South River Athletics

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Boys Varsity Baseball

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Maryland Baseball Fan Appreciation Weekend

Hey Baseball Fans!

The Terps would like to invite you and your team to see Maryland Baseball and celebrate Fan Appreciation Weekend, April 16-18, when the Terps take on NC State. Admission will be free for ALL fans. The Terps will be giving away special prizes to include on-field pregame passes. On Friday, two-time National Champion Soccer Coach Sasho Cirovski will throw out the honorary first pitch and Bowie Baysox Mascot’ Louie will be in attendance. On Saturday AND Sunday, kids can run the bases and fans can meet the Terps!

· Friday, April 16^th at 6 PM

· Saturday, April 17^th at 1 PM

· Sunday, April 18^th at 1 PM

All home games are played at Shipley Field at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, located in the heart of the University of Maryland campus. Parking is free for all weekend games. We look forward to seeing you here for Fan Appreciation Weekend!

For more information on other promotions, check out our promotion schedule. To register for one of our events, please email MDSportsMarketing@umd.edu.

Weighted Bats Hurt Bat Speed!!

Weighted Bats + On Deck Circle = Slower Bat Speed?

By Adam Marcus

STRIKE! Contrary to popular belief around the diamond, researchers say swinging a heavier bat during practice actually hurts bat speed.

If you watched the World Series at all you saw a familiar ritual: Batters standing in the on-deck circle will swing a weighted bat (or even a heavy, pipelike club) while they wait to hit. The exercise is intended to improve players' bat speed, with the idea being that the regular bat feels lighter after taking cuts with the heavier one. But a new study suggests batters who add ounces to their practice swings may be making an error.

Practicing with a heavier bat significantly slows down the velocity of the bat head-depriving the batter of slugging power, exercise researchers at California State University, Fullerton, say: Swinging light or normal weight lumber just before stepping up to the plate helps players become accustomed to swinging fast,

            Repetition that is key to athletic training, the researchers say.

For the study the researchers recruited 19 recreation league baseball players (all men) and had them take five practice swings with bats of different weights: a light bat, weighing just 9.6 ounces; a standard-weight bat (31.5 ounces); and a heavy warm-up bat (55.2 ounces).  After resting for 30 seconds, players then took five "real" swings with the standard-weight bat. The researchers recorded bat speeds using a computer that calculated the time it took the bat head to pass between two sensors spaced 43.2 centimeters apart, the length of home plate.

During warm ups, players swung fastest with the light and standard bats, averaging 101.4 and 82.1 kilometers per hour, respectively.  Both were far quicker than hacks with the heavy bat, which averaged just under 67.6 kilometers per hour. More important, players practicing with the light or standard bats were able to maintain higher velocities on their real swings-averaging 83.7 and 80.5 kilometers per hour, respectively. The heavy bat practice group averaged 77.2 kilometers per hour with their real swings-not as quick as the other two groups.

Steven Zinder, a researcher who helped conduct the study, said the findings do not prove that swinging faster makes a hitter better, although from a biomechanical perspective that makes sense.  "If you want to swing faster, you need to practice by swinging faster," says Zinder, now an assistant professor of sports medicine in the exercise and sport science department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  "Training to swing fast made you swing the normal bat faster.  With the heavy bat, you're training yourself to swing more slowly."

Although no follow-up studies are planned, Zinder says it would be intriguing to convince a team to swing light bats in the on-deck circle and see if it improved their batting averages and home run production.  The findings appear online in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Someone is ALWAYS Watching!

From a recent email from a recruiter:

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

We've all seen the Geico commercial where the 80's song sings "I always feel like somebody's watching me".

Nothing could be truer when it comes to players that have the potential of moving to the next level. Whether it's hoping to move onto the college or pro ranks there is always someone watching whether it;'s coaches, scouts, parents, umpires and even teammates and opponents.

After my freshmen year of college, I played collegiate summer ball with a handful of players that went on to play professional baseball. After one of the games one of our coaches who was an Assistant Coach at a Division I school told us a story of a high school player that he was looking into recruiting the previous summer. He said that he had heard he had some great talent and went to watch him play. As he arrived at the game the player was just beginning warm ups in a section playoff game. The player did not carry himself well during warmups or in pregame. He didn't hustle and really didn't show the work ethic of a player that wanted to move on to the next level. The way he talked to teammates and his coaches and just his overall makeup gave the coach many red flags.

After watching this player for the hour of pre-game the college coach decided to leave. He reported back to his Head Coach and told him that he didn't think the player was worth recruiting anymore and they closed the file on him. This was without even watching the player play in a game.

Players who are looking to make the step to the next level really need to be more Baseball Savvy. It's easy to make a list of things that the college and pro scouts are looking for. I could list things like Power Hitting, Velocity, Speed, etc. These things are well known.

Here are some things that I looked at when I used to recruit and what other coaches look for as well that many players seem to overlook...

Grades. Nothing is more valuable to recruiters and nothing is more undervalued by players. I can't stress how important this is.
How you carry yourself on the field. Having your shirt tucked in, hustling, respecting teammates, opponents and umpires.
How you carry yourself off the field. How you talk to and act to your teachers, coaches, classmates and family. For those of you who have cell phones the worst thing you can do is have a voicemail that says "Yo dawg this is (your name), hit me back" and then have some song blaring in the background. If there is a chance of someone calling you that maybe associated with a college or pro team your voicemail should say "You've reached the voicemail of (your name), please leave a message. Thank you". I can't tell you how many players don't understand how something that small can have a big effect. When you get to talk to coaches make sure to address them as sir and be respectful.
Are you emotionally mature? Can you handle the pressure of pitching in big games and big situations or do you let mistakes rattle you? Do you know the game and the rules? Are you confident? Aggressive? Or do you look as though you'd rather be elsewhere. Scouts are looking for guys who want the ball.
Offseason work. I come across so many talented players that if they were to put the work in in the off-season that would be the difference to making it to the next level or not. You hear stories of guys like Derek Jeter and Tony Gwynn taking hundreds of swings in their backyard everyday in the offseason, etc. Your high school season is just a small part of the year. A lot of players seem to forget that college coaches see many more summer and fall games then they do high school games. I had a younger brother that had a great high school career. He would wake up at 5am and work out for an hour and then do tee work for an hour until he had to go to school each morning. That was dedication.

These are just a few intangibles that recruiters and scouts look for. All of this is meant to get you thinking - be it a parent or a player. The above things are some things that may help you get there. There is so much more to it.

Remember that participating in intercollegiate athletics is a privilege and only about 5.6 percent of all high school baseball players get an opportunity to play NCAA baseball, so if you get this special chance, make the most of it. You will have great memories, a college degree and experiences that will last you a lifetime!

Scholarship Opportunities

First, here's a link to the MPSSAA Minds in Motion Scholarship Opportunity... http://www.mpssaa.org/publications/MindsinMotion.asp

Simply click here and complete the form for submission before April 15.

Next, please see below for scholarship offers from MaxPreps.com.

Coach,

Do you have an athlete that deserves to be recognized for his/her accomplishments off the field?
Would you like to help your athlete win a $2,500 scholarship?
Could your sports program use an extra $500?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions then you should know about the brand new MaxPreps Citizen Athlete Program presented by the Army National Guard!

The Citizen Athlete Program enables MaxPreps to award $25,000 to high school student-athletes who are model citizens in all areas of life: community service, academics, athletics and school involvement.

MaxPreps and the Army National Guard have joined forces to make sure that these great young citizens are recognized and rewarded for their good works by awarding $2,500 scholarships to each of the top five young men and top five young women in the country. Anybody can nominate any 2009-10 athlete on MaxPreps. Simply visit http://www.maxpreps.com/citizenathlete to nominate someone right now! (You may nominate as many citizen athletes as you’d like.)

In addition to naming the 10 Citizen Athletes… our fans will vote (once per day) to determine which young man and young woman receive the coveted National Citizen Athlete designation. Each National Citizen Athlete will win an additional $500 for his/her high school athletic program. (Think of it as our way of saying “thanks” for encouraging outstanding behavior.)

Important Dates:
Now – Start Nominating Athletes!
March 12, 2010 – Nomination Period Ends
April 1, 2010 – Ten Citizen Athletes Declared; Voting Begins
April 29 , 2010 – Voting Period Ends
May 3, 2010 – National Citizen Athletes Declared

Please share this email with your staff, athletes and parents!!

If you have questions about the offer or want to learn more about MaxPreps visit www.MaxPreps.com, email coachsupport@maxpreps.com or call 800-329-7324 x1.

Thank You,

MaxPreps Coach Support Team