending all day at the pool. I want Woody going out there with a mindset like Sequoia where he's just going to out-will the other team. Woody is an athlete.
GOOOOOOOOO!
Woody damn near got him.
The boys are going absolutely nuts. The energy is unreal for a house ball practice.
Next….GOOOOOOO!
And on we went until the head-to-head battles concluded. We met at the pitchers' mound and the boys were smiling and full of positive emotions. They seemed to have a blast.
On the way home, Screencaps Jr. confirmed it by saying how much fun he had at practice.
Mission accomplished.
- I'm hoping the boys will feed off the high-energy of the practice, and it translates to their approach at the plate. I have too many who are just trying to put the ball into play during batting practice instead of exploding through the ball. I'm convinced that will change as we continue to drag the competitive fire out of them.
- We still haven't taken a full infield. Last night, it was work at 3B and SS. Next week, we'll go to a full infield and outfield and go over our cutoff positioning.
- I'm praying for no rain next week because we also need to do a full game simulation and a scrimmage. I have 11-year-olds who have never led-off a base.
- What other practice competitions can I use to keep the energy level high where kids aren't standing around that will stimulate their brains?
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
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That's it this morning. I know it's not the typical edition of Screencaps, but I know you guys appreciate these updates.
Later today, I'm off to Detroit for the NFL Draft to see what the crazy superfans are up to. My only other Draft experience was in Cleveland several years ago and that was in a driving rain. It's supposed to be the low 50s and nice tonight in the D.
Let's keep the energy level high and go attack another day of life. Oh, and don't forget to mow, if you're not attending the Draft.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com