INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHT: Dave Housel

In this week’s All Star Baseball Academy Instructor Spotlight, we are featuring Dave Housel, an instructor at ASBA West Chester. Dave gives lessons for hitting and fielding. Dave has been a member of the ASBA family since September of 2011.

Dave, a native of New Jersey, played high school baseball for Menthan High School, which is located in the northern part of the state. In both his junior and senior years, he was selected to the All-State team (1999 and 2000). He was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets in the 47th round, where he played from 2001 to 2004, making it as far as High A-ball. While with the Mets organization, he was roommates with David Wright. After his time with the Mets, he continued to play professionally in the Atlantic League, where he played for several teams. He got his start there with the Atlantic City Surf, playing for them in 2005 and 2006. He continued to play for a number of teams in the Atlantic League until 2010, including the Road Warriors, the Somerset Patriots, the Lancaster Barnstormers, the Camden Riversharks, and the Long Island Ducks. While in the league, he was a member of two championship teams, and was named the starting third baseman in the Atlantic League All Star Game in 2007. In 2009, he became the first player in league history to homer from both sides of the plate in a single game as a member of the Lancaster Barnstormers.

While Dave is still relatively new to ASBA, he has been giving lessons on his own for years, and thoroughly enjoys it. He says that the best part of it is “watching the kids develop. I’ve been doing this since I started playing, and the gratitude I get from watching the kids grow as ball players is wonderful.”

Along with giving lessons, Dave has helped out with the Sandlot League, and will be coaching a team this spring.

To schedule lessons with Dave, please call the West Chester facility at 610-399-8050.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TIP OF THE WEEK

Today’s All Star Baseball Academy Tip of the Week comes to us from Brian Walker, a business manager and instructor at ASBA Downingtown. Brian, a left-handed pitcher for the University of Miami and in the New York Mets organization, talked about the importance of being able to locate all of your pitches for balls along with strikes.

Brian noted that when a lot of kids throw their bullpens, they work on throwing all of their pitches over the plate. When a pitcher is ahead in the count 0-2 or 1-2, the hitter is going to swing at anything over the plate to avoid the strikeout. This is a good time to throw a “waste pitch,” or a pitch out of the strike zone to get the hitter to swing and miss. By working on throwing strikes in the bullpen, it becomes difficult to throw a pitch out of the strike zone that the hitter will want to swing out. An example of this is an 0-2 curveball in the dirt. If you don’t work on hitting a specific spot, like the back corner of the plate, then chances are that you’ll throw it several feet in front of the plate, which is unlikely for the batter to swing at.

In order to practice this, pitchers should work on throwing all of their pitches for balls. In a game, every pitch has a purpose. While it is called a waste pitch, the purpose of this pitch is to get the hitter to swing at a pitch that he can’t hit. As Brian points out, execution in practice equals execution in games. When a pitcher throws his bullpen in between starts/appearances, he should set aside a series of pitches that are thrown off the plate and high and low outside of the strike zone. The pitcher should let the catcher know in advance what he is working on so that the catcher is ready to block the ball.

First, the pitcher needs to identify his “out” pitch. If his out pitch is a curveball or slider, he needs to be able to throw it down the middle of the plate, but low and in the dirt. He should try to throw it so that it lands on the back corner of the plate. He can also throw it so that it starts on the outside corner and breaks away from the hitter and off the plate. If his out pitch is his changeup, he should work on throwing it 4-6 inches off the plate to both sides of the plate. He should also be able to throw it in the dirt. For a fastball, he should be able to throw it 4-6 inches off the plate and to both sides of the plate as well, and he should be able to elevate it chest-high to the batter over the plate.

Stay tuned for our next Tip of the Week. If you have any questions about pitching or want to schedule lessons, please contact your local ASBA facility.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: Warminster 12U Select

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to Warminster-Hatboro’s 12U Select Team. They went 5-0 for the weekend of the 15th and 16th on their way to securing the championship in the Rhyno Pink Ribbon Classic in Berkshire, PA. They are coached by Brian Good and Mike O’Brien.

In the first game of the tournament, the 12U squad came out swinging, winning 10-0 over Max Impact Xtreme. They continued the offensive onslaught in their next two games, beating the Mt. Carmel Clover Hose and the Berkshire Sea Dogs 11-0 each. In the semi-final game they beat the Berkshire Red Sox 7-1, and in the championship game they came from behind to beat the Triple Threat Bearcats 9-5. They scored 8 runs in the fifth off of the Bearcats closer to rally for the win.

While it was a team effort, Brian Schaub and Chris Farrell led the offense, which scored 49 runs in five games. Schaub was 6 for 12, scoring 3 runs and collecting 7 RBI’s. Farrell’s performance was just as impressive, as he went 7 for 12 with 6 runs scored and 4 RBI’s.

Even with this offensive outburst, pitching was the key for the squad, as they shut out three of their five opponents. Cole Nehring, Ryan Boyce and Eric Gross were all stellar, allowing just one run between them. Nehring was the most impressive, throwing 4 innings of no-hit baseball in a game that was shortened for the 10-run mercy rule. In his 4 innings he racked up 6 strikeouts and walked just 2 batters. Boyce nearly matched Nehring’s effort, allowing just 1 hit in four innings, striking out 5 batters with no walks. Eric Gross allowed just 1 run and 2 hits in is 5 innings of work, but collected a whopping 9 strikeouts.

Coach Brian Good was extremely happy with his team’s performance, saying “This weekend was extra special because it was a total team effort, top to bottom. The highlight of the weekend was in the championship game. We were down a few runs going into the fifth inning, and we rallied for 8 runs in the inning to take the lead off their (Triple Threat Bearcats) closer. Overall, it was a great weekend.”

The 12U Select Team plays again in the Oktoberfest Tournament at Sports at the Beach down in Rehobeth, Delaware. The tournament is the 22nd and 23rd.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: West Chester 11U

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to the 11U Team out of ASBA West Chester. They went 5-1 to win the championship at the Columbus Day Tournament held by Sports at the Beach in Rehobeth, Delaware. The team is coached by Brian Rorick.

On the first day of the tournament, the 11U squad put up 21 runs in 2 games, beating the NJ Naturals 10-5 and the Scranton Miners 11-2. On Sunday, they dropped their first game to the Ridley Royals by a score of 11-0, but came out swinging to beat the Scranton Miners for a second time, 14-0. On the third and final day of the tournament, the team was without 6 of their players, as not everyone had off school for Columbus Day, but still managed to scratch out a 2-1 victory over the NJ Naturals. In the championship game, the team got their revenge with a 6-2 win over the Ridley Royals to claim the championship trophy.

The team’s offense played a huge role in their tournament victory, scoring a total of 43 runs in 6 games. There were several offensive standouts, but Will Sanford, Charlie Sullivan, Duncan Attig and Adam Smith led the charge. Sanford was 7/11, while Sullivan and Attig were 6/12 and 7/9 respectively. All three chipped in with 2 RBI’s apiece. Adam Smith led the team with 6 RBI’s, and contributed by going 5/8 for the champions.

On the mound, the team got huge performances by Jonah Frankel and Chris Newell. Each pitcher threw 6 innings on the weekend, and each allowed just one hit. Newell allowed just 2 runs for the weekend, while Frankel was even stingier, allowing only 1 run.

Coach Rorick was very happy with his team’s performance, saying, “It was a tough tournament we were going into, especially since we were missing six of our guys Monday because of school. The guys did a great job of battling and persevering, and we were able to come out on top. They did an excellent job of coming up big at key moments in each game.”

The 11U squad plays again this weekend (the 15th and 16th) at Diamond Nation in New Jersey.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY TEAM OF THE WEEK: Warminster 18U Showcase Team

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Team of the Week Award goes to Warminster’s 18U Showcase Team. They went 5-0 this past weekend to win the 18U Wood Bat Championship at Diamond Nation. They are coached by John Bellis.

On Friday, the 18U squad dominated Langan Baseball American, winning 13-2. The following day they beat the NJ Super 17’s 8-5. On the last day of the tournament, the team rattled off 3 more wins, beating the Taconic Rangers 3-2, the North Jersey Heat 9-1, and Wladyka National 5-1 to claim the title of tournament champions.

Despite having just four pitchers for the weekend, the pitching staff propelled the 18U squad to the championship. In particular, Casey O’Donnell and Matthew Martens led a pitching staff that let up just 11 runs in 5 games. Both pitchers had to make 2 starts during the tournament. Ethan Rode also chipped in with a strong performance.

The pitching staff was aided greatly by the 18U Team’s high-powered offense. While Coach Bellis said that there were no individual standouts for the weekend, everyone chipped in with timely hits. Bellis noted that the team did a great job of moving guys up a base when they needed to, and they were able to take advantage of mistakes by the other team.

When asked about his team, Coach Bellis pointed to the way they have come together this fall.

“In short, it’s obvious that the team has really come together and gelled as a group. There’s a great sense of camaraderie with these guys, and they love playing together. We’re 14-2 this fall, and we’ve won 12 straight games now. We’re a tough team to beat, and I think that says a lot about these guys. To come in and win a tournament like this with only 4 pitchers is impressive.”

The 18U Showcase Team plays again the 8th and 9th in Berkshire and the following weekend at All Star Baseball Academy’s Showcase Tournament at Villanova University.

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