Earning your Spot in the Lineup

By James Brown Jr.

Reb was drafted by the Braves in the 11-12 year old Mooresville Baseball League (MBL).  He will be wearing #10, which is the same number worn by our all-time favorite Atlanta Brave Larry "Chipper" Jones.

We will be updating the blog with a new look and chronicle Reb's progression during Spring Training and the 2014 season.  He is expecting to play second and pitch but will have to earn his spot in the lineup as he is playing for a new team in a new league.

It is always difficult to be the new guy having to prove yourself to get into the lineup.  Everyone at different times in their playing career, either amateur or professional, will find themselves in this situation.  Here are some suggestions to help you in these transitions.

2014 Picture Day

Robert "Reb" Brown

2014 Mooresville Braves
(3 additional players not pictured here)

Pictures from 2014 Opening Day Ceremonies

 

Braves Fall to White Sox in Home Opener

The Braves could not overcome their slow start Saturday against the White Sox despite two late inning rallies.  The final score ended up 8-5 in favor of the White Sox.

After having a really good Spring with the bat, Reb went 0-3 with 2 K’s.  He had earned the lead-off spot in the lineup but was unable to get on base.  He did score one run as pinch-runner late in the game showing the importance of his role as a run producer.

His glove remains solid as he had one putout and no errors.

Spring Training Begins

After a long hard Indiana winter, we are starting to see some signs of spring.  Warmer weather means baseball is around the corner and Spring Training has commenced.

This year Reb will be playing in the Mooresville Baseball League (MBL). Mooresville has a fantastic baseball program and the 11-12 year old league plays with the 50-70 modified High School rules.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

Youth baseball coach
&
Moron of the Year, Ron Santos

“Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.” ―Robert A. Heinlein

I have seen a lot of ignorant coaches, parents and fans but this guy gets the stupid award for the year.  It is moron's like this that give old school coaches a bad name.  This is the kind of stupidity people associate with hard nosed coaching but it is far from it.  

Sure, we should teach kids how to properly avoid getting hit and how to take a hit by pitch but to purposely bean a kid and then do it over and over is as stupid as it gets.

Angels Finish in 2nd Place

The Morgantown Angels finished in 2nd place in the 2013 Tri-County Tournament.  We are really proud of what they accomplished in the face of some adversity this year.  They played their best baseball in the tournament after some disappointments during the season.

The last few weeks have been busy with church, baseball, and moving into our new house.  I have not had the time to keep up with this blog but we will have a full report of the season and playoffs in the coming weeks.  We will also continue our training and posting information to help young ballplayers develop spiritually, physically and mentally.

While we are proud of all of Reb's accomplishments and improvements this year, we are most proud of the recognition he received in the championship ceremony he received for his attitude on and off the field. 

During the last couple of regular season games he had the opportunity to pitch 2 shutout innings and had two strikeouts.  The first game his control was excellent and while he was not as sharp the second game he was able to pitch his way out of trouble without allowing any runs.We will continue to work on his pitching during the off season.  Since he was in a higher league in respect to his age, we are hopeful this years experience will payoff next year.  He really wants to pitch and so our focus will be on mechanics, location, four and two seam fastball, and two changeups, a straight change and the circle change.

We should also acknowledge the winners of the 2013 Tri-County Tournament, the Brown County Eagles.  They are an excellent team and well coached.  We have a lot of respect for this team and enjoyed our competition with them throughout the year.

After we take a break he will also be working on the fundamentals of the game, fielding, batting and conditioning.  We enjoy the physical exercise baseball provides.  Some people like to exercise in many different forms and we like to play baseball.  It is fun for the whole family.

If you are a homeschooler in South Central Indiana and interested in a getting involved in a baseball program please contact us at james@covenantcommission.org 

More information to come but we would like to start forming friendships that can develop into opportunities for homeschoolers.