SOX

You've got to think right...

2011-04-06T09:52:00.004-05:00

My favorite bible verse is Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinks, so is he."

This verse is very relevant to baseball training... especially pitching, since that is my particular area. However, it is relevant to all aspects of instruction.

I am writing this today because I live in the world of instruction and notice that players (and parents) fall into a few categories:

Expect something for nothing... these do not have the drive or commitment to put in the necessary time and effort to improve.
Think training is a "microwave oven"... expect IMMEDIATE improvement. These become frustrated when adjustments take longer than expected. They may quit the process because they have faulty expectations. An example that I use sometimes is this, "making mechanical changes is comparable to walking. You walk a certain way... and this is learned over a period of time. Let's say that one day you decide to get walking lessons. The walking instructor tells you that you are not walking correctly... that to walk correctly you must kick your right heel up with every step. Now tell me, how long and how much work would it take for you to change how you walk?" Do you get it now? Do you see how much work and commitment this involves?
Some think training is irrelevant... they think that you either have it or you don't. They think that playing on a team and getting instruction in practice will be all they need. These never reach their potential no matter their ability.
Some think right!... these understand the importance of doing things right. These are also committed to make the adjustments no matter what it takes. They say, "I don't care how long this takes or how difficult it is, I'm gonna do it." As an example, I have a pitcher who has worked with me for 6 years. The first two, every fastball he threw cut (curved). This took velocity off his fastball and made location very inconsistent and difficult. His mechanics were terrible and caused all of this, but he had a good arm. However, he was (is) a bulldog. He would (will) not quit. And today, he has dramatically increased his velocity and command of pitches. He throws fastballs that run (move to arm side). And he has made some very significant mechanical adjustments. He will listen and learn. He will take risks to try new things. He also made his high school team and will eventually pitch in college. And, he will be a very good pitcher at both levels.

To highlight this, I read an article in Golf Digest this week about Tiger Woods. To make a long story short, he has had 5 different swing coaches over the past 30+ years. He is still working on making adjustments and must pour vast amounts of time and effort into the process.

So my encouragement to you is to "THINK RIGHT"... "DON'T QUIT"... who knows, your breakthrough my be just around the corner.

The Blame Game...

2011-03-18T23:21:00.001-05:00

Helping Young Athletes Avoid the Blame Game After Setbacks

Posted by Dr. Patrick Cohn (noted sports psychologist) on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 ·

When your sports kids get a bad call from an umpire, lose a game when it’s raining or make a bad throw when a dog is barking, do they blame the umpire, the rain and the dog?

If so, your kids need to learn how to take responsibility for mistakes and failures. And your words and actions will either contribute to the Blame Game–or help kids shoulder the responsibility. That’s the word from Rob Barber, president of USAthletic Baseball. He has coached a number of baseball players who have become major league players. He says that avoiding the Blame Game is critical for young athletes, and it’s all about making a commitment to developing as players.

“Frustration and failure come to us all; that’s part of the process. There’s nothing unusual or crazy about frustration and failure. This is part of the commitment we’re making.” As sports parents and coaches, it’s critical for you to remember that how you communicate with your young athletes can contribute to the Blame Game. “The language adults use and how they describe the successes and failures of their kids is extremely important. If a kid makes a mistake in a game, parents sometimes want to buffer the kid. We might blame the mistake on a bad coaching decision. We need to teach kids to take responsibility for what happened,” he says. When kids take responsibility, they’re more likely to fare better when they encounter the same challenge again, he says. In addition to being careful about how you talk to your young athletes about setbacks, you need to set a good example. If you’re at a game and your child or teen gets a bad call from a ref, don’t point it out or complain. Encourage your child to move on.

What’s more, you can point out role models for your children. If you’re watching a game on TV and you see an athlete handle a setback with grace and responsibility, point this out to your child. If an athlete is interviewed by a reporter after a loss and takes responsibility for his or her contribution to the loss, you should discuss this with your kids. These are athletes who are committed to developing as players. They take responsibility for mistakes and learn from them, rather than blaming others.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, it’s also critical for you to help young athletes move on after experiencing setbacks or making mistakes. Give them that “flushing sign,” which means, “Flush it and move onto the next play.” Later, they can think about how they could learn from the mistake.

A Broken Child...

2011-03-17T22:20:00.003-05:00

THE BROKEN CHILD - A POEM OF YOUTH SPORTS TRAGEDY

Submitted by Dr. Alan Goldberg on Thu, 08/13/2009 - Dr. Goldberg is a noted sports psychologist...

The following poem was written by Mike Hall about his heartbreaking experience as a 10 year old with his coach-father.

"Your voice was like thunder that rocked my room and my world.
It shook my soul and crushed my spirit.
Where it came from doesn't matter.
You were wrong...the first time and the last.
There are no excuses and I am not to blame.
I will not accept that it was just your way of letting off steam.
Dad, you were a volcano erupting near my heart.
It wasn't smoke and ash that I feared,
it was the suffocating thought that tortured my brain...
the thought that there was nothing, nothing in the world that I could do,
to make you love the broken child
that was too scared to speak and too hurt to cry."

Coaching Tip...

2011-03-08T11:03:00.000-06:00

General Coaching Philosophy…

As a coach (and parent… you can help reinforce these qualities), our coaching philosophy has a tremendous impact on the development and performance of our players. How we think, what we do, how we motivate, how we conduct practice, and how we manage games determines to a large degree success or failure of our teams and players. There is an old saying about good coaches, “he can beat you with his players or your players, doesn’t matter.”

Talent is important no doubt; however, it is not and never has been the determining factor in success. If it were so, then the Yankees would win the World Series almost every year. Winning is a combination of things, talent only being one element… but one thing is for sure, “the best team (talent) doesn’t always win, the team that plays the best does.” … And so, the value of the coach.

Here are some thoughts that permeated my thinking over the past 25 years related to coaching players and teams. I will break it down into those two segments (individual player / team)…

· Individual player

o I must be able to identify his strengths and
weaknesses

o I must be able to guide him in his work to
overcome weaknesses and highlight strengths

o I must be able to change how he thinks in regard
to his work ethic

o I must be able to elevate his confidence and
expectations

o I must get him to subjugate his wants to the
team needs

o I must teach him the value of humility and
selflessness, which will lead to greatness

o I must instill in him a love and respect for the
game and how it should be played

o I must get him to believe in and trust me

· Team

o I must be able to identify strengths and
weaknesses

o I must be able to put players in the right positions (not necessarily for them individually, but in positions that make the team better as a whole)

o I must create the environment… (if I am a deadbeat, they will be too / if I whine and complain, they will too / if I blame, they will too / if I’m lazy, they will be too / if I quit, they will too… they will always be a reflection of me)

o I must guide them to a right attitude about playing together as a unit (we, not I)

o I must remove pressure from them and provide a relaxed environment for them to excel

o I must conduct practice that is fun, generates excitement and enthusiasm, and is efficient (no standing around… i.e., 1 line of 10 players to field ground balls)

o I must get them to believe in themselves and me

This is not an exhaustive list, but is some highlights. I found through the years that the better I did with these things, the better my teams and players performed.

Included below are some more thoughts…

· The flight of the ball (hit or thrown) tells you what happened. Watch the ball and ask, “WHY”… that will tell you what you need to correct or work on

· I must be able to explain well (confusion creates poor performance)

· I must be able to put myself in my players shoes… how does he feel, what is he thinking

· I must be able to read body language

· I must simplify, not confuse (more is not always better)

· I must know the difference between principles / fundamentals and freedom to utilize unorthodox or different methods/techniques. I can’t be too dogmatic… I must allow some freedom for my players to do what “feels” good, athletic, and natural

· There is more than one way to skin a cat. I don’t know it all. There are people who can help me and I need to seek them out and use them

· I must be process oriented, not result oriented. I must trust the process. Results are ALWAYS determined by the process (good or bad)

· I must realize that we don’t all react to words in the same way. The differences in our imaginations (what we see in our mind when we hear words), particularly about something so subjective as baseball, makes us more likely to grasp an idea in different ways. So, I must find what works for each individual player (one size does not fit all)

So, good luck coaching. You have chosen and are blessed with what I think is the profession that has the greatest impact on the life of a kid. I would encourage you to treat your role as a God-given opportunity to change lives for good and His glory! Stay the course, it gets lonely at times. To be a good coach takes courage, consistency, love, mercy, leadership, and an iron will. However, the rewards are forever!

If you will listen, it will help!

2011-02-24T08:51:00.001-06:00

Mentoring…

This is an email from one of our SOX dads that I thought productive to
pass along. I experienced some of the same things as a dad too. I have pulled
out some excerpts to peak your interest; however, I would suggest that you sit
down, relax, get a cup of coffee, and read in its entirety with an open mind.
The advice contained herein will allow you to reap rewards untold!

Dad or Coach - Pick one and trust your decision!

Excerpts
(full letter below)…

“… The reason I'm sharing all of this with you is because I can relate
directly to what many Dad's in our program are experiencing in relinquishing
the Coaching to someone else. I feel I can offer some advice if you choose to
pass it on. I have noticed over the past 6-8 wks several instances where a Dad
was attempting to Coach their Son during a private lesson, group workout, or
team practice. I've seen Dads go into cages, bullpens, and infields/outfields
while their Son was hitting with an instructor or Coach and try to tell their
son what he's doing wrong. Rarely are the Dads accurate with their assessment,
and even if they are...ITS DAD SAYING IT...deaf ears don't want to hear it…

“… After surrendering my reservations about not being Ryan's Coach for
the first time ever, I am 100% positive I made the right decision to back out
and place my faith in Coach Keith and the PSA staff. Ryan has progressed
tremendously in hitting, pitching, defense and more importantly his disciplined
approach and respect for the game…

“…I played a very important role in this process myself… I backed out! I'm no longer in the
"Coaching role" … This surrender was vital for Ryan to improve his
skills. He must gain trust in his new Coach and I knew this being a Coach
myself. He can’t look to me for approval or disapproval of the skills being
taught…

“…it isn't easy for me to watch him make mistakes in baseball and then
have to watch his Coach correct the issue.

“… My benefit of wearing both caps (Dad and Coach) has been advantageous
in helping me to stop "Coaching" my son. I've seen firsthand from
under the Coach's cap how detrimental it can be to have a Dad unwilling to let
go of the reigns.

“…I do not sit or stand just outside the cage and try to Coach or
discipline my Son. I'm paying PSA to do these things, and PSA has yet to fail
me…

Full Letter –

Terry

As you are well aware, I'm the Head Coach for the PSA Sox U9 Red team as
well as a professional pitching instructor at the PSA facility. With a solid baseball
background from JUCO to Division 1College Baseball and being blessed to have an
opportunity to play professionally with the Milwaukee Brewers organization
years ago, I am more equipped to teach our kids in the SOX Program to play
baseball than most Dad's. However, first and foremost I am a Dad with a Son in
the SOX program. My son Ryan, age 12, plays on the Sox U12 Red Team coached by
Keith Fitzgerald who played under your leadership at Ms Delta CC. I've had
several people, mostly Fathers of kids that play for the Sox program, ask me
over the past few months why I'm not Coaching my own Son? The answer is very
simple. I realized the Sox program was better equipped to Coach my Son than
myself. However arriving at this decision was anything but easy for me. I was
well aware that for the first time in Ryan's life, I would not be able to
attend all of his ballgames this season due to coaching the U9 team. I surely
will miss some opportunities to celebrate the highlights but more importantly
to be there for support when he stumbles and falls. It's tough as a Dad to
trust that someone else will be able do these things for you if you're not
around.

As you know, I pay the same monthly fee as the rest of Ryan's teammates,
to have someone other than myself Coach my son. Simply put, being that I'm a
paid Coach in the Sox Program, I would not pay this fee unless I had total
confidence in his Coach to demand the discipline, effort, and respect for the
game that I would. I was well aware that Coach Keith would be more effective
communicating to Ryan the hitting / defensive fundamentals and other advanced
techniques that we teach in the Sox program. This isn't due to me having a lack
of communication skills, it’s because I'm DAD! As most baseball Dad's
can attest, we reach a certain point in our Son's lives that almost overnight
we find our "wisdom" suddenly falls on deaf ears to our own sons.

After surrendering my reservations about not being Ryan's Coach for the
first time ever, I am 100% positive I made the right decision to back out and
place my faith in Coach Keith and the PSA staff. Ryan has progressed
tremendously in hitting, pitching, defense and more importantly his disciplined
approach and respect for the game. Any parent who's had a son play on one of my
teams will be the first to tell you, I demand discipline and respect for the
game from my players. However, while Coaching Ryan myself the past few years, a
large part of game discipline from DAD fell on those deaf ears. Yet, when Coach
Keith preaches discipline, Ryan gets it loud and clear. For this I am in debt
to Keith, however I must say, I played a very important role in this process
myself. As I stated earlier, I backed out! I'm no longer in the "Coaching
role" as far as Ryan is concerned, and Keith took the reins. This
surrender was vital for Ryan to improve his skills. He must gain trust in his
new Coach and I knew this being a Coach myself. He can’t look to me for
approval or disapproval of the skills being taught.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't easy for me to watch him make mistakes in
baseball and then have to watch his Coach correct the issue. I've always been
the 1st person to correct any "baseball" wrongs for my Son. My
benefit of wearing both caps (Dad and Coach) has been advantageous in helping
me to stop "Coaching" my son. I've seen firsthand from under the
Coach's cap how detrimental it can be to have a Dad unwilling to let go of the
reigns. There have been several times since Ryan has joined the PSA program
that he's approached me with a baseball question and I would simply redirect
him to Coach Keith or another professional instructor in the facility to get an
answer simply because the question pertained to hitting. I know for a fact
those guys are more equipped to answer his question since my background is in
pitching. I also am aware that it could be detrimental to Ryan's progression if
I try to answer a question without knowing for certain what I'm saying.

The reason I'm sharing all of this with you is because I can relate
directly to what many Dad's in our program are experiencing in relinquishing
the Coaching to someone else. I feel I can offer some advice if you choose to
pass it on. I have noticed over the past 6-8 wks several instances where a Dad
was attempting to Coach their Son during a private lesson, group workout, or
team practice. I've seen Dads go into cages, bullpens, and infields/outfields
while their Son was hitting with an instructor or Coach and try to tell their
son what he's doing wrong. Rarely are the Dads accurate with their assessment,
and even if they are...ITS DAD SAYING IT...deaf ears don't want to hear it.

Advice for Dad's -
I would like to share what's worked for me throughout this transition, bear in
mind, I am a professional instructor and Qualified PSA Sox Coach myself. When
my Son is practicing with Coach Keith, I absolutely do not get
involved in any fundamentals of Coaching unless I'm directly asked to by Keith.
Other than some advanced pitching fundamentals per Keith, I am not involved
with any aspect of Ryan's development, during practices or games, including
discipline...Especially Discipline!! If I were to get on to Ryan he would get
upset or angry because his DAD is being too critical. The Head Coach must
be the disciplinarian when present. If I see Ryan doing something half-hearted
or lazily, and Coach Keith for some reason or another missed it, I will not
say a word to Ryan unless I have already discussed the issue with Coach Keith
and he requests me to address it. I have never walked into a cage while Ryan
was hitting with Coach Keith or another PSA hitting instructor. In fact, I
usually make it a point to give them some distance. I do not sit or stand just
outside the cage and try to Coach or discipline my Son. I'm paying PSA to do
these things, and PSA has yet to fail me. The reason I don't get involved is
"common sense." If I'm paying someone to give my son swimming
lessons, my feet are not going to get wet unless my son is drowning. I know
every instructor at PSA personally, and none of us will allow a kid to go into
deep water until they're ready, much less drown.

In closing, I have one final piece of advice for our PSA Dads. Simply
sit back, relax, and enjoy watching your Son having fun. Enjoy seeing your son
reap the benefits of hard work as he's applying his professionally taught
skills in the tournaments and having success. Celebrate these highlights with
your Son and expect pitfalls to come. When they do, be ready to help him up
when he stumbles and falls. As I said at the beginning, this is what I fear I will
miss the most by not being Ryan's Coach this year. I consider this to be a
minor sacrifice considering the baseball skills and life lessons that I'm
confident he's learning from the PSA Program and Coach Keith in my absence.

Gabe Ishee

PSA
White Sox Pro Instructor

Pitching... Flat ground vs. Mound

2011-02-13T21:15:00.000-06:00

As we complete our Winter Group Workouts which included flat ground throwing, and as we prepare for Extended Group Workouts that will include bullpen work, I thought it helpful to offer some thoughts regarding flat ground pitching vs. mound pitching.

The reason I offer the following article for your consideration is that we heard some apprehension regarding the value of flat ground work vs. mound. Please read with an open mind and also keep in mind that there are various opinions regarding this topic...

Medical College study on pitching mound height provides insight into baseball injuries

23-Mar-2008 -- A study involving several Major League Baseball pitchers indicates that the height of the pitcher’s mound can affect the athlete’s throwing arm motion, which may lead to potential injuries because of stress on the shoulder and elbow.

The study was led by William Raasch, M.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, who also is the head team physician for the Milwaukee Brewers. Major League Baseball funded the study in an effort to help prevent injuries among professional baseball players.

The results of the study were presented at the 2007 MLB Winter Meetings at the joint session of the Major League Baseball Team Physicians Association and Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society.

The researchers recruited 20 top-level, elite pitchers from Major League Baseball organizations and Milwaukee-area NCAA Division I-A college pitchers for the study, which was conducted both during 2007 spring training in Arizona and at the Froedtert & Medical College Sports Medicine Center in Milwaukee.

“Our researchers employed a motion analysis system using eight digital cameras that recorded the three-dimensional positions of 43 reflective markers placed on the athletes’ bodies. Then we analyzed the pitching motion at mound heights of the regulation 10-inches, along with eight-inch and six-inch mounds, as well as having the athletes throw from flat ground,” Dr. Raasch explains.

The study focused on determining if there is increased stress on the shoulder or the elbow based on the height from which the pitcher has thrown. A kinematic analysis provided information regarding pitching motion (position and velocity), while the kinetic analysis determined the forces and torques generated at the shoulder and elbow.

“We found that compared to flat ground, pitchers using a 10-inch mound experience an increase in superior shear and adduction torque in the shoulder – meaning there’s a greater amount of stress on the joint surface and surrounding structures. That greater stress may result in injury to the shoulder including tearing of the rotator cuff or labrum which may result in surgery and long-term rehabilitation. It also can make it difficult for the athlete to replicate the same throw and develop a consistent strike,” Dr. Raasch says.

“The most notable kinematic difference was the increase in shoulder external rotation at foot contact. This probably represents a change in the timing of the foot contact relative to arm position, because the foot lands earlier in the pitch delivery during flat ground throwing than with a slope,” he says.
While the study did not result in enough data to recommend reducing the 10-inch mound height, which became standard in 1968 and also used in college and high school baseball, Dr. Raasch says the findings give trainers information that can help them determine if pitchers would be better off practicing on flat ground especially after an injury.

“Nolan Ryan, who played major league baseball for 27 years, often threw pitches more than 100 mph, even past the age of 40, and he liked to throw on flat ground in his waning years. I think others might follow his lead,” Dr. Raasch says. He adds that he hopes subsequent research during spring training in 2008 will provide even more valuable findings for baseball players and trainers.

Pitching Tips / Info

2011-02-04T05:35:00.002-06:00

Parents... following are some notes regarding pitching from USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee and The American Sports Medical Institute (Dr. James Andrews). Please note highlighted areas and our adopted pitch count guidelines that follow. You may also click on the following link to view the article in its entirety: http://baseballtips.com/pitchingreport.html

Note: This study was compiled on February 12, 1996 and was published by USA Baseball News in April of that year. The USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee updated their position statement on youth baseball injuries in May of 2004.

…"How any pitches should I allow my child to throw?" This is the most common question asked to sports medicine professionals by parents of youth baseball players.

The question really is how many pitches can a child throw without injuring the throwing arm. Organized leagues have shared this concern for several years; as a result, most youth leagues limit the number of innings a child may pitch. However, most people now believe that limits should be placed on the number of pitches, rather than the number of innings…

To determine recommendations, the USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee commissioned the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) to study pitch limits in youth baseball. ASMI sent survey to 85 baseball experts, consisting of orthopedic surgeons and coaches, about pitch limits and other injury factors…

…Several respondents commented on the concept and definition of rest. Issues such as whether a child should pitch at home or play different positions in games during the "rest period" were discussed. Some felt that youth pitchers throw too many total throws, while others felt that children today don't throw enough.

ASMI supports the belief that, in general, youth baseball players in the United States do not throw enough. While young pitchers should be given adequate rest after pitching in competition, they should also be encouraged to throw in other settings (playing other positions, playing catch with parent or friends, practicing pitching, etc.).

Throwing is necessary for a young pitcher to strengthen his/her arm and body. Common sense and listening to the pitcher for complaints of discomfort or fatigue can greatly help the coach or parent decide the right amount of rest and practice needed.

Opinions and comments on other safety-related issued in youth baseball were asked. Many respondents commented that the quality of the pitcher's mechanics is an important injury factor. The importance of strength training was also mentioned…

We encourage coaches to adhere to the guidelines and encourage parents to monitor pitch counts for their child.

SOX Pitch Count Guidelines (from the SOX Policy Manual)

The following are recommendations from Dr. James Andrews at The American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham. Dr. Andrews is the foremost sports orthopedic surgeon in the nation. These recommendations have been adopted by many youth leagues throughout the country including the SOX.

Age - Pitch count (many variables – early in season, late in season, maturity, strength, etc.)

14-16 95 pitches per day
11-13 85 pitches per day
9-10 75 pitches per day

A player may not pitch in more than one game in a day. Exception – A player may pitch in consecutive games if less than 21 pitches were pitched in the previous game. Pitchers must adhere to the following rest requirements:

If a player pitches 61 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a player pitches 41-60 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a player pitches 21-40 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar day of rest must be observed.

Important notes…

2011-02-01T23:43:00.001-06:00

In a never ending effort to provide relevant information and communication so that everyone can gain a clear understanding of the vision and heart of the SOX Program, I am including some notes that describe our expectations in some basic areas.

Group Workouts… This portion of the SOX Program is designed to provide REPETION in basic skills: hitting, fielding, throwing, and pitching. Currently we are engaged in hitting and pitching/catching. Both are intended to provide repetition in basic skills with each. Hitting includes minimal instruction in conjunction with 3 basic drills; T, flip, and live batting practice. Pitching includes minimal instruction in conjunction with 2 warm up routines that target specific mechanics (throwing over the front leg with a complete finish… alignment in body position and step (stride) / And, the start from the stretch position where the pitcher’s weight is over the back leg in an upright position). We teach pitchers to stay tall and stay back in order to access leverage at 2 points (back leg and front leg) and to attain a downhill angle on pitches. And a basic bullpen routine of throwing strikes to all locations (across the plate, arm side, middle but down, and up). Note… flat ground work is just as effective in these instructional areas as is the use of a mound.

Head Coaches… are the backbone of our program. We depend on the head coach to provide ALL instruction to his team/players. Head coaches are expected to adhere to the SOX Fundamentals as a guide to ensure consistency of instruction. In addition, the head coach provides leadership to his team in regard to support of the program, tournament play, and evaluation. We also expect our head coaches to be in compliance with pitch count guidelines and practice schedules.

Assistant Coaches… Each team’s assistant coaches are volunteers who assist the head coach with conducting practice and provide input in regard to players. Assistant coach involvement regarding instruction and development is intended to be subject to the direction and leadership of the head coach.

Instructors… PSA instructors are an integral part of the program. They conduct Group Workouts and provide individual instruction. The Program is based on the expectation that coaches will, through evaluation, encourage their players to access individual instruction to assist their players at improving weaknesses and to help them reach their potential. No doubt, this element is the most effective form of instruction in regard to fine tuning of skills.

Team Managers… these volunteer positions are invaluable to each team. The TM has the responsibility of assisting his head coach in regard to communication with parents, travel, and organization. In addition, the TM is expected to maintain communication with the SOX Director.

SOX Director… Oversees the Program, designs instructional opportunities, provides avenues for monitoring evaluation of players, sets and implements policy, works with team head coaches and team managers, available to assist all teams in any way needed, recruits, evaluates. monitors, and assists all team coaches, schedules instruction per team in regard to package opportunities… All of this is done with input from head coaches and team mangers.

Input, Questions, Grievances… At all times, we want to be open to input from parents in regard to the program. Constructive input is of great value to us in making adjustments to continue to improve the Program. Questions deserve answers, so we are open and available to answer any and all questions from parents in regard to any aspect of the program. We are confident in what we do; therefore, we are not afraid of questions. Grievances are inherent to any organization and we are not exempt. However, after following our procedures in hearing and considering grievances, we expect all to conform to decisions made. In all of these areas, we have a process in place to accommodate each; it is… First, contact your team head coach (not the TM). If the head coach needs assistance in regard to input, questions, or grievances, he will contact the SOX Director for assistance. If necessary, a meeting will be scheduled to discuss with all parties involved.

Helpful Quotes...

2011-01-26T12:45:00.000-06:00

Some interesting/helpful quotes from some "baseball" people...

Justin Verlander (pitcher with the Detroit Tigers)... Question - if you could give a baseball player one piece of advice that would stick with them for their entire life, what would it be? Answer - "Don't get discouraged if things aren't going well. I was never the best... always middle of the pack, had to work my way up, all the way through college. You never really know when you are going to blossom. Just take your time and love the game. Play the game because you love it, not because you want to get to a certain level. And, if it's meant to be, it will be."

Kyler Burke (2009 Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the year)... On uniforms - "I like a slight bend of the bill in my hat. The straight bill cap doesn't look like baseball; it looks like you are going to the mall."

Nolan Ryan (Former MLB pitcher and Hall of Fame Player; holds the record for strikeouts in MLB history)... "I never go for a strikeout, it just happens."

Jason Beck (Former college coach; currently owns the Next Level, a company that works with student athletes and parents to help them prepare for college or professional baseball)... Question... What are some things you are currently working on at the Next Level? - Answer... "We work on the basics; hitting, throwing, running. But we also deal with nutrition, mechanics, and attitude. Sometimes attitude separates similar athletes in the mind of a coach. We work to strengthen a player mentally and emotionally because the most important pitch is the next one you make or face. And, as the old saying goes... "Body language always screams, it never whispers."

Winter GW Schedule...

2011-01-12T09:37:00.000-06:00

Pitching/Catching…Week 1

Tuesday
3:00 Hill (p), Flumm (c) /
3:30 McLeod (p), Loposer (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:00 Clark (p), Ferguson (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:30 Ferguson (p), Lee (c) / Flumm (p), (c)
5:00 Lee (p), Davis (c) / Myers (p), Watt (c)
5:30 Overby (p), Graves(c) / Smith (p), Trammell(c)
6:00 Stevens(p)/ Overby(c) / Gibbs (p), Myers (c)
6:30 Taylor (p), Graves (c) / Trammell (p), Overby (c)
7:00 Brunini (p), Trammell (c) / Graves (p), Overby (c)
7:30 Sturgis (p), Thomas (c) /

Wednesday
3:00 Abdo (p), Hederman (c) / Fulton (p), Fowler (c)
3:30 White/Thomas (c) / Fowler (p), Fulton (c)
4:00 Hederman (p), Abdo (c) / Permenter (p), (c) ??
4:30 Irby (p), Breithaupt (c) / Eubank (p), (c) ??
5:00 Mazza, Morgan (p), Case, Gillis (c)
5:30 Case, Gregory (p), Morgan, Gillis (c)
6:00 Gillis, Thoms (p) Case, Morgan (c)
6:30 Harris (p), Jeffries (c) / Jones (p), Copeland (c)
7:00 Carron (p), Harvey (c) / Warren (p), Copeland (c)
7:30 Lape (p), Hill (c) / Hardin (p), (c)

Friday
3:00 Dubberly (p), Upton (c)
3:30 Upton (p), Dubberly (c) / Beard (p), Loome (c)
4:00 Bell (p), Clark (c) / Long (p), Long (p), Hickman (c)
4:30 K Clark (p), McCaa (P), Pee (c) / Hickman (p), Long (c)
5:00 B Boone (p), Woody(c) / Hodge (p), Lantz(c)
5:30 Woody (p), Wellborn(c) / Ishee (p), Lantz(c)
6:00 Lantz (p), Wellborn(c) / M Smith (p)/Woody(c)
6:30 Moore (p), Breithaupt (c) / 6:30 – Hill (p), Wolf (c)
7:00 Wolf (p), Hill (c)
7:30 Baldwin (p), Hill (c)

Pitching/Catching… Week 2

Tuesday
3:00 Hill (p), Flumm (c) /
3:30 McLeod (p), Loposer (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:00 Clark (p), Ferguson (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:30 Ferguson (p), Lee (c) / Flumm (p), (c)
5:00 Allen (p), Allen (c) / Lee (p), Davis (c)
5:30 Overby (p), Graves(c) / Smith (p), Trammell(c)
6:00 Stevens(p)/ Overby(c) / Gibbs (p), Myers (c)
6:30 Taylor (p), Graves (c) / Trammell (p), Overby (c)
7:00 Brunini (p), Trammell (c) / Graves (p), Overby (c)
7:30 Sturgis (p), Thomas (c) /

Wednesday
3:00 Abdo (p), Hederman (c) / Fulton (p), Fowler (c)
3:30 White, Thomas (c) / Fowler (p), Fulton (c)
4:00 Hederman (p), Abdo (c) / Permenter (p), (c) ??
4:30 Irby (p), Breithaupt (c) / Eubank (p), (c) ??
5:00 Morgan, Reid (p) / Thoms, Gillis (c)
5:30 Thoms, Savell (p) / Case, Gillis (c)
6:00 Mazza, Wilkins (p) Case, Thoms (c)
6:30 Harris (p), Jeffries (c) / Jones (p), Copeland (c)
7:00 Carron (p), Harvey (c) / Warren (p), Copeland (c)
7:30 Lape (p), Hill (c) / Hardin (p), (c)

Friday
3:00 Dubberly (p), Upton (c)
3:30 Upton (p), Dubberly (c) / Beard (p), Loome (c)
4:00 Bell (p), Clark (c) / Long (p), Hickman (c)
4:30 K Clark (p), McCaa (P), Pee (c) / Hickman (p), Long (c)
5:00 J Boone (p), Woody (c) / Hicks (p), Warren( c)
5:30 Woody (p), Wellborn (c) / Ishee (p), Warren (c)
6:00 Warren (p), Wellborn (c) / Hodge (p), Woody (c)
6:30 Moore (p), Breithaupt (c) /
6:30 – Hill (p), Wolf (c)
7:00 Wolf (p), Hill (c)
7:30 Baldwin (p), Hill (c)

Pitching/Catching…Week 3

Tuesday
3:00 Hill (p), Flumm (c) /
3:30 McLeod (p), Loposer (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:00 Clark (p), Ferguson (c) / Pepper (p), Pepper (c)
4:30 Ferguson (p), Lee (c) / Flumm (p), (c)
5:00 Allen (p), Allen (c) / Lee (p), Davis (c)
5:30 Overby (p), Graves(c) / Smith (p), Trammell(c)
6:00 Stevens(p)/ Overby(c) / Gibbs (p), Myers (c)
6:30 Taylor (p), Graves (c) / Trammell (p), Overby (c)
7:00 Brunini (p), Trammell (c) / Graves (p), Overby (c)
7:30 Sturgis (p), Thomas (c) /

Wednesday
3:00 Abdo (p), Hederman (c) / Fulton (p), Fowler (c)
3:30 White (p), Thomas (c) / Fowler (p), Fulton (c)
4:00 Hederman (p), Abdo (c) / Permenter (p), (c) ??
4:30 Irby (p), Breithaupt (c) / Eubank (p), (c) ??
5:00 Mazza (p), Gregory (c) / Case (p), Gillis (c)
5:30 Morgan (p), Jones (c) / Case (p), Gillis (c)
6:00 Reid (p), Wilkins (c) / Morgan (p), Jones (c)
6:30 Harris (p), Jeffries (c) / Jones (p), Copeland (c)
7:00 Carron (p), Harvey (c) / Warren (p), Copeland (c)
7:30 Lape (p), Hill (c) / Hardin (p), (c)

Friday
3:00 Dubberly (p), Upton (c)
3:30 Upton (p), Dubberly (c) / Beard (p), Loome (c)
4:00 Bell (p), Clark (c) / McCaa (p), Clark (c)
4:30 K Clark (p), McCaa (c) /
5:00 J Boone (p), Warren (c) B Boone (p), Lantz(c)
5:30 Warren (p), Lantz(c) Hicks (p) Wellborn(c)
6:00 Lantz (p), Warren(c) Smith (p), Wellborn (c)
6:30 Moore (p), Breithaupt (c) /
6:30 – Hill (p), Wolf (c)
7:00 Wolf (p), Hill (c) / Long (p), Hickman (c)
7:30 Baldwin (p), Hill (c) / Hickman (p), Long (c)

Hitting…Week 1

Monday
3:00 Reed / Sheffield
3:30 Ferguson / McLeod
4:00 Summerlin / Patterson
4:30 Ray / Williams
5:00 B. Boone / J. Boone
5:30 Overby / Trammell
6:00 Taylor / Smith
6:30 Brunini / Stevens
7:00 Hicks / Wellborn
7:30 Callahan / Lee
8:00 Watt / Beard

Wednesday
3:00 T Pepper / D Pepper
3:30 Abdo / Hederman
4:00 White / Lee
4:30 Permenter / Morgan
5:00 Eubank / Irby
5:30 Hill / Jeffries
6:00 Carron / Harvey
6:30 Lape Savell
7:00 Gregory / Gillis
7:30 K Clark / Wilkins
8:00 Thoms / Jones

Thursday
3:00 Case / Mazza
3:30 Pound / Crawley
4:00 Cumberland / Bell
4:30 McBride / Brown
5:00 Martin / Doss
5:30 Paul / Smith
6:00 Graves / Walker
6:30 McNair / Berry
7:00 Damon / Hodge
7:30 Hubbard / Hubbard
8:00 Sheffield / Flumm

Hitting… Week 2

Monday
3:00 Reed / Sheffield
3:30 Ferguson / McLeod
4:00 Summerlin / Patterson
4:30 Ray / Williams
5:00 Woody / Wellborn
5:30 Overby / Trammell
6:00 Taylor / Smith
6:30 Brunini / Stevens
7:00 B Boone / J Boone
7:30 Callahan / Lee
8:00 Watt / Beard

Wednesday
3:00 T Pepper / D Pepper
3:30 Abdo / Hederman
4:00 White / Lee
4:30 Permenter / Morgan
5:00 Eubank / Irby
5:30 Hill / Jeffries
6:00 Carron / Harvey
6:30 Lape Savell
7:00 Gregory / Gillis
7:30 K Clark / Wilkins
8:00 Thoms / Jones

Thursday
3:00 Case / Mazza
3:30 Pound / Crawley
4:00 Cumberland / Bell
4:30 McBride / Brown
5:00 Martin / Doss
5:30 Paul / Smith
6:00 Graves/Walker
6:30 McNair / Berry
7:00 Damon/Lantz
7:30 Hubbard/Hubbard
8:00 Sheffield / Flumm

Hitting…Week 3

Monday
3:00 Reed / Sheffield
3:30 Ferguson / McLeod
4:00 Summerlin / Patterson
4:30 Ray / Williams
5:00 M. Smith/ Lantz
5:30 Overby / Trammell
6:00 Taylor / Smith
6:30 Brunini / Stevens
7:00 Hodge / Warren
7:30 Callahan / Lee
8:00 Thoms / Jones

Wednesday
3:00 T Pepper / D Pepper
3:30 Abdo / Hederman
4:00 White / Lee
4:30 Permenter / Morgan
5:00 Eubank / Irby
5:30 Hill / Jeffries
6:00 Carron / Harvey
6:30 Lape Savell
7:00 Gregory / Gillis
7:30 K Clark / Wilkins
8:00 Watt / Beard

Thursday
3:00
3:30 Pound / Crawley
4:00 Cumberland / Bell
4:30 Case / Mazza
5:00 Martin / Doss
5:30 Paul / Smith
6:00 Graves/Walker
6:30 McNair / Berry
7:00 Damon / Ishee
7:30 Hubbard/Hubbard
8:00 Sheffield / Flumm

Group Workouts... winter

2011-01-11T22:13:00.001-06:00

The Winter Group Workouts will begin next week... hitting Monday January 24 and bullpens Tuesday January 25. They will run for three consecutive weeks. Your coaches have done a great job working with me to complete the scheduling process, which has been a big task. Please confirm with your coach that you know the days/times scheduled for your son and have them at the workouts on time. If for some reason you must miss a workout, please notify your coach who will in turn notify me. The schedule will be posted on the PSA website under White Sox.

I want to make you aware of the process involved in the group workouts...

These workouts are primarily intended to provide repetitions. They are not individual lessons and are not intended to be instructional in nature. Minimal instruction will occur, however, the focus will be on reps which are an integral part of player development.
The bullpen workouts are designed to give our pitchers an opportunity to get in additional work with their catchers prior to the season start. The more they work together, the better they will perform. This is why it is important for our pitchers to throw their bullpen to their catcher. The bullpen routine will include... work on making first pitch strikes, throwing to both sides of the plate, throwing from the stretch and windup, work on fastballs, changeups, and slip pitches, and alternating pitch combinations.
Batting practice sessions will provide work that will include T, Flip, and Live hitting.
Both the bullpen and BP sessions are set up for 30 minutes. This will allow ample time for each player to get in a lot of work since only 2 players are involved with each.
Parents, please do not congregate in the bullpen or BP areas and please do not coach your son during the workouts.

These Group Workouts are included as part of your package as a SOX player. In addition to GW you have available to you 2 free lessons and 10 hours of customized instruction per team.

Questions...

2010-12-11T22:07:00.000-06:00

The SOX blog has been silent for a while, but it’s time to crank up again. I have been somewhat overwhelmed dealing with doctors in Jackson, Nashville, and Houston. My wife is hanging in there, however, a long way from the finish line. Thanks for all of your prayers and support.

And now a Blog!

The season is just around the corner! Enjoy Christmas and then get ready for a great year.

Recently, I have been asked questions pertaining to various topics by my pitching parents and by a few SOX parents. In this blog, l will answer these questions from my perspective. The questions have centered on some basic concepts that impact the development of your son.

Before I begin, I want to qualify every answer with this statement, “it depends...” Please remember that your child is only 7-12 years old and may not yet have formed a work ethic that is comparable to a major league athlete. For goodness sake, they are kids. Let them be kids. They need to enjoy friends, games, other sports, etc. Diversity is good for most kids. And, be PATIENT!

From my experience I would offer the following advice…

Question… What is enough? How much do I push him? Do I force my son to work out?

Answer… There is a balance in all of this. As a parent, you have to determine what it is. Like I said earlier, they cannot be expected to have the regimen of a MLB player. However, they do need to work on skills. And this work needs to be centered on REPITITION of fundamentals. Baseball is a game of repetition. For this stuff to have an impact on their development, they have to get to the point where they (not you) want to work (hit, field, throw, pitch). Teach them discipline and organization. And, be PATIENT!

Question… What is my role as parent in his development regarding baseball?

Answer… Encourage, support, and provide opportunities. Be there for them, provide guidance and advice, and get them in front of people who can not only teach, but mentor as well. Help them to enjoy what they do (have fun) and try to remove pressure from them. Encourage them when they fail (which they will). Allow them to play their way onto a team, into the lineup and a position, and a spot on the mound. Let them do it! Go to a game and just watch and cheer every player when they do well instead of barking instructions at your son when he is hitting or pitching. You may be amazed at the results. And, be PATIENT!

Question… Do I have a realistic evaluation of my son?

Answer… No, you probably don’t! But you can learn, and so can your child. I have noticed two very detrimental attitudes from parents regarding this. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

One is to believe your child can do no wrong, is better than everyone else, and deserves to hit in the middle of the lineup or be the #1 pitcher or play shortstop, regardless of the facts or needs of the team. We all (including me) have a tendency to look at our children through rose colored glasses and believe they are better than they actually are. We have trouble seeing faults and weaknesses.

The second negative is this… Some always put their child down, always critical of their effort and performance. It’s never good enough. You place unrealistic demands on your child to make every play, get every hit, and make every pitch. You could not do it, so why would you expect your child to. Story… I was working with one of my pitching students recently with a parent who kept putting pressure on them. They constantly said things like, “why can’t you do that?” “It’s not that hard.” After listening to this unproductive prodding for a couple of weeks and determining that it was a habit and pattern, I (very politely and respectively), asked the parent to try to do what I was trying to get the son to do. Guess what? The parent could not do it either and looked worse than the child. The criticism stopped! The criticism from this parent was holding the kid back so that he had no chance of making this adjustment. And, guess what? After a few weeks of no negativity and pressure from the parent, the child finally made the adjustment.

In regard to evaluation, I would also say that you need to let us evaluate. You have been provided with a means of getting an evaluation every time you attend a lesson or group workout with one of our instructors. Take advantage of this! And, be PATIENT!

Question… What should my priorities be?

Answer… Teach your son to:

• Excel at being a member of the team

• Accept his role based on team needs, not individual desires. Your child’s role may change from year to year and team to team because of the makeup of each team.

• Be confident, yet humble. He must believe in himself and his abilities, but cannot be arrogant.

• Learn the principle of, “you reap what you sow”

• Be a servant, not always demanding his way

• Develop a good attitude. I had this quote from Zig Ziglar on the wall in my locker room when I coached, “Out of the soul of man flow his attitudes. And his attitude, not his aptitude, will determine his altitude in life. In the final analysis, the depth of his spirit will determine the height of his success.” Character is vital!

• Have high expectations and set lofty goals (but be realistic).

• Play hard, play to win (not just go 4 for 4, but to help his team win).

• Learn this principle and develop this attitude… “Make (not demand) the coach play you… because of attitude, effort, improvement, performance… don’t give me something I don’t deserve, but if I prove it, give me a chance.

• Trust, love, believe, and hope

Something to think about… Please feel free to call or email me whenever you have questions. That’s what I’m here for. And, be PATIENT!

TEAM WINS...

2010-10-22T22:45:00.000-05:00

Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers won the American League Championship tonight defeating the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees. Hamilton was named the MVP of the series. Click on the link below to see a 5 minute video on Josh Hamilton...

Psalm 50:15 "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

Josh Hamilton (click below)...

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/i-am-second-josh-hamilton/61aa000e48efc8e3872161aa000e48efc8e38721-202043425028?q=i%20am%20second&FORM=VIRE3

Thoughts for PARENTS...

2010-10-19T07:09:00.000-05:00

Parents,

In an effort to be transparent and to help education all of you in how the SOX Program operates and the philosophy behind it, I want to make available to you some of our internal interaction from time to time. Sometimes I think many of you don't know what all goes on behind the scenes to make this program a success. We have a lot of moving parts and making them all sync is a huge challenge. So, I have included below a copy of some internal communication between me, coaches, and team managers. Hopefully some of this transparancy will help you see the effort and thought process that goes on below the surface.

Thanks for your support of the SOX Program. You have made the RIGHT decision to be here.
Terry

Coaches,

As I inch my way along in trying to make adjustments to do my job in a way to best meet the vision (evaluation and instruction) of our program, there are a few things I will do differently this year. They are:

· Monitor pitch counts in tournament play
· Monitor innings played in tournament play
These 2 things will allow me to identify players who are struggling and interact with you to help elevate their performance. To do this, I need your Tournament Reports each week by Tuesday

· Monitor semi-disasters
For example: in a tournament, your team goes 0-3 and gives up 55 runs and scores 6. Or: in a tournament, your pitchers walk 52 batters in 4 games. Meet with you individually when some of these things occur

· Meet with you on a regular basis to get your input and for all of us to help each other
· Meet with TM’s on a regular basis for the same reason
My thought/philosophy on how to structure the program is for us (Me, You, and TM) to have enough interaction so that we all have a clear understanding of how the program operates and expectations. And so, we are ONE voice in working/interacting with parents regarding any and all questions that may arise

· Work with you to set up workouts (customized / individual) to help fix identified weaknesses of individual players and teams. This should be done during November / December

· Work with you to continually evaluate your team needs throughout the season

· See all teams play early in the spring, but focus on teams that are struggling

· Hold us all accountable for:
1) Player development/improvement
2) Individualized instruction to meet the needs of each player
3) Team instruction
4) Player and parent expectations
5) WINNING! Yes, winning is important (although not the most important factor)
In order of importance:
     Evaluation
     Instruction
     Expectations
     Winning (winning is a by-product of the first 3)

BASIC FOUNDATIONAL THOUGHT…we (me, you, TM) work as a TEAM, to meet our expectations and goals…and, we are all accountable (to God, to the program, to each other, to our players, and to our parents.

Just some information to help us all filter into the system and our roles. Don’t forget our mandatory meeting Nov. 2. In this meeting, I will lay out the thought process behind the WHOLE program.

Thanks for all you do…I believe we have some outstanding coaches (and TM’s) and look forward to working with you.

State Tournament

2010-10-15T15:58:00.001-05:00

What a great feat for our program...the 2 teams playing in the finals of the USSSA State Tournament (fall) are our's! U10 Red and Blue battled it out for the championship, with Red prevailing 8-5. Congratulations to both teams for a job well done!

Texas Rangers...

2010-10-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

As I watched the post game analysis of the Rangers and Rays playoff game, I heard one thing that I know from experience to be so true… “Teams win, not players.” When I heard this, I wished that all of our SOX parents were listening. The announcers (all former MLB players) said the same thing, “The Rangers won because they (to a man) didn’t care if they went 0 for 4 or 4 for 4…didn’t care who hit where in the lineup…or who pitched when. All they cared about was winning…together. No one was sitting in the dugout moping and pouting.

I’ll try to be soft with this, but I do want to be clear. This is a problem in youth baseball. One that is very detrimental to a kid…and a team. This selfish attitude will not only affect a kid today on his team, but will also have a negative effect on his life for the future. How he is trained today, will be what he relies on tomorrow. Maybe a little blunt…maybe a little “old school”, but it’s the God’s honest truth.

No doubt, the kids who eventually develop, progress, and grow to love this great game, are the ones who receive encouragement and support, are not allowed to blame or make excuses, absorb instruction, and develop a great work ethic. Talent is talent; however, it can be developed, but no one can create talent. As the old saying goes, “it is what it is.” Our vision is to help all of our players reach their potential…sad thing is, most never do in the world of youth baseball…we want to be the exception! And, we want to instill in parents the attitude of PATIENCE. You have to see beyond the trees…you have to see TOMORROW, not just today. And you have to trust us that we know what we are doing. We have no hidden agenda.

By instilling this attitude in our players and parents, we will give them everything necessary that will allow them to reach their potential athletically. They deserve to learn the game the right way! Hopefully that’s one of the overriding reasons you joined the SOX Program…because our vision is different than the norm for youth baseball. You have to change your paradigm.

After coaching for 27 years, I became keenly aware of those things (attitudes) that make or break a team, and ultimately a player. Here are a few life givers and a few killers in your child’s development as a player:

• Without a doubt, the #1 killer of a team is selfishness…selfishness kills
• Without a doubt, the # 1 character trait of a great player is attitude…attitude builds
• Repetition is essential in developing players…maybe a little boring at times, but it is critical. Repetition builds.
• You can either turn left or turn right with every event and situation
     o Left to negative (negative kills)
     o Right to positive (positive builds)
     o It is a choice
• Trust…trust that your child will play their way into a position or certain spot in the batting order
• When people think they are owed something…it kills
• When people think they owe something…it builds
• ME is not a good word
• US is

Hooray for the Texas Rangers! Because of their win, this TEAM mentality is at the forefront of the discussion among MLB analysts. Thank you for making all of us aware of how to truly play the game!

Update on my wife

2010-10-06T14:04:00.000-05:00

I want to thank all of you who have spoke words of encouragement or sent notes during the past 4 weeks. We continue to pray for healing as we travel this road that God has marked out for us during this time.

We have begun a Caringbridge website to keep family and friends posted on our progress and to let you know of specific prayer needs.

You can view our site by clicking ... http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joannethompson1/journal. You will be prompted to sign in, but it is a very easy process.

Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

To God be the Glory!

Fall Slam Tournament

2010-10-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

Our first tournament of the year was a huge success. Many of our teams gained much needed experience and coaches had the opportunity to evaluate their players/teams in action.

SOX U10 Blue were tournament champs in their division...congratulations! See photos below...

Thought for the week!

2010-09-27T08:34:00.002-05:00

I saw this in a restaurnaunt in Dallas!

Thoughts...

2010-09-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I have prayed about what to write about on the first blog of the new season with our new SOX teams. So many thoughts raced through my brain and I wanted this first blog to set the tone for the year. However, I finally settled on this topic, what is the most important thing I can tell you related to your child and baseball. Several thoughts come to mind, so I will relay all of them to you.

As I observed and was intimately involved in select baseball this past year, I noticed several things that were detrimental to a kid’s development. I also observed that there are a lot of people who don’t have a clue about the game but think they do. Well meaning as they are, they do some very strange things in an effort to provide for their child related to baseball.

The starting point, I guess, is this thought…Baseball is baseball, whether you are 9 or 29…whether you are playing youth select or MLB. It is the same game. The fundamentals don’t change. Whatever the level, you still have to catch, throw, hit and run. Fielding a ground ball is fielding a ground ball. Pitching is still pitching. The only difference is experience, talent, and the pace of the game. The game becomes faster the older you get…but it is still the same game.

Instead of telling you all the things wrong with the culture of youth baseball, I want to begin on a positive note. Today, I want to tell you the things that will lead to an enjoyable experience for you and your child and will help them in their baseball development.

1. Let them play…Too much information (over coaching) is confusing. Fun makes for better learning and development. Be there for them to encourage and support them through the good and the bad.

2. Let them fail…failure is oftentimes one of our greatest teachers. I heard someone say it like this, “failure is not an option, it is a necessity.”

3. Don’t coach unless you know what you are talking about…that’s what we are here for. If you want to help reinforce correct techniques and fundamentals, find out what your team coach, instructors, or individual instructor teaches and say the same thing. However, keep in mind this old saying, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Refer to the SOX Fundamentals on our website for some guidance.

4. Pressure is not the problem…the way it is handled is the problem. Don’t add pressure to them…pressure is a performance killer. Good coaches are always looking for ways to remove pressure from their players. To perform at maximum capacity, you have to play this game loose and relaxed.

5. Challenge them…we usually do what is expected of us. You must set realistic, but challenging expectations.

6. Don’t confuse them…keep it simple. Yelling instructions at your child during a game or practice is not very conducive to performance. When a child (or an adult for that matter) receives multiple messages simultaneously they ALWAYS perform poorly.

7. Encourage them…don’t beat them down. Focus on the positive, not the negative.

8. Don’t make excuses for them…help them to confront their weaknesses and poor performance.

9. Don’t blame…it is human tendency to want to point a finger and blame someone or something for failure. Most times it is our fault.

10. Don’t assume…ask. Go to the source. Be transparent and open.

11. Effort = Success…help them to develop a strong work ethic. Teach them that what they get out of baseball is in direct proportion to what they put into it. Teach them to be over-comers.

12. Don’t expect something for nothing…you can’t politic, whine, complain, badger, or intimidate your way to the top. It takes talent, effort, attitude, and selflessness. Your child will have to do it, not you.

13. You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole…no matter how badly you want your child to hit in the 4 hole, play shortstop, or be the #1 pitcher, sometimes it is just not the best option for the team or them. They will eventually play themselves into the right position.

14. Trust us…collectively, we have been doing this stuff a long time. This is what we do. We wouldn’t visit your office and tell you how to run your business. You wouldn’t go to the hospital with a broken bone and tell the doctor how to fix it. Give us the same courtesy. We really do want what’s best for all of our players.

15. Let it happen…don’t try to force the issue. Let your child have the freedom to flourish at their pace.

16. Attitude…this is the key ingredient!

We all live under the influence of principles. Principles are there whether we acknowledge them or not. We may not even know they exist, but they still are in operation in our lives. One significant principle is the biblical Principle of the Harvest…it goes like this: you reap what you sow; every time. You can’t plant tomatoes and harvest corn. By the same token, you can’t plant greed, selfishness, laziness, lack of effort, blame, criticism, and harvest something good. You will ALWAYS harvest what you plant.

However, if you plant effort, respect, selflessness, understanding, trust, you will ALWAYS reap a good harvest...ALWAYS! Invest in your child wisely!

Proverbs 20:4
A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall

Galatians 6:9
So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit.

Tryouts

2010-08-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

Parents,

After much discussion among us, we feel that it is not necessary for our current players to attend tryouts. All of you are in our system and we have evaluated your son for 10 months which is sufficient. Our current players are required to register, but do not have to attend the tryouts. As you have been told, our goal is to reward players who perform well and improve and also to strengthen each team. In order for you to be considered for a spot on our 2011 roster, you must be registered in our system by August 21.

Thank you for your loyalty to the SOX program and PSA.

Terry Thompson
SOX Director

USSSA Elite 32 World Series

2010-08-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

Our U9 Red and Blue team finished the season by qualifying for the USSSA Elite World Series @ Disney in Orlando. Congratulations to both for a great season! Now, a little time off, then tryouts August 21 and 28.

U9 Blue is pictured below.

World Series Update

2010-08-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

Orlando, Florida...USSSA Elite 32 World Series

Sox Red defeated the Illinois Tornado U9 team in their first game and Florida Miracles in game two. They begin bracket play on Tuesday with 2-0 record..

Sox Blue lost their first game to the Georgia Red Sox 5 to 4.

More updates as the week progresses. Go SOX!

Commitment

2010-07-27T23:42:00.003-05:00

COMMITMENT! What a powerful word. This word, if digested and incorporated into our core can propel us to heights unimaginable...it can carry us to a place that few today venture...it can change the trajectory of our lives. And, on the flip side, lack of it can be our undoing and can hinder our development. Lack of it can prevent one from reaching their potential and fully utilizing their gifts and talents.

Problem is that this is not a popular word today. We live in a culture ripe with selfishness, pride, and disloyalty. Our culture has taught us to take care of #1, to win (or get what I want at any cost)...And we all suffer in the wake of this monster of an attitude.

Of course, I am thinking about this word for a reason. I have encountered it repeatedly through the years as a professional athlete and as a coach. I have repeatedly been challenged to live up to the definition. And, to a large degree, our view of this simple word, determines our destiny (and that of our children).

I have attached a link below to a message from Scott Turner a former NFL defensive back. He gave this message in Plano, TX (suburb of Dallas) about 2 weeks ago and I think it is very appropriate to post it on our blog as a reminder to us all that COMMITMENT is important...not just in baseball or life, but in our relationship with God. It is an awesome message, one that I hope will inspire and encourage you.

Click to view: http://www.prestonwood.org/plano/messages--media/saturday-nights/living-a-life-fully-committed-to-christ-sat-nights/

Mid Summer Notes...

2010-07-26T01:34:00.002-05:00

This was my first go-around with select baseball. It was a very interesting year and I learned a lot. One thing that I have noticed is that this time of year is a rat race…Teams jockeying for position for the next season, players jumping from team to team, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead. I see very little long range vision on the outside, only the desire to put together the latest best team. Throughout my career as a coach, I have never forgotten what an older, wiser coach once told me when I was just starting…He said, “anyone can put together a team, but it takes special people with a vision for the future to build a program.” No doubt it takes hard work and commitment.

As all of this takes place, and as we approach our SOX tryouts in August, I want to remind all of our parents of a few very important things:

• We appreciate you giving us the opportunity to work with your child this year and hope you have seen progress and development

• That this is a long range deal…no quick fixes, no microwave oven. The SOX program may not be for everyone…it will be of little value to those who have no vision for the future and jump from team to team; however, it is for those who can see past today and understand that consistent evaluation and instruction over an extended period of time is the best track for the development of their child. It is the best track for those whose ultimate goal is high school, college, and beyond. It is for those who trust our collective experience and knowledge of the game. It is for those who are not overly concerned with what position their child plays or where they hit in the batting order, it is for those who are concerned with their child reaching their potential in the best possible environment

• We have made adjustments for next year to improve what we do and will release that information soon. We have diligently worked toward this end and have taken our experiences and your input to help us formulate our plan for 2010-2011. We think you will benefit greatly from the adjustments.

• We worked closely with your team coach this past year to customize instruction for many of our teams and players. We discussed strengths and weaknesses of players who accessed group and individual instruction and worked closely together to help your child improve. And although we interacted and worked closely with each other during the year, we know that we need to be more transparent and visible to you

• All of our teams improved

• Although we have many teams, we have one program. Our goal is to make sure your child is on the right team that will give them the best opportunity to reach their potential

• We believe that the quality of our people and instruction is second to none

• In all of this, it is our heart to give God the glory and help each of our players discover their purpose

Thanks for your support and patience! We hope to see you at tryouts in August.

You can click on the following link to register for tryouts: http://www.psa360.com/content.cfm?id=104

Questions?

2010-07-12T10:03:00.001-05:00

Why should I be on a SOX team? What is the benefit?

Good question…and deserves a good answer. I think there are several reasons and will list a few:

• First of all, I would say that one of the greatest benefits is long range. We are in the infancy of the SOX program; however, our Vision is to develop high school level teams. Our thought is that this will provide a natural flow from youth baseball all the way to high school…and even beyond. This summer we have formed a U16 team to compete at a high level in prominent tournaments. This is limited at present, but we plan to expand the number of teams and opportunities for our SOX players so that they receive the maximum exposure to college and professional scouts. Our vision is that this will naturally lead to other opportunities that we will provide our players, i.e., recruiting assistance/guidance.

• Second, is the level and quality of instruction we will provide our players. As we tweak our program and make necessary adjustments, we believe the instruction provided to SOX players will be second to none. Our combined experience (coaching, playing) is unmatched by any organization or program not only in Mississippi, but we believe regionally as well.

• Consistency of instruction is another reason to become a SOX player. Unlike most youth teams, our players will benefit from years of consistent, quality instruction from former college and professional athletes. In addition, the collaborative efforts of our coaches and instructors, is unmatched.

• Evaluation of our players is a high priority. This evaluation is unbiased and is determined by multiple coaches/instructors to identify player strengths and weaknesses and then provide instructional programs that will help our players improve. We all know that quality evaluation and instruction is at the heart of player development.

• We incorporate an additional element as well. Our heart is in leadership and ministry. Our vision is to provide our players with mentors that will honor God and teach and model life changing principles to those in our organization. We will create an atmosphere on our teams and within our organization that is distinctly Christian.

• And finally, our organizational structure provides many benefits not available to single teams. Our structure has been put together by coaches who have been successful at the highest levels. It also provides training and support for all young coaches entering our program to ensure that (long range) they have access to proven methods and practices. In addition, as an organization, we will seek to eliminate all the drama and politics that permeates youth baseball. We will be consistent in our approach of empowering our coaches to operate in this type environment. This, of course, is a long range vision, that will get better and better with each year of existence.

We believe that our vision and organizational structure is unmatched…that is why you should consider the long range benefits of being a SOX player!

Pitcher Workout Routine and Notes

2010-07-11T00:06:00.002-05:00

I thought I would blog this info pertaining to a basic pitcher routine for the year. I recently supplied this info to one of our SOX pitchers. He was injured during the spring and his dad asked for a maintinance routine for the year as a guide. Keep in mind that this is only a guide...one size does not fit all...but all pitchers no matter their age can adapt this program for their specific use.

Routines are very valuable in the training process and give one a guide to follow to stay on track and to work on specific needs. Also, in conjunction with a comprehensive training routine, cardio, stretching, and strength should be incorporated to provide a base to support the arm. Over a long season, the arm can break down if cardio, stretching, and strength are ignored.

One final note or warning, SOX guidelines should be followed in regard to pitch counts and rest requirements. From experience and research, more pitchers are injured from not adhering to proper rest requirements between pitching outings than violating pitch counts. If you will observe, even major league pitchers are on strict pitch counts and rest requirements.

Pitcher Workout Routine (year)

Fall (September - October)
Long Toss 3-4 days/week - warm up at 50', then increments of 70', 100', 130'...can increase increments as arm strength develops...12-15 throws at each increment. No throws on a line...all throws at about 80%. Increments depend on level of soreness...the better he feels, the more increments he can do. Limited also by games...reduce increments immediately before and after games pitched. Rest 1-2 days/week. Adhere to SOX requirements regarding pitch counts and rest between outings. Bullpen session 1-2 days/week depending on games pitched. Cardio 3 days/week. Stretching routine 2-4 days/week.

Winter (November - December)
Rest...no throwing for 2-4 weeks. Bullpen/mechanical sessions 1 day/week. Toss 50'-100' 2 days/week. Leg workout...include balance, agility, plyometrics... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics , sprints, distance 2 days/week. Medicine ball, push up, sit up routine or light weights 2-3 days/week. Stretching routine 2-4 days/week.

Pre-Season (January - February)
Long Toss 3-4 days/week - warm up at 50', then increments of 70', 100', 130'...can increase increments as arm strength develops...12-15 throws at each increment. No throws on a line...all throws at about 80%. Increments depend on level of soreness...the better he feels the more increments he can do. Limited also by games...reduce increments immediately before and after games pitched. Rest 1-2 days/week. Bullpen session 1-2 days/week depending on games pitched. Leg workout...include balance, agility, plyometrics, sprints, distance 2-3 days/week. Medicine ball, push up, sit up routine or light weights 2-3 days/week. Stretching routine 2-4 days/week.

Spring Season (March - June)
Bullpen 1 day/week with tournament or game pitched. Bullpen 2 days/week with no tournament or game pitched. Adhere to SOX requirements regarding pitch counts and rest between outings. Long Toss 2-3 days/week - warm up at 50', then increments of 70', 100', 130'...can increase increments as arm strength develops. No throws on a line...all throws at about 80%. Increments depend on level of soreness...the better he feels, the more increments he can do. Limited also by games...reduce increments immediately before and after games pitched. Rest...no throwing 1-2 days/week. Cardio...sprints and distance running 3 days/week.
Stretching routine 2-4 days/week.

Summer (July - August)
Bullpen/mechanical sessions 1 day/week. Toss 50' - 100' 2-3 days/week. Rest...no throwing 2-4 weeks

Included below are some links to sites that will help you with stretching.

http://magazine.stack.com/TheIssue/Article/3664/Stretching_routine_with_the_Marlins.aspx
http://www.stretching.name/index.php?filt=baseball
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2976083255/m/3531047012
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dynamic-stretches.html
http://www.athleticadvisor.com/Injuries/General_Inj/Stretching/stretching1.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JZHiqAbndA

Note to parents

2010-07-06T00:51:00.001-05:00

Parents,

I wanted to let all of you know how much we appreciated your participation in the SOX Program this year. Hopefully you had a good experience and saw your son develop as a player.

At present, we are in the process of conducting year end evaluation of our players. This allows us the opportunity to receive input from all of our coaches regarding player strengths and weaknesses. It also helps us evaluate each team and determine what we need to do to improve for next year.

As you were told last fall, all players must participate in our tryouts each year in August. At that time, we will assess players and form teams for the 2010-2011 season. Our goal is to improve all of our teams and make sure that all players are on a team that will provide them the best opportunity to develop.

We are also seeking input from a diverse group to help us finalize our format for next year. We believe that we will make many improvements to our product and the delivery of instruction to our players. We believe we will offer many upgrades that will make your experience even better. You will be notified when we release this information.

If you have not already done so, please go online (www.psa360.net) to register for tryouts. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks again for allowing us the opportunity to work with your kids this year. As a reminder, our vision for the SOX Program is listed below. We praise God for the chance to be a positive influence in the lives of your kids.

SOX Vision

Our emphasis will be on the long range development of our players coupled with consistent, quality coaching and instruction.

Just as our logo is “old school” so is our philosophy of how to conduct and build our program. The Sox Program will be built on the time honored principles of hard work, respect for each other and the game, selflessness, humility, mental toughness…and a belief that we all are created for a purpose. We will conduct our program to instill life skills that are honoring to God, build character, honesty, integrity, a sound work ethic, and a positive “can do” attitude in every player who puts on a Sox uniform. We are committed to this purpose and will settle for nothing less. Our expectations are high and what we attempt to build will be challenging but we believe that we have been called to this purpose and we will pursue it with passion.

U9 Black...STATE CHAMPIONS!

2010-06-29T22:56:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to our U9 Black team for winning the State Championship this past weekend in Oxford! We are proud of you.

Pictures are worth a 1000 words!

Clinton Tournament Champs

2010-06-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

SOX U10 Gold Tournament Champs!

U10 Gold won the Clinton Invitational with a 5-0 record! They are 29-13-1 on the season! Landon Wilbanks (10 for 15) and Stephen Wright (9 for 11) led all hitters at the plate.

Pitching Lesson

2010-06-18T04:23:00.000-05:00

I recently posted an article on my pitching blog that may be of interest to our SOX players. I maintain this blog for pitchers I work with, and thought all of you might like to see the article. It is a reinforcement of basic pitching mechanics...

Click here http://propitching.blogspot.com/ to view the article

With only 2 weeks to go in the season before the State Tournaments, I want to encourage all of you to "Finish Strong"... As the old saying goes, "it's not how you start, but how you finish" that's important!

Champs!

2010-06-17T19:51:00.004-05:00

SOX U8 Tournament Champs!

The U8 champs recorded a 4-1 record in the Clinton tournament. Leading hitters were Brayden Jones (13 for 16), Dulaney Griffin (11 for 13), Phillip Upshaw (11 for 16), and J.K. Shedd (11 for 16). Way to go SOX U8!

SOX U9 Blue Tournament Champs!

Congratulations Blue, winners of the Clinton Invitational with a 4-0 record. Leading hitters were Peyton Letchworth (9 for 15), Deon Travis (8 for 10), and Parker Evans (6 for 12).

TEAM

2010-06-13T23:22:00.002-05:00

T – Together… as opposed to selfishness or individuality: A team…that’s what we play on. Baseball is a team sport, played by individuals who must work closely together as a unit to achieve success. Each part makes the whole, and the whole makes each part better. Each part must be selfless and willing to be used where needed for the good of the whole. Each part is dependent on and accountable to each other.

E – Effort…conscious exertion of power: hard work; a serious attempt

• God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
• I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~Thomas Jefferson
• I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. ~Larry Bird
• The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. ~Author Unknown
• Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ~Thomas Edison
• When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work. ~George Bernard Shaw
• Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all. ~Sam Ewing
• If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor. ~Ulysses S. Grant

A – Attitude… the arrangement of the parts of a body or figure: a position assumed for a specific purpose: a mental position with regard to a fact or state; how you think or view something

• A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body - the wishbone. ~Robert Frost
• The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James
• When you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you've growled all day long. ~Author Unknown
• Where the loser saw barriers, the winner saw hurdles. ~Robert Brault,
• The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. ~C.C. Scott
• Misery is a communicable disease. ~Martha Graham
• We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. ~Author Unknown
• If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don't, you have achieved half your failure. ~David Ambrose
• Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene. ~Arthur Christopher Benson
• Become a possibilitarian… No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. ~Norman Vincent Peale
• We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon. ~Konrad Adenauer
• It is no use to grumble and complain; It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice; When God sorts out the weather and sends rain - Why, rain's my choice. ~James Whitcomb Riley
• Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out. ~Art Linkletter
• People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. ~Ralph Marston

M – Me…not me, but us!

1 Corinthians 12: 12-18

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

And so it is with a TEAM…many parts, all different, all with a role to fulfill, all working together, all with the same goal. Teams are made up of unselfish people who devote themselves to each other to achieve a common goal.

• Unknown…It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn't matter who gets the credit.
• Andrew Carnegie…Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.
• Vince Lombardi (1913-1970), football coach for the NFL…Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another…
• Benjamin Franklin…We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
• Casey Stengel…Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part.
• Joe Paterno…When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.
• Paul Bear Bryant…In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first, ahead of personal glory.

Update

2010-06-09T00:35:00.003-05:00

U8 - Has posted an 18-20-1 record on the season, having won 1 tournament and 1 runner-up spot. They had a strong showing in the Zeke Walley Tournament this past weekend coming away with a runner-up finish. U8 has improved greatly in recent weeks and looks forward to a strong finish.

U9 Red - U9 Sox Red went (4-0) and won Zeke Walley 10AA Division. U9 Red was led in pitching by Cade Morgan, Eric Newsom, Matt Corder, and Hooks Harvey. U9 was led in hitting by Dawson Walters, Cade Morgan, Landon Tomkins, and Josh Cofield. U9 Sox Red is currently ranked #12 in USSSA U9 Open Division. Red is 51-9-1 on the year, having won 8 tournaments and finishing 2nd twice. Great job Red!

U9 Blue - Sox Blue is 26-20 this year, having won 3 tournaments! Way to go Blue! Our Blue team has struggled the past 2 tournaments but is set to make a run at another State Championship. They have also qualified for the World Series in Orlando in July.

U9 Gold - Has won 1 tournament on the season and finished 2nd twice. Gold is 21-23 thus far. Good job!

U9 Silver - Silver is 18-18-2 this year. They have won 1 tournament and have been runner-ups in 2 others.

U9 Black - Compiled a 2-5 record in the Canton Invitational. Stephen Wolfe led all Black hitters, going 13 for 18 at the plate. Wow! Keil Reed, Thomas Pepper, and Daniel Pepper each collected 7 hits. Black is 14-21 for the year. They posted a runner-up finish in the Clinton Tournament this past weekend.

U10 Red - Went 1-2 this past weekend. Maddox Henry led all hitters with 4 hits. U10 Red is 29-13 on the year. Red has 2 tournament wins on the year and 4 runner ups. Great job!

U10 Gold - Gold is 25-16 on the year having won 1 tournament and finished with 2 runner up spots.

U10 Blue - Has posted a 17-15-1 record and been winners of 1 tournament. They have finished 2nd in 3 other tournaments.

U11 - Our Sox U11 team won the Winona Tournament (May 28-30) posting a 4-0 record. They are 16-18 on the year, but are really playing well the past few weeks. They hit .425 as a team and played great defense. Pitching was outstanding! Woody and Damon led all hitters, collecting 5 hits for the tournament. Hicks, Woody, and Plunkett had great outings on the mound. Congratulations U11!

U12 - Has struggled this year but is set to play improved baseball the rest of the season.

U13 - Posted a 2-2 record in the Clinton Tournament this past weekend and played very well! U13 is 8-13-1 on the year.

SOX Teams are 243-193-6 for the year!

U10 Red Tourney Champs

2010-06-02T08:48:00.001-05:00

Notes from Randy Hayman (U10 Red head coach):

"We went 5-0 to win the Memorial Day NIT in Brandon. We were down 10-5 in bottom of 5th and scored 13 runs to take the win. We are proud of the fact that we are currently still ranked #1 in state and nation in 10 AAA. We plan on playing Zeke next week in the 11AA DIVISION. All players contributed greatly and our pitching was outstanding. All pitchers got work this weekend and all had good outings. Thanks PSA for allowing us to represent you!!"

Love this picture! Notice the uniforms...dirt-bags. Now that's what a team should look like after a game!

U11 Tourney Champs!

2010-06-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

U11 SOX were tournament champions in Winona this past weekend. Some hightlights are below with a team photo.

Record: 4-0
6 Extra Bases Hits
55% Strikes from pitchers
1/1 strikeout to walk ratio

Player of the tournament-Complete Game
Will Hicks
6 Innings pitched
6 K's/3 BB
2 earned runs

U8 Champs!

2010-05-29T22:29:00.005-05:00

Muddy River Classic (Greenville) 3-1 record

Name                         Inn Played     AB   HITS

Brennan McNair                    13     13     8
Tyler Hodges                        17     11     6
Reed Ponder                         12      5     3
Drew Pendergrass                 17     12     10
Brandon Pennypacker            17     11     5
Braden Jones                        17     13     11
Griffin Dulaney                      17     13     6
John Stephen Case                17     11     7
Phillip Upshaw                       17     10     6
J.K. Shedd                            17     11     7
Guyton Walker                      13     10     6

Tournament Results (May 15-17)

2010-05-24T08:36:00.000-05:00

Weekly Reports

U9 Red - U9 Sox Red: Mid South Super NIT Champion. 2nd Super NIT Championship this season. Team went 6-0. Trace White (4 Homeruns), Eric Newsom (2 Homeruns), Landon Tomkins (1 Homerun), and Christopher Snopek led offensively. Pitching led by Cade Morgan, Dawson Walters, Trace White, Eric Newsom, and Wyatt Blalock

U9 Blue –Our U9 Blue team played well in the Mid South Super NIT in Southaven this past week posting a 3-1 record and finishing 2nd. The only game Blue lost was to SOX Red in the final game by a 4-2 score. Blue qualified for the Disney Tournament in Orlando! Congratulations Blue! Leading hitters were Bryce Ishee (9/15), Peyton Letchworth (5/13), and Howell Walker (5/11).

U9 Gold – Gold went 2-2 in the Canton Tournament finishing 2nd. Good showing! Joe Farmer, Miles Hobson, Bradford Patton, and Grayson Shealy led all hitters at the plate. Bryson Weeks had a good mound appearance allowing only 1 run in 3 innings of work.

U9 Black – Black recorded a 2-2 record in the Canton Tournament. Leading hitters were Daniel Pepper, Thomas Pepper, Stephen Wolf, Morgan Sturgis, and Ryan Talley.

U10 Red – Played up in a U11 division again and did well finishing 2nd. Coach Hayman said their pitching was “off the chart.” Red pitchers threw 2 complete games…Matthew Manley and Brandon Smith. Maddox Henry, Kade Hayman, Rico Virgil, and C.J. Jones all had excellent outings as well. Way to go pitchers! The leading hitters were Maddox Henry, Brandon Smith, and C.J. Jones.

U10 Gold – Went 2-1 in the AA in May NIT in Flowood. Gold has recorded a 23-10 record so far this year. Great job! Leading hitters were Garrett Harmon, Spencer Wright, Landon Wilbanks, Logan Copeland, Nevin Wells, and Garrett Clark. Cole Jones allowed only 1 run in 4 innings of work on the mound. Good job guys!

U11 – Went 1-3 in the AA in May tournament in Canton. Robby Woody and Dean Damon were the leading hitters, both collected 6 hits. Matt Warren allowed only 1 run in 3 innings of work on the mound and Parker Madeo allowed 2 runs in 3 innings.

Weekly Tournament Results

2010-05-13T10:33:00.005-05:00

U8 – Recorded an 0-3record this past weekend in the Vicksburg tournament. Tyler Hodges, Reed Ponder, Drew Pendergrass, Brandon Pennypacker, John Stephen Case, and J.K. Shedd all had 3 hits. Way to go guys!

U9 Red - Sox Red U9 wins again! And played up! Congratulations Red! They won (4-0) the U10AA division in Vicksburg. Eric Newsom, Cade Morgan, and Landon Tomkins were leading hitters. Dawson Walters and Morgan were leading pitchers

U9 Blue – Our blue team played up also in the Vicksburg tournament and finished 3rd. Great job! Leading hitters were Walker Howell with 3 hits. Peyton Letchworth, Deon Travis, and Blake Dilmore had 2 hits each. Blue’s leading pitcher was Deon Travis allowing only 1 run in 3 innings pitched.

U9 Silver - PSA SOX SILVER 1st TOURNAMENT WIN!!!! Silver posted a 4-0 record to win the U9 division at Vicksburg. C.J. Carron, Kellum Clark, and Jayson Harris were leading hitters. Andrew McCaa tossed a no-hitter May 1 against the Clinton Arrows… 5 k's 2 BB 4.0 innings! Way to go Andrew!

U9 Gold - Gold went 0-3 in the Vicksburg tournament. Leading hitters were Grayson Shealy, Adam Norsworthy, Bryson Weeks, and Bradford Patton let the Gold team in hitting.

U9 Black – Our Black team posted a 2-1 record in the Vicksburg tournament. Good job! Ross Mitchell, Keil Reed, and Ryan Talley led the Black team in hitting…all got 3 hits. Ryan Talley also pitched 4 innings, allowing only 3 runs.

U10 Red – Played up in a U11 division again and did well finishing 2nd. Coach Hayman said their pitching was “off the chart.” Red pitchers threw 2 complete games…Matthew Manley and Brandon Smith. Maddox Henry, Kade Hayman, Rico Virgil, and C.J. Jones all had excellent outings as well. Way to go pitchers! The leading hitters were Maddox Henry, Brandon Smith, and C.J. Jones.

U11 – Went 1-3 in the Canton tournament. Leading hitters were Hicks, Warren, and Plunkett with 4 hits. Other hitters were Woody and Wellborn each with 3 hits. Hicks and Plunkett also led the team with solid mound appearances.

U12 – Although the U12 team went 0-3 in the Canton tournament, they showed signs of improvement. The leading hitter was Foster Cook. Coach Johnson stated, “We will continue to work on defense, pitching, hitting. We play this weekend and we will put in a lot of work to get better. We have been practicing hard and are looking forward to this upcoming weekend.” We look forward to an improved U12 team as the season progresses.

U13 - Tournament record 1-3. Leading hitters were Brett Cloud (4-9) and Carson Gilstrap (3-10). In game 3, U13 beat the #1 seed 8-6. In that game, Landon Wilson pitched 4 2/3 innings, walked 4 and recorded 10 K's.

Thanks...

2010-05-06T08:05:00.001-05:00

I wanted in some way to thank those of you who have sent notes of encouragement and prayed for my family recently. As I returned to limited work this week after my fathers passing, I saw several of you who came by to give me encouragement. As many of us talked, I came to realize again that all of us have or will endure hardship and suffering and how important it is to take the time and make the effort to encourage others. Please allow me to share a brief story with you today...

On May 15, 2008, as we sat in the waiting room at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas following our son's near fatal auto accident (on May 13), we were blessed by a visit from a guy that we did not know. His visit meant so much to us that I recorded his name in my bible...his name was Rodney Cummings.

We had never heard of Rodney nor did we know him, but because of his visit and encouragement we were comforted. You see, Rodney had experienced a TBI injury similar to what our son had sustained. He shared his story with us and his faith in the God who heals. It was God-sent!

One thing I have learned from the past 2 years is how important it is to be there for people who suffer...Just to speak a word or write a note or make a visit. Until you have experienced this, you never know the life giving comfort it brings to those who are in the midst of pain. Life is loaded with trouble and hardship intermingled with great joy and blessings. But God is so good!

Again, our family has been faced with trouble and suffering with my dad's battle with cancer this past year. At times, both with my son and my dad, I have asked...why? And part of the answer lies in the verses found in 2 Corinthians 1: 2-11. I marked these verses after Rodney's visit to us at Parkland on May 15 and they will forever be in my head and my soul. They follow:

The God of All Comfort

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers.

Why?..."But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God...on Him we have set our hope"

To God be the Glory!

USSSA Rankings

2010-04-27T11:54:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to all of our SOX teams!

Mississippi USSSA Rankings (Based on point totals)

U8 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox ranked # 4

U9 State Rankings (Open)
     PSA White Sox (Red) ranked #1
     PSA White Sox (Blue) ranked #6

U9 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox (Silver) ranked #4
     PSA White Sox (Gold) ranked #9
     PSA White Sox (Black) ranked #13

U10 State Rankings (AAA)
     PSA White Sox (Red) ranked #3
     PSA White Sox (Blue) ranked #6

U10 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox (Gold) ranked # 4

U11 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox ranked #20

U12 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox ranked # 17

U13 State Rankings (AA)
     PSA White Sox ranked # 11

The Principle of the P's

2010-04-22T08:37:00.002-05:00

When coaching I would indoctrinate my players each year with the principle of the P’s…thought I would share with you.

Principle: poor effort leads to poor performance

The 5 P’s

• Practice
o Means you will put in the time it takes to make adjustments and improve
o Means you will give effort (at all times)
o Means you will adapt and adjust your methods if something is not working

• Perfection
o Yes, we expect you to make every play, make every pitch, and make every at bat a good one. If you can do it one time, proves you can do it…so why not do it right every time…this is our goal, though difficult to achieve
o Yes, we expect you to have a good attitude…all the time, not just when things go your way
o Yes, we expect you to perform…to get the job done…without excuse or blame

• Patience
o This is a virtue that few in our society understand or desire
o Means that setbacks or lack of immediate progress will not deter me from completing my goal or doing my work
o Means that I can handle failure in a constructive and positive way
o Means that I understand that this venture is not a microwave oven…it takes time to develop
o I will be a good teammate and team player…I will work hard, wait for my opportunities, and be prepared to take advantage of them when presented.
o I will not force the issue…realizing that I may not be ready for the role and position I want…I will not whine, tear down, or complain.

• Persistence
o There is no quit in persistence…I will persist
o I will view roadblocks and failure as temporary and find a way to overcome
o No matter what anyone else thinks of me, I will always believe in myself…I will not allow others to determine my destiny
o It’s not someone else’s fault…if it is to be done, I must do it
o No matter what, I will trust my training, accept my responsibility, and look down the road to the end (I will look up and ahead, not down or back)

• Path
o The path I go down is by choice…my choices determine my path
o Not all paths are good…choose wisely
o Not all paths are easy…do not always take the easy one

• And, I will do this because it is the right thing to do and remember that it is for God’s glory
oColossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men”

Weekly Tournament Results

2010-04-21T13:10:00.001-05:00

U8 - Recorded an 0-3-1 record this weekend in Monroe, LA. Top hitters were Braden Jones, Bandon Penneypacker, and Brennan McNair. were Phillip Upshaw played great defense and had 10 putouts at 3rd base.

U9 Red - Finished 2nd in the U10 division at the Canton Tournament. Top hitters were Matt Corder, Trace White, Cade Morgan, and Eric Newsom. Top pitchers were Matt Corder, Eric Newsom, Trace White, and Cade Morgan. The U9 Red is currently ranked #1 in the USSSA 9 open division in Mississippi and top 10 nationally. Great job Red!

U9 Blue - Coach Pete Young's Blue team had a great weekend, winning the Super Bulldog Bash Tournament in Starkville. They posted a 3-0 record. Top hitters were Peyton Letchworth (6-10), Bryce Ishee (9-10), Deon Travis (5-8), and Peyton Greenwood (6-8). Top pitchers were Walker Howell, Cade Lowery, Blake Dilmore, and Gates Pee. Congratulations Blue!

U9 Gold - The Gold team finished 1st this past weekend in the Papa John's Invitational Tournament in Oxford. They posted a 4-0 record to win the tournament. Adam Norsworthy went 6-9 and Grayson Shealy went 5-9 at the plate to lead the team offensively. Garrett Moore pitching 6 innings and allowed only 3 runs to lead the pitchers. Congratulations Gold!

U9 Silver - Did not play

U9 Black - Our Black team went 1-3 in the Canton Tournament. Keil Reed led all hitters going 4-8. Leading pitchers were Ryan Talley and Morgan Sturgis.

U10 Red - Went 3-1 in the April Slugfest in Canton to finish 3rd. Very good showing since the U10 Red played up in a U11 bracket. Will Lingle led all hitters going 7-12. Good job Red!

U10 Gold - Recorded a 2-1 record to finish 3rd at the April Slugfest Tournament in Canton. The Gold has posted a very respectable 18-8 record thus far in the season. Garrett Harmon (6-8) and Duncan Jones (5-8) led the Gold hitters at the plate.

U10 Blue - The Blue went 5-0 to win the Battle of Brandon Tournament. Comments from Coach Palmer: "We had a great week. We scrimmaged PSA 9U team on Monday night, practiced on Wed. night and ran out with the Ms. Braves AAA team on Thursday night. Jeremy Smith was our most valuable player throughout the tournament. He did a great job at the plate, pitching and defensively on short stop. We turned a total of 3 double plays during the tournament. Parker Nelson also did well on the mound and with his bat. We are very proud to have won this USSSA tournament. This is our first tournament win in 2010 which moves us to 3rd in the State in USSSA points in the 10U AA classification."

U11 - Recorded a 1-2 record at the Battle of the Bluff in Cordova, TN. this past weekend. Khristian Washington (4-7) and Matt Warren (5-9) led the team in hitting. Parker Madeo pitched 4 innings without allowing a run to lead the U11's on the mound.

U12 - Did not play

U13 - Did not play

Weekly Tournament Results

2010-04-16T00:19:00.000-05:00

U9 Red… Won the Super NIT tournament in Orange Beach this past weekend posting a 6-0 record. Red is having an awesome year! Comments from coach Snopek: Cade Morgan pitched complete game win in Semi's and went 6-12 hitting…The battery of Dawson Walters, Cale Nation, Wyatt Blalock and Trace White lead Sox Red to Super NIT Finals win vs Tampa Titans…Josh Cofield went 7-13 hitting…Other pitching stars were Christopher Snopek (3 scoreless innings vs Pensacola); Cale Nation (3 scoreless vs Traveling Eagles)

U9 Blue…Posted a 1-3 record in the Orange Beach Super NIT. Christian Turner allowed only 1 run in 3 1/3 inning of work on the mound. Blue is 14-11 on the year.

U9 Gold…Went 3-1 in the Brandon Tournament to finish 4th. Good job! Rhet Watkins (6-10), Miles Hobson (5-10), and Bryson Weeks (6-11) led the Gold in hitting.

U9 Silver… Posted a 1-2 record in the Battle of Brandon. Hayden Jefferies (4-5), Kellum Clark (3-4), and C.J. Carron (2-2) were leading hitters for the Silver. Collins Irby, Jayson Harris, and Cannon Harvey had good outings on the mound.

U10 Gold…Finished 3rd in the Southaven Shootout posting a 3-1 record. Gold is having a good season thus far and we are looking for a great season from them. They are 17-7 on the year. Stephen Wright was 6-13 to lead Gold hitters and Duncan Jones posted 2 wins in relief on the mound to lead the pitching staff. Congratulations Gold!

U10 Blue…Congratulations to U10 Blue! They won the Battle of Brandon posting a 5-0 record. That’s 2 weeks in a row…first and second place finish in tournaments. Jeremy Smith went 7-11 at the plate to lead all hitters. Keaton Permenter went 6-11 and Zach Jones went 5-7 to also post good hitting numbers. Jeremy Smith also was effective on the mound allowing only 3 runs in 8 innings of work.

U11… Our U11 team posted a 3-2 record in the Battle of Bear Pen in Cleveland to post another good showing. Hicks and Washington led the team in hitting. Comments from Coach Fitzgerald: “We kept our hot bats with 29 hits in the tournament, overall .319 average, and 4 doubles. With the exception of 1 of the 5 games, we gave up 9 ER, opponents batted .171 and we struck out 33 batters. We were one game away from the finals, and should have won the game, were it not for some base running mistakes and some costly errors. Overall a good tournament for our team. We ran out of pitching, so we were once again reminded that we need a couple of kids to step up and be able to toe the rubber.”

U12… Played in the April on the River tournament at the Y in Flowood. Zach Claycomb went 6-12 at the plate to lead all hitters.

Some thoughts...

2010-04-09T08:58:00.001-05:00

Baseball is such a great game because it entails so many elements in order to excel. It is a very challenging and humbling game. However, I think we can simplify what it takes into 2 categories: 1) physical and 2) mental...both are essential. Listed below are a few thoughts related to each.

Physical:

Put in your time

practice, practice, practice...but not just any practice, it must be quality practice
games...baseball is somewhat unique in that it takes playing a lot of games in order to improve and develop an understanding of the game
nothing will replace hard work

Focus on the fundamentals

throwing (accuracy, velocity)

need to incorporate a long throw (toss) program into your routine which needs to be done 4-5 days/week
throw at targets (every throw)
throw a lot. Most throwing injuries occur because of lack of throwing, not over throwing. Player's arms are not in proper condition and then throw too much in a game and cannot withstand the stress

catching (fielding...ground balls, fly balls)

repetition, repetition, repetition...in order to improve in this area, a player must catch 1000's of balls over an extended period of time (months and years)
learn to use your feet to get in proper position...most fielders create bad hops instead of get bad hops...they do so because of improper positioning caused by poor footwork. You can improve your footwork with agility drills and repetition

hitting (develop a mechanically sound set up, stride, and swing; focus on consistent contact)

Know your strengths and weaknesses

work to maximize your strengths
work to overcome your weaknesses

Mental:

Focus...focus means that a player can block out all distractions and zero in on what is really important (hit the ball, make this pitch, make this play...)

Parents can help in this area by not confusing their kids with too many exhortations. I have been to games and witnessed parents (well meaning, but very detrimental) yelling instructions rapid fire at their kids (keep your elbow up, turn your feet, get the bat back, bend your back, etc.). How could anyone concentrate with multiple, and often conflicting, messages coming at you. Our brains function best when we can keep ONE thought at the forefront. Too many thoughts make players freeze up, slow reaction time, and tense up...all of which lead to poor performance and frustration.

Don't whine...do something about it. Complainers never enjoy much success. Honestly analyze your effort and performance and set goals to improve both.
Don't compare...this is a killer. Stay focused on YOU and what YOU must do to improve, execute, gain more playing time, etc.
Don't blame...this has become the mantra of today's society. Accept responsibility for your performance and actions. Focus on what you have to do to improve.
Be a team player...this involves selflessness, which is a great character trait! Selfish players never do well in the long run. It's not about you, it's about the team.
Believe in yourself and your abilities...you can do it! If you don't believe in you, who will?

That great American philosopher, Yogi Bera, said:

"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical"
"A full mind is an empty bat"
"This is like deja vu all over again."
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
"Think! How are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"
"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
"Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting."
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough in the second half you give what's left."
"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

Thanks Yogi...great advice!

U11 SOX

2010-04-04T23:00:00.001-05:00

U11 Team with coach Keith Fitzgerald

Congratulations to Khristian Washington...team congratulating him after a homerun in last weekend's tournament.

Easter!

2010-04-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

Mark 15:1-40
Jesus Before Pilate

1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. 3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of." 5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them. 13"Crucify him!" they shouted. 14"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" 15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. 25It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.[a] 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!" 31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! 32Let this Christ,[b] this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah." 36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said. 37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

Praise God that this is not the end of the story...Sunday came!

Mark 16:1-10
The Resurrection

1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" 4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

We wish all of you, our SOX family, a blessed Easter! To God be the Glory!

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Weekly Tournament Results

2010-04-02T07:15:00.002-05:00

U8…Played in a one day tournament to get some work in.

U9 Red…Finished second in the Shreveport Super NIT going 2-1. U9 Red is off to a great start posting a 25-6-1 record thus far.

U9 Blue…Did not play

U9 Gold…Finished 3rd in the tournament at Starkville this past weekend, posting a 1-2 record. Joe Farmer led the Gold in hitting, going 4-8 at the plate. We are excited about the progress the U9 Gold team is making. They have improved drastically from the beginning of the season and this should begin to pay off in wins as the season progresses.

U9 Silver…Our Silver team finished 2nd in the March Showdown NIT in Canton this past weekend. They posted a 2-2-1 record. Andrew Mcaa led the team in hitting, going 7-13. Cannon Harvey had a good offensive weekend (3-9). Hayden Jeffries and Jason Harris were 4-10 at the plate. Kellum Clark pitched well, allowing 3 runs in 3 1/3 innings of work on the mound.

U9 Black…Had a good tournament, finishing 3rd in the Canton tournament. Keil Reed (4-6) and Thomas Pepper (4-7) led the Black team in hitting. Ryan Talley (0 runs in 3 innings) and Caleb Baldwin led the team in pitching (1 run in 3 innings). Congratulations Black!

U10 Red…

U10 Gold…Posted a 2-1 record in the Starkville tournament. On the season, Gold has gone 14-6-1…good job Gold! Duncan Jones and Landon Wilbanks allowed 0 runs on the mound this week.

U10 Blue…Blue finished 2nd in the Canton March Showdown NIT posting a great 4-1 record. Layton Roberts (5-11) and Nelson Parker (4-7) led the team in hitting. Nelson Parker also had a great weekend on the mound allowing only 2 runs in 8 total innings pitched. Also posting strong showings on the mound were Jeremy Smith (4 innings, 2 runs) and Zach Jones (2 innings, 0 runs). Congratulations Blue!

U11…Finished 3rd out of 13 teams in the Winona AA Blast posting a very good 3-1 record. U11 has showed marked improvement this spring and we anticipate great things from them as the season progresses. Robbie Woody (8-10) and Sam Fulton (4-7) led the team in hitting. Matt Warren allowed only 1 run in 5 1/3 innings of work on the mound. Congratulations U11!

U12… Played in the Clinton tournament. Zach Claycomb and Isaac Cox went 4-7 at the plate to lead the team in hitting.

U13…Did not play

Article

2010-03-26T09:37:00.000-05:00

Some very important information is contained in an article I recently read. Coaches and scouts all know this info to be true, however, I'm not sure all players and parents know it. So, I am providing a link to the article...happy reading!

The link to this article was sent to me by one of our SOX parents: http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/never_know.htm

Weekly Tournament Results

2010-03-25T09:32:00.005-05:00

Team Highlights from tournaments (weekend of March 20-21)

U8 ... Did not play

U9 RED ... Finished 2nd in the Atlanta Super NIT with a 4-2 record. Congratulations Sox Red! Trace White hit 3 round-trippers, including grand slam. Eric Newsom also hit a home run. Cade Morgan, Dawson Walters, and Wyatt Blalock pitched well in the tournament.

U9 BLUE ... Sox Blue finished in first place in the Brandon tournament this past weekend going 2-0 before the tournament was cancelled due to bad weather. Peyton Letchworth and Howell led the Blue team at the plate and Howell, Greenwood, and Blake Dilmore led the team in pitching. Congratulations Sox Blue!

U9 SILVER ... Did not play

U9 GOLD ... Did not play

U9 BLACK ... Did not play

U10 RED ... The Red team finished 2nd in the Brandon tournament with a 2-0 record. Play was suspended due to weather and teams with the same records were awarded finish places depending on a formula. Leading hitters were Brandon Smith, Steven Lacey, C.J. Jones, and Will Lingle…all collected 2 hits.

U10 GOLD ... U 10 Gold played in the Brandon tournament and recorded a 1-2 record to finish 4th. Leading hitters were J.D. Topik and Steven Wright. J.D. also picked up the lone win, pitching 3 innings.

U10 BLUE ... Did not play

U11 ... Did not play

U12 ... Our U12 team played in the Clinton tournament this past weekend. This was their first tournament of the season and they finished 0-3. However, improvement was made each game. Keep it up, U12…keep working to improve and it will pay off! Zach Claycomb and Isaac Cox led the team in hitting, both going 4-7. Zach also let the team in pitching, logging 3 1/3 innings allowing only 3 hits and 2 walks. Andre Norman also pitched well allowing only 1 hit in 1 1/3 innings of work.

U13 ... Did not play

Coaches Weekly Reports

2010-03-09T23:56:00.000-06:00

Tournament Results:

U8 - Finished 3rd in our Vicksburg tournament with a 3-1 record. The leading hitters were Brennan McNair who went 11 for 11 and Phillip Upshaw who went 11 for 12.

U9 Red - Finished 1st in the Vicksburg tournament.

U9 Blue - Finished 2nd with a 3-1 record. The U9 Blue team is 6-5 on the season but improving with each outing. Peyton Letchworth was 5 for 13, Deon Travis 5 for 12, and Peyton Greenwood 5 for 11 to lead the Blue's in hitting. The leading pitchers were Blake Dilmore and Cade Lowrey.

U9 Gold - Finished 4th in the Brandon tournament going 2-2. The leading hitters were Grayson Shealy and Cody Swanson. Leading pitcher was Garrett Moore who gave up 6 runs in 5 innings.

U9 Silver - Our Silver team went 1-2 in the Brandon tournament and finished 6th. Andrew McCaa was 5 for 5 at the plate to lead the team. Other hitters were CJ Carron 5/7, Cannon Harvey 4/7, Kellum Clark 3/5, and Jayson Harris 3/6.

U9 Black -

U10 Gold - Finished 1st at the Vicksburg tournament with a 3-0-1 record. The Gold is 10-3 on the season and off to a great start. Leading hitters were Garrett Harmon 5/6, Nevin Wells 4/5, Landon Wilbanks 5/8, Landon Cochran 3/4, and Stephen Wright 5/9. J.D. Topik was the leading pitcher.

U10 Red - Finished 1-2 in the Vicksburg tournament. Leading hitters were Will Lingle 3/4, Hayden Barksdale 3/5, C.J. Jones 2/3, and Matthew Manley 2/3.

U10 Blue - Finished 2nd in the Vicksburg tournament. The leading hitter was Parker Nelson 7/9 and Zachary MacLennan 3/4. Leading Pitcher was Parker Nelson.

U11 - Was 0-3 for the weekend. Their leading hitter was Robbie Woody who went 2/6.

U12 - Did not play

U13 - Went 0-3, but all games were close. Leading hitters were Anderson Mooneyham 3/5 and Phillip Tyra 2/5. Leading pitcher was Landon Wilson. One promising note: the U13 team committed only 3 errors in the tournament...great defense.

Failure

2010-03-09T15:28:00.000-06:00

Here is one statement that has stuck with me ever since I heard it..."Failure is not an option, it is a necessity." Sounds foreign to our culture's thought process today, but it is so true. I would encourage you to allow your child to endure failure. It is one of the greatest of teachers. Below are some comments related to this from a few sports psychologists. Food for thought!

“All skills are perfected through the process of failure. Embrace loss as a necessary part of improvement.”

Sports Psychologist, speaker and author, Jerry Lynch from Creative Coaching

The biggest secret to success is failure. You can never go from beginner to expert without failing. Failure is a very necessary part of improvement because each time you fall on your face, you learn something that’s like gold! You learn what you did wrong, and therefore, by extension, what you need to do differently next time. Don’t ever be afraid of losing! Don’t ever be afraid of making mistakes! Failing and messing up are things that we all do in the process of growing and getting better. Failure is nothing more than delayed success. That’s right! DELAYED SUCCESS! WHY? Because, failure is feedback and tells you exactly what you need to change to be successful. So don’t waste emotional energy beating yourself up whenever you fail. The only thing that will do for you is undermine your self-confidence and give you a big headache. Instead, look for what you need to change for next time. No one can get to improvement without loss. Failure is feedback and FEEDBACK IS THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.

"I have a big-picture outlook, I am willing to fall, and I understand it's ok to fall, but I am going to get back up, I may take a step back, but in the end, I am going to take a giant leap forward". Tiger Woods

Dr. Alan Goldberg's comments - Once again we hear about one of the main reasons why great athletes are so great: FAILURE and their attitude towards it. Great athletes are not afraid to fail. They know that failure is a normal and inevitable part of playing competitive sports, much like breathing is a normal and necessary part of life. The very best use their failures as a springboard to success. In other words they know that after a setback or two they will eventually rebound and make even further gains. This is Woods’ “big picture” outlook. The main characteristic of this big picture outlook is to learn to view your failures as temporary. When you fall down and you look at this fall from a temporary frame of reference, i.e. “Boy, I just played badly today,” “My timing was way off in the second part of the match. I can work on and correct that the next time I practice,” “I just ran out of gas in that final 50,” then you are left feeling like the failure is both correctable and short-term. Using Woods’ view, your self-confidence and motivation will then remain high. However, when you fail and look at it from a “small picture” viewpoint, just focusing on how big that failure was and using a permanent frame of reference, that is, you zoom in on this one failure and explain it to yourself with language like, “I always choke,” “I can never seem to win the big matches,” “Whenever it counts, I always blow it,” then you are left feeling like your failure is non-correctable and a permanent part of who you are as an athlete. The end result of this is that you lose your confidence and your motivation wanes. Keep the “falls” which you will always have in the proper perspective. They are a normal and necessary part of the journey. They provide you with a toehold for your very next step forward. While it may be temporarily painful when you go down, these falls will ultimately get you to the top of the mountain.

Coaches Weekly Reports

2010-03-05T20:55:00.001-06:00

Results of SOX teams in last week's tournament. The following information was gathered from the coaches weekly reports.

U10 Red recorded a 2-1 record...Leading hitters were: Maddox Henry, Matthew Manley, and Brandon Smith all going 7 for 12 at the plate. Leading pitchers were: C.J. Jones and Hayden Barksdale. Both pitched 2 innings with 4 K's.
U9 Blue recorded an 0-3 record, but lost all 3 games by 1 run...The leading hitter was Peyton Greenwood going 2 for 5. The leading pitcher was Blake Dilmore who pitched 4 innings, recording 4 K's, and only 2 runs.
U9 Gold recorded an 0-3 record...The leading hitter was Cody Swanson going 3 for 7. The leading pitcher was Bryson Weeks allowing only 2 runs in 3 innings pitched.
U13 was 1-2-1...The leading hitter was Phillip Tyra going 4 for 8.
U10 Blue recorded a 2-2 record. The leading hitter was Easton Palmer who went 5 for 8. Their leading pitcher was Zach Jones who pitched 4 innings with 0 walks and only 30 pitches and 1 run allowed.
U10 Gold recorded a 4-1 record...The leading hitters were J.D. Topik who went 10 for 14 and Spencer Wright who went 8 for 11. The leading pitchers were Lawson Stockett and Rankin Kyzar. Both allowed only 1 run.
U9 Red...won their division.
U11 went 2-3...The leading pitcher was Charlie Bennett allowing only 1 run in 4 2/3 innings of work. The leading hitter was Will Hicks who went 4 for 11. (see U11 photo below)

Loyalty

2010-03-05T08:31:00.000-06:00

Today, I have posted a quote from John Wooden with comments from Dr. Alan Goldberg, noted sports psychologist. Coach Wooden was the legendary basketball coach at UCLA...not many better. One way for us to develop great life giving principles is to observe and learn from others who have experienced great success. Coach Wooden is one we can certainly learn some valuable lessons from. One reason many of us don't develop some of these great qualities is that we don't want to learn...we are satisfied with our current status and are closed minded. I would encourage all of us to learn from those who have trod this life before us and can offer great insights for our good.

Quote:
“No building is better than its structural foundation, and no man (woman) is better than his (her) mental foundation. When I prepared my original Success Pyramid years ago, I put industriousness and enthusiasm as the two cornerstones with LOYALTY right in the middle of the pyramid – Loyalty to yourself and to all those dependent upon you.”

The Legendary NCAA Basketball Coach and ”Wizard of Westwood,” John Wooden. From The Edge – by Howard Ferguson

DR. G’s COMMENTS: Loyalty is not a word that we see displayed very much in professional sports. Apparently our high visibility role models seem to only understand the part about loyalty to “you.” They don’t get the “loyalty to all those dependent upon you” piece. Unfortunately this “me- first culture” seems to have trickled down from pro athletes to much of sports in general at almost every level that it’s played. Young athletes are more concerned with their playing time and stats than what’s best for their teammates and the team in general. Their parents (quite naturally) only have eyes for their son or daughter, often ignoring the team’ s mission and disagreeing with their child’s role as assigned by the coach. Parents will even covertly or directly encourage their child’s disloyalty to teammates. Coaches, for their part tend to get too caught up in winning and, as a consequence, will say and do disloyal things to their young charges. Coach Wooden wasn’t successful for all those years, with all those athletes because he was incredibly lucky. He was successful because he genuinely understood what the important ingredients were that went into winning. He was a Hall of Fame Coach because he knew how very important loyalty was as a behavior that you modeled and one that you demanded from your players. Today’s sports world could stand to re-learn a very old fashioned lesson. Winners are loyal and loyalty makes a winner.

Let Go...

2010-02-25T09:04:00.001-06:00

Boy, do we live in a result oriented society. We see it from an early age. Focus and emphasis is placed on outcomes...grades, wins, loses, going 3-4, stiking out 10 batters, ERA, batting average...I could go on and on. However, it is only when we learn to give outcome and results secondary priority, that we trully learn to reach our potential and to perform at maximum capacity.

Following are more quotes and responses from Dr. Alan Goldberg, noted sports psychologist.

Quote: “Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness.”

DR. G’s COMMENTS: Think of your goals in your sport. Think of how important it is for you to win that championship. Think about how badly you want to make the starting line-up or get that college scholarship. Use your goals to motivate you to train and then, when it counts the most and the heat of competition is turned up high, LET THEM GO. Success in athletics and life is a paradox. You will play that great game, win the title, score all those points, pitch the perfect game ONLY when you LET GO of the desire to do so while you are engaged in the performance. One of the biggest mistakes made by coaches and athletes is being too wedded to your outcome goals as you go into and during that all important performance. When it counts the most, you must LET GO of outcome and trust yourself. You must trust your training, trust your hard work, trust your muscle memory and relax, letting the game, match or race come to you. This is the only way that you can be successful and this is the only way that you’ll ultimately be happy. Holding on to the importance of this performance and dwelling on all that’s at stake and how badly you need to win will only k ill your joy, rob you of your courage and steal your heart in the process. When you LET GO of winning, it will come and find you. When you LET GO of going 3 for 4, your reward will be to go 4 for 4. When you LET GO of impressing the coach, only then will he notice you. To reach your goals, you must first let go of them when you perform.

It's only a game...

2010-02-18T22:41:00.000-06:00

Recently, I came across a site that has quotes with responses by Dr. Alan Goldberg, a noted sports psychologist. He has worked with professional athletes and teams in most every sport. His insights are remarkable and are very helpful to us as parents.

Also, I felt compeled to share a personal testimony. I thought about sharing this as I read Dr. Goldberg's response to Tony Dungy's quote.

A year and a half ago my wife and I received the phone call that all parents fear...our son was involved in a near fatal auto accident in Dallas. He was seriously injured (TBI) and had to be airlifted from the scene to Parkland Memorial Hospital. He remained in a coma for 32 days while his life hung in the balance. He underwent multiple surgeries and with each one, we could only pray. We lost all control over our circumstances and events in our life. My wife and I spent 73 days in Dallas as our son eventually regained consciousness and began rehab at Baylor. His rehab has been an ongoing process ever since that fateful day. However, through God's mercy and grace, he is almost fully recovered. He is back at work and he and his wife are expecting a child in late March.

During this period we learned what was really important...family, friends, and our relationship with God. We had our priorities shaken and rearranged. And God has caused us to see the big picture like never before. We no longer get upset or bent out of shape with little things that sometimes don't go our way....we don't take each other for granted any more either. It has been a remarkable journey.

Following is a quote from Tony Dungy, former head coach for the Indianapolis Colts. I hope you absorb the comments from Dr. Goldberg relative to this quote.

Quote: “I would want America to know our kids need us. Spend as much time with your kids as you can. Enjoy them. Be with them. Hug your children; You never know when it will be the last time.”

Indianapolis Colt’s Head Coach, Tony Dungy, shortly after his eldest son, 18 year old James died of an apparent suicide.

DR. G’S COMMENTS: There so much in life that we take for granted and the younger we are, the more we’re guilty of this. It’s a sad fact of life that so many of us can’t truly appreciate the gifts that we have until we have lost them. In today’s high pressured sports world we as parents tend to lose sight of the fact that it is our son or daughter who is playing the game, and that it is just a game! There are far more important things in life than winning or losing in sports, scoring 15 points, pitching a shutout or throwing three touchdown passes. It’s our children’s health and happiness that is really important. It’s our relationships with our sons and daughters that really count, not whether they made that game costing error. Life is terribly fleeting. Our children grow up faster than is imaginable. Their heroics or embarrassments on the court or field will quickly fade. In the end, the only thing that really counts is your relationship with them. So make it count today! Be an adult and keep the games in perspective. Be a loving parent and provide your child with the unconditional support that they so desperately need. Don’t ever tie up their lovability and sense of self-worth with how well they perform in the athletic arena. Love them unconditionally today, because today is all you have right now.

Below is a photo taken in the locker room after the Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. This was also the same year Tony Dungy lost his son. Enjoy this great game with your child...we pray that this season will be full of great memories and that you will build lasting relationships with your children and members of your team...We are blessed to have you in our SOX Program. To God be the Glory!

Gabe Ishee Baseball Clinic

2010-02-17T07:51:00.001-06:00

2010 Jr. Spring Training Baseball Clinic

Instruction provided by: Gabe Ishee - (Former Professional Baseball Player – Milwaukee Brewers) and Additional PSA Professional Hitting and Fielding Instructors

Date: Feb. 20, 2010
Time: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m
Ages: 6-12
Location: Shiloh Park – Brandon, MS (Weather Permitting)
Cost: $50 per player (Pre-registration now until February 18th)
$60 per player (after February 18th)
Registration: You can mail registration information including name, address, and phone number along with payment to the following address. You may also call or email Donna or Kenny for additional Information.
Donna Pendergrass – PO Box 465, Brandon, Ms 39042 – 601-919-6946 donapndrgrss@aol.com or Kenny Pendergrass - 601-919-7224

• Lunch and drinks will be provided by the clinic.
• Players are encouraged to bring their own equipment. (Bats, Gloves, Helmets etc.)
• Each player needs to be dressed in full uniform (baseball pants, cap, and cleats)
• In case of inclement weather, the Clinic will be moved to Sunday, February 21st from 2:00pm - 4:00pm at:
Performance Sports Academy 300 Strickland Drive Flowood, MS

Pitchers Week 4

2010-02-13T16:54:00.001-06:00

Robby Woody .....U11
Parker Nelson ......U10
Isaac Cox ............U12
Steve Lacey .........U10 Red
Jacob McDaniel ...U13
Carson Gilstrap ....U13
Brandon Smith .....U10 Red
Rico Virgil ...........U10 Blue
Kellum Clark .......U9 Silver
Rico Virgil ...........U10 Red
Spencer Smith .....U10 Red

Coaching Tip...change up

2010-02-12T21:01:00.000-06:00

The change up is a relatively easy pitch to throw if taught properly. It is a pitch that every pitcher needs. One of the main aspects of hitting is timing. Hitters who can time pitches are usually successful. Therefore, every pitcher needs an off-speed pitch to disrupt hitter timing.

In my 25+ years of coaching and conducting private pitching instruction, the most common changeup I have encountered is the circle change. And, my experience has been that it is by far the most difficult one to control especially for a young pitcher with small hands. Yet, probably 90% of the pitchers I work with have been taught and are attempting to throw this very difficult pitch.

I have also seen difficult methods that are taught to pitchers in an attempt to master this pitch. For example: manipulate the hand, drag the back foot, change the take-away (out of the glove), etc. All of these methods (I think) are difficult to execute and are unnecessary.

A changeup is nothing more than a slower version of a 2 seam FB thrown with 3 fingers (it’s easy). If you will remember and teach this concept, your pitchers will have more success throwing this essential pitch. The mechanics are exactly the same for every pitch. Fastball mechanics are the same as changeup mechanics.

Here is how I teach changeups to all pitchers I work with, whether they are 10 or 20 years old. First, have the pitcher throw a full speed FB with a 2 seam grip...then have them throw the same pitch just a little slower. To throw slower, just slow the arm slightly. The mechanics should be the same: same tempo, same slot, same finish...just not quite as hard. Have the pitcher alternate pitches at the 2 speeds. This will help them develop "feel" which is an important element in making various pitches.

After they have thrown both the full speed 2 seamer and the slower version, have them get the 2 seam FB grip but with 3 fingers. Then say, "throw a full speed FB with a 2 seam grip." Then say, "throw a slightly slower 2 seam FB with a 3 finger grip." Alternate these two pitches until they become comfortable making each. Make sure they finish each pitch the same. Usually does not take long.

You will be amazed at how much better control they will have in throwing changeups.

Coaching Tips

2010-02-07T18:52:00.001-06:00

Don't know how many of you pay attention to our instruction and try to reinforce skills with your kids, but thought I would put these tips up on the Blog in case you do. I sent these to all of our SOX coaches.

Also, please check the website for NEW times for Group Workout sessions. We made some adjustments to free up space on Tuesdays and make for a better work environment for our SOX players. If you have friends who do not check the website or SOX Blog, please remind them to do so.

Rundowns - Pete does this and I did too when I was head coach in JC...the tag man on rundowns begins walking or slow jogging toward the runner when he wants the ball. He does not yell "now" until AFTER he begins to walk or jog.

Throwing mechanics...L's - Proper throwing mechanics means that the throwing arm does not get fully extended out of the glove or behind...you get extension out front to the finish. You can have all players (not just pitchers) work on this as they warm up each day by having them turn to the side and make 2 L's with their arms. The front elbow (glove side) should be pointed at the target and the back elbow (ball side) should be pointed behind (with pitchers, toward 2nd). They then step toward the target and throw. Have them work on weight transfer...back foot to front foot. If you need this demonstrated, stop by PSA and see me or Pete.

Long toss - And long throwing...this is a critical element in developing arm strength and ACCURACY. Should be done 3-4 days/week. You can have all players work on throwing longer than normal to incorporate this priniciple as well. For example: have your catchers throw 8-10 feet longer when throwing to second...then, move them in to regular distance. You will be surprised at how much more accurate they become.

Adjustment to GW schedule

2010-02-05T07:57:00.000-06:00

To help with space issues, we have adjusted the SOX Group Workout schedule for the next 3 weeks. The new schedule will take effect beginning Monday Feb. 8. If you have problems, please email or call. Thanks for your patience and understanding. The schedule will be adjusted on the website later today.

You can view the updated schedule by clicking this link: http://www.psa360.com/content.cfm?id=66

Southern Belle T's

2010-02-03T22:50:00.001-06:00

If anyone is interested in purchasing a Southern Belle T, contact Shanon Shealy. Available sizes are Youth XS thru Adult 3X. The cost is $18.00. Contact information for ordering is as follows:

Shanon Shealy
601-573-7697 cell phone (to call or text)
chagramays@yahoo.com

SOX Group Workout Hitters/Pitchers

2010-02-03T08:01:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to the following SOX players. We recognize them for their accomplishments in our hitting and pitching Group Workout sessions! As you can tell, our list is growing week by week.

Pitching (7 out of 10 strikes)
Kade Hayman U10 Red
Neil Dowty U11
Lawson Stockett U9 Silver
Brandon Smith U10 Red
Will Lingle U10 Red
Anderson Mooneyham U13
Rankin Kyzar U9
Easton Palmer U10
Zach McClennan U10
Cade Pinnix U10 Blue
Cannon Harvey U9 Silver
Landon Cochran U10 Gold
Matthew Manley U10 Red
Isaac Cox U12
Spencer Smith U10 Red
C.J. Jones U10 Red
Steven Lacey U10 Red
Jonathan Williams U12
Rico Virgil U10U Red

Hitting

Tristan Tigrett, Wilson Lutz, CJ Jones

Will Hicks, CJ Jones, Brett Cloud, Phillip Tyra

Bullpen Session

2010-01-29T19:16:00.000-06:00

Pitching results from the SOX bullpen workout Thursday Jan. 28. Congratulations to all of our pitchers!

3:30 – 5:00 Group
Cade Pinnix – 10U Blue -7/10
Landon Cochran – 10U Gold – 9/10

6:00 – 7:30 Group
Matthew Manley – 10 Red – 8/10
Isaac Cox – 12U – 7/10
Spencer Smith – 10U Red – 7/10
C.J. Jones – 10U Red – 9/10
Steven Lacey – 10U Red – 9/10
Jonathan Williams – 12U – 8/10
Rico Virgil – 10U Red – 8/10

Fundamentals, Team Coaches, and Pitchers...

2010-01-27T21:44:00.004-06:00

Fundamentals: We hear this word associated with every sport...and even outside the world of sports. No doubt, fundamentals are the foundation for peak performance as a player. It's importance cannot be minimized.

I want to drive home how we develop our SOX players fundamentally. Fundamentals are basic principles and the bedrock of development. They are the springboard to success...and they are essential in the development of a baseball player. Baseball, more than any other sport, is a game of repetition. To be successful, a player has to execute basic fundamentals over, and over, and over, and over....

The basic fundamentals need to be practiced repeatedly and mastered. And I guess mastered may not be the best word because the basic skills can never be totally mastered. That is why veteran major league players must spend an inordinate amount of time DAILY working on fundamentals.

The basic fundamentals are: 1) Throwing, 2) Fielding, 3) Hitting, 4) Baserunning, and 5) Thinking.

To grasp an understanding of baseball, you must grasp an understanding of basic fundamentals and how they function in relation to practice and preparation. Baseball has so many subtleties and details; however, players cannot advance to this level of play without having learned basic fundamentals...It is an exercise in futility.

I mention fundamentals because I want all of our players and parents to understand their importance. It may seem like we work on the same things over and over and over...but that is how a player is developed. The game is not about trickery and doing 30 different things. That can become confusing to young players. It is about basics and a relentless pursuit of such.

If our players can throw (with some velocity and accuracy), catch ground balls, fly balls, and thrown balls, make contact hitting with a good swing, run the bases and take leads, and make good decisions in the field and be aware of what is going on around them - then they will be a solid player with a chance to help their team win.

So I want to encourage you to reinforce the development of fundamental skills with your child. You can do nothing that will help him more to develop his potential and love of the game than to "master" the fundamentals.

Team Coaches: Just a reminder to all of our teams...our expectation is that each team coach has the responsibility and authority to be the team leader. The team coach is our representative on the team and as such is empowered by us to be the final authority regarding all decisions. We love all of you and appreciate your commitment to your team and the Sox Program and as always welcome your input. Our team coaches will certainly honor all of you in this regard and will make decisions in the best interest of the team. We of course are always available to help and support our coaches.

Pitchers: Our pitchers for the Monday bullpen session were:

• Kade Hayman U10 Red
• Neil Dowty U11
• Lawson Stockett U9 Silver
• Will Lingle U10 Red
• Brandon Smith U10 Red

Congratulations!!!!

Bullpen Session 2

2010-01-24T17:01:00.002-06:00

In our bullpen workouts, we recognize pitchers who can throw at least 7 out of 10 fastballs for strikes. For bullpen session 2 the following joined our pitcher club:

Issac Cox U12 SOX
Matthew Manley U10 SOX Red
Kade Hayman U10 SOX Red
Brandon Smith U10 SOX Red
Braxton Eubanks U10 SOX Blue
Hayden Barksdale U10 SOX Red

Congratulations to these PITCHERS!

Attitude?

2010-01-23T20:23:00.003-06:00

As the season fast approaches, we all evaluate what we do to prepare. The obvious is to structure practice and workouts to ensure that our players are receiving enough batting practice, throwing, bullpens, fielding, bunting, baserunning, etc. Players run to get in shape…We design and implement drills to reinforce fundamentals. We structure instruction to provide individual work to identify weaknesses.

However, through it all I want to encourage you as coaches and parents to not neglect the most vital aspect…ATTITUDE! Yes, attitude.

I work with the Millsaps pitchers 2 days/week which has been good for me. It has been good because I don’t need to forget that although the technical aspects of the game are important, they are not the determining factor in performance and outcome. Yes, the mechanics of your swing and windup matter, they are important, but the game is not played in the batting cage or bullpen mound. An old coach once told me, “the best players don’t always win, the players who play the best do.” Players do not perform or compete in a sterile environment.

Baseball is not played on paper…it is played on the grass and between the lines. It is played in the sunshine and it is played by imperfect people with flaws and weaknesses. It is a game of failure. And if you cannot handle failure, you can never be truly successful at baseball. You need a short memory of negatives.

My experience from years of playing and coaching has proved that talent and technique does not always win, it only gives you a better chance to win. So many years I saw good teams beat better teams through sheer will, heart, and determination. To win, you have to think you can win. What’s on the “inside” is much more important that what’s on the “outside”.

Yes, you can win games with players who have talent, but you win championships with players who have “heart”; who won’t quit; who enjoy competition; who are risk takers; who fail and yet rise again…Players who believe in themselves and believe they can win. No excuses, no whining, no complaining.

One thing I have always liked to do is to observe players who are successful and “win”…observe their qualities and make-up. Pete Rose is one example. Pete was not the most talented player who ever played the game, but he may be the best player who ever lived. He did not even have a position…he played OF, 3rd, and 1st. However, he left the game as the all time hit leader. His nickname was “Charlie Hustle”…You never heard Pete complain or make excuses. And he always played on teams that won. Wonder why?

It’s not always in the stats either. We get hung up on stats sometimes. Stats can be deceptive… everything is always relative. For example; a .320 batting average is not always the same as a .320 batting average. Two players hit .320, but one player hits .385 in big situations, when the game is on the line, when the pressure is on…and the other hits .268. One is scared in critical situations, one is not. One doesn’t want to be at the plate in the last inning, down by 1 run, 2 outs, and runners at 2nd and 3rd, the other does. One lives for the moment, the other is afraid of the situation. One dreams, the other fears.

Vince Lombardi (legendary NFL coach) is quoted as saying, “Winning is not everything, but the will to win is.” So, I guess what I’m saying is – don’t neglect attitude. And provide your children with a model to see and follow. As another “old saying” says, “talk is cheap.”

Ephesians 4:22-24: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Clarification of GW

2010-01-21T07:35:00.001-06:00

We are off to a great start with our spring Group Workouts. Calls and email have poured in requesting access and because of this, we have expanded our offerings. We will make every attempt to try to provide enough space for those who want to participate. You can view our expanded offerings for Week 2 on our website (http://www.psa360.com/) ... click White Sox and then click Group Workouts.

A few procedural changes needed to be made in regard to sign up for the Group Workouts. The process is:

Two weeks of scheduling will always be posted
When one week ends (Thursday), a new week will be posted
Parents may call or email to begin signing up for vacant slots as soon as a new schedule is posted
Between Friday and Tuesday, you may sign up for ONLY 1 session
After Tuesday, you may sign up for ANY remaining vacant slots

Description of each Group Workout session:

Bullpens - these are designed to provide pitchers with repetition work to reinforce basic fundamentals (BART - balance, alignment, rhythm and timing). These workouts are NOT individual instruction sessions, they are bullpen workouts. The main focus will be on executing a basic pitching plan...throw strikes, get ahead, throw 1st pitch strikes, throw 2 out of the first 3 pitches for a strike. At the end of their session, each pitcher will throw 10 fastballs. We consider anyone who can throw 7 out of 10 pitches for strikes, a pitcher...and their name will be posted on our Blog.
Hitting Fundamentals - these sessions are designed to provide basic hitting mechanics and fundamentals and to give each player a lot of repetition work. These workouts are NOT individual instruction sessions...they are to reinforce fundamentals that players learn through team and individual instruction. At the end of each session, all players will participate in competition.
Pitching / Catching Fundamentals - Again, these sessions are designed to reinforce basic fundamentals. Pitchers will get repetition work related to BART, basic fielding techniques, and pickoffs. Catchers will receive basic fundamental work and repetition. At the end of each session, players will go through a series of footwork agility drills and run sprints.
BP (batting practice) - players will have access to a 5 on 1 BP session to get much needed swings...repetition.

Please remember that as we build our program, we have layered instruction...Team instruction, Group Instruction, and Individual Instruction. ALL are essential in the development of a baseball player and each has a different function. They are designed to provide flow and reinforcement. The same basic fundamentals will be taught in each. A player, no matter what level (little league to major league) cannot get everything they need to develop maximum potential and performance from team coaching alone. All of us who played professional baseball received some form of each of these levels of instruction every year.

Hope this clarifies some questions you may have regarding how our structure/organization is taking shape. Call or comment or email if you have questions.

Hitting Champs!

2010-01-19T22:34:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to the following SOX players. They have the honor of winning the hitting challenge at the Group Workouts tonight. We are proud of them and know that their hard work will pay off this spring.

U10 Blue: Keaton Permenter / U13: Matthew Martin / U9 Silver: Hayden Jeffries

Bullpen Session

2010-01-18T23:08:00.001-06:00

No one in their right mind or who knows anything about baseball can argue with the fact that pitching is the most critical element of the game. That is one of the reasons we set up bullpen sessions for our pitchers through the Group Workouts. Tonight was the first night and it was a roaring success.

In these sessions we will do 3 things:

Basic mechanic check

Balance
Alignment
Rhythm / Timing

Pitches

Fastballs
Change-ups
Breaking pitches (U13 only)

Pitching

Get ahead
First pitch strikes
2 out of the first 3 pitches for strikes

Although we will conduct a basic mechanic check, our focus will be on the repetition of throwing pitches relative to a pitching plan. At the end of each session, we will conduct a check to see how many strikes our pitchers can throw in 10 pitches. We tell our pitchers that you are not a pitcher unless you can consistently throw 7 out of 10 fastballs for strikes. We will post the names of PITCHERS...

Pitchers for the Monday Bullpen Session:

Will Hicks

Throwing, arm strength, and pitch counts

2010-01-17T21:49:00.003-06:00

As an organization, we want to do everything we can to protect our young player's arms. Most arm injuries occur from one of the following: 1) too many pitches at maximum velocity, 2) throwing at maximum velocity without warming up, 3) throwing at maximum velocity more than once/day, 4) throwing at maximum velocity when not in shape.

The key words are "maximum velocity"...Players need to throw a lot in order to build arm strength. This process can only be adhered to by limiting maximum velocity throws. The only way to build arm strength and get in shape is by throwing...throwing often and a lot, but not at full speed or maximum velocity.

Listed below are guidelines that the SOX program has adopted and expects all teams to follow. These guidelines are recommendations from Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham. Doctor Andrews is one of the founding members of Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also a founder of the American Sports Medicine Institute, (ASMI) a non-profit institute dedicated to injury prevention, education and research in orthopaedics and sports medicine. Doctor Andrews is internationally known and recognized for his skills as an orthopaedic surgeon as well as his scientific and clinic research contributions in knee, shoulder and elbow injury prevention and treatment. In addition, he has made major presentations on every continent, and has authored numerous scientific articles and books.

At present, Doctor Andrews serves as Medical Director for Intercollegiate Sports at Auburn University; Senior Orthopaedic Consultant for the University of Alabama; and Orthopaedic Consultant for the athletic teams of Troy University, University of West Alabama, Tuskegee University and Grambling University. Dr. Andrews serves on the Medical and Safety Advisory Committee of USA Baseball and on the Board of Little League Baseball, Inc.

In the professional sports arena, Dr. Andrews is Senior Orthopaedic Consultant for the Washington Redskins Professional Football Team.; Medical Director for the Tampa Bay Rays Professional Baseball Team; and team physician for the Birmingham Barons Double A Professional Baseball Team, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Dr. Andrews is the Co-Medical Director of the Ladies Professional Golf Association

SOX Pitch Count Guidelines

The following are recommendations from Dr. James Andrews at The American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham. Dr. Andrews is the foremost sports orthopedic surgeon in the nation. These recommendations have been adopted by many youth leagues throughout the country. We have also adopted these as guidelines for our SOX teams.

Age - Pitch count (many variables are involved – early in season, late in season, maturity, strength, etc.)
• 14-16      95 pitches per day
• 11-13      85 pitches per day
• 9-10        75 pitches per day

A player may not pitch in more than one game in a day. Exception – A player may pitch in consecutive games if less than 21 pitches were pitched in the previous game.

Pitchers must adhere to the following rest requirements:

• If a player pitches 61 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 41-60 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 21-40 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar day of rest must be observed.

Ministry opportunity...

2010-01-15T22:39:00.001-06:00

Moises Rodriguez, our SOX U13 coach, asked if we could do something as an organization to help provide assistance to Haiti as a ministry opportunity.

I checked several options and believe that the American Red Cross would be a great choice. So, after contacting the local office, I was directed to the national organization. They do not need donations of clothing, canned goods, etc. They are requesting monetary donations. To date, over $37,000,000 has been donated for Haiti relief.

If you would like to contribute, I have included contact info below from the Red Cross website. Please pray for these people and all who are involved in recovery/aid operations. God has blessed us, so we can bless others.

From Red Cross website:
How to Help

While the American Red Cross appreciates heartfelt offers to travel to Haiti or to donate household items, at this time, what the Red Cross needs the most are financial contributions – whether by check, online or by phone.

You can make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at http://www.redcross.org/ or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Donors can designate their gifts to Haiti relief. You can also donate $10 to Haiti relief by texting “HAITI” to 90999.

Training

2010-01-12T08:05:00.005-06:00

We have available to all of our teams huge discounts for individual and 2 on 1 instruction. Several teams have taken advantage of this and we have scheduled 4 - 6 weeks of intense workouts to help our kids prepare for the upcoming season. SOX instructors will conduct these sessions and they have been customized for each team to give them what they feel they need.

We are working on attaining outdoor practice space and will post when plans are complete...We also plan to add video and pictures of SOX happenings on our blog...stay tuned!

Please complete our brief survey on this page.

For more information contact PSA

Workouts

2010-01-04T19:40:00.001-06:00

We began Strength and Conditioning workouts tonight...went great. The kids seemed to really enjoy the hard work. It's very rewarding watching our kids develop as baseball players. You can see the improvement in the ones who come regularly. Seven more days of these workouts and I can't wait to see their confidence grow as they become stronger. It was a very good start to the season!