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Posts Tagged ‘college’

So far, so good: McGwire enjoys baseball return
In the dugout hubbub after David Freese’s third home run in four games, the rookie saved a special celebratory forearm shiver for the St. Louis Cardinals’ new hitting coach. For Mark McGwire, it’s moments like this that have made his closely watched return to baseball worthwhile. “To be quite honest I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never really been in this…

Read more on AP via Yahoo! Sports

SPSL 4A baseball tournament update
I’ll be here at Kent Memorial Park all day for the South Puget Sound League 4A baseball tournament and will provide updates on each game.

Read more on Seattle Times

BASEBALL NOTES / Drug-testing program in Dominican
Major League Baseball is instituting a comprehensive registration and drug-testing program for unsigned prospects in the Dominican Republic. Former A’s executive Sandy Alderson was hired in March to help reform baseball there. The program went into effect… Dominican Republic – Sandy Alderson – Major League Baseball – Baseball – sport

Read more on San Francisco Chronicle

Metro League baseball tournament pairings
Here are the pairings for this year’s Metro League baseball tournament.

Read more on Seattle Times

Smyly, Carver on College Baseball Foundation watch lists
Drew Smyly and Tim Carver, members of the 10th-ranked University of Arkansas baseball team, have been named quarterfinalists on separate watch lists released by the College Baseball Foundation.

Read more on FOX 16 Little Rock

It is the individual who applies himself as an academic student in the classroom and it is the individual who is performing as a baseball player.

WBP believes that a prospective high school baseball player (9 -12) must have the proper individual developmental and recruitment planning formula in place. His own personal dedication, desire and passion will carve out his path that he takes through high school to college and beyond.Our goal at Worldwide Baseball Prospects is to empower, coach, direct and mentor the prospective high school baseball player (grade 9 – 12) with college academic and baseball aspirations and his parents through the various stages of high school development and recruitment by way of our action packed program.

Individual High School Baseball Player Developmental and Recruitment Planning Diagram
view diagram>
Remember, No one person is alike. Each present very unique blueprints that are entirely different from one another! Dear Players, “The reward doesn’t come at the end of your journey, but rather, with little milestones throughout your journey, when you look back on your little accomplishments they make one great BIG one.”WBP will coach you in taking a balanced, realistic and reputable approach, assisting your short and long term approach to development and future advancement in baseball, academics and life. At the end of the day, the college or university you choose as a student who plays the game of baseball, should suit your total “individual – student – baseball product.”
Make the transition from High School Baseball to College Baseball
1) First, the player must be conscious of who and what he is now and how he got there.

2) Second, he must find a planning solution for development and recruitment goals that is balanced and based on who he is as a “Individual – Student – Baseball Player” at the High School level now.

3) Third, He must over time at regular intervals assess and continue to become more aware, more confident, more knowledgeable, gaining experiences and develop his total “Individual – Student – Player” product to match both short term and long term goals.

4) Fourth, he must understand that he personally must communicate and engage the process with enthusiasm and be active in presenting his high school “Individual – Student – Baseball Player” product to college coaches and institutions that “match” his need and who in turn desire what he realistically has to offer them.

Please visit us at www.WorldwideBaseballProspects.com

Baseball’s Bud Selig: Too soon to determine if HGH test valid
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says it’s too soon to determine whether a blood test for human growth hormone can be used for minor leaguers.

Read more on USA Today

Improving Baseball: A five-part discussion
A day-by-day look at the Improving Baseball series:

Read more on USA Today

Fien finds himself baseball’s traveling man
Fien finds himself baseball’s traveling man

Read more on Major League Baseball

Men hurt in baseball bat attack
Two men are assaulted by a gang armed with baseball bats at a house in south Belfast, according to police.

Read more on BBC News

Baseball America reveals its Top 25 college teams after Week 3
Virginia bounced back from an upset loss Friday to Wright State to win its last three games over the weekend and remain at No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the third straight week.

Read more on ESPN

The PAC-10 has long been the dominant conference the world of college softball. PAC-10 schools have won the Division I College Softball Championship 7 of the past 10 years and 16 of the past 20. In fact, PAC-10 schools won it all ten straight years between 1988 and 1997! Since 1982, either UCLA (11) or Arizona (7) has won the NCAA tournament 18 times. Arizona was the 2006 NCAA Softball Champion. And, Arizona is the top ranked team going into this years’ NCAA tournament.

But, college softball is not what it used to be. The SEC only started fielding Division I softball teams ten years ago. Yet, two weeks ago, SEC teams were the top three ranked teams in the nation. The national rankings were:

Tennessee Volunteers (53-4)
Alabama Crimson Tide (50-6)
LSU Tigers (49-10)

Rankings shuffled a bit after LSU won the SEC tournament (and Tennessee and Alabama lost). In any event, it is clear that SEC Softball has arrived!

The SEC had seven teams selected for the NCAA tournament this year. This was second only to the PAC-10’s eight. It will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out.

The reason the SEC has become a softball power is the same reason it succeeds in most sports. The reason is that SEC schools have committed serious resources to the sport. By “resources” I mostly mean money.

Tennessee, Alabama, LSU (and other SEC schools) have poured millions into new softball facilities, coaches, recruiting and scholarships. The SEC plays to win and it has the money to make sure it wins.

Many of the SEC’s top softball coaches and players are transplants from California. This includes, for instance, Tennessee softball coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly and star pitcher Monica Abbott. Abbott leads the NCAA in career strikeouts, shutouts and wins.

The commitment of SEC schools is particularly impressive because none of the softball programs in the SEC makes money. They are all money losers. In the end, it is the profit from SEC football, that provides the money so SEC schools can invest in sports like softball.

Certainly there is real value in having winning athletic programs – even if they don’t make money. That winning image translates in many other areas to make each SEC school a better place for students, alumni, and fans.

In the end, of course, it is the fans who are really responsible for the greatness of SEC sports – including softball. Why? It is the fans who contribute money to athletic departments; buy tickets and merchandise; watch the games on TV and radio; and, read articles in various media, etc. All of this results in revenue for SEC athletic programs as well as increased exposure. The result is a circular process of better facilities, more scholarships, better recruits; resulting in more wins, more fans, more money, and round and round we go….

Product Description
This book answers the questions that have been discussed in athletic circles for years. How does the mind impact performance? How do you train the mind to improve performance? This book covers how to develop mental mastery as it relates to performance in athletics and life in general. This book focuses on the developmental years of the athlete and delivers practical concepts and tools for the parent, coach and athlete, which if followed will improve performance on and off the field…. More >>

Too Small to Play Ball: From Little League to the College Diamond