ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jon Moldoff

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Player of the Week award goes to Jon Moldoff. Jon plays for the 11U team from West Chester. Jon is a shortstop and pitcher. He is a 6th grader at The Westtown School and also plays for East Side Little League. He is coached by Brian Rorick.

For the weekend of the 10th and 11th, Jon was 9 for 15 at the plate with 4 RBI’s. Jon led an offense that scored 49 runs in just 5 games.

“Jon just loves playing with his new team at All Star Baseball Academy,” Mrs. Moldoff said of their experience. “He just started taking lessons there, and he’s absolutely thrilled with everything he’s done there so far.”

When asked about the weekend, Jon was modest in his response, saying “It was a team effort, and we had a lot of fun.”

Coach Brian Rorick was impressed by Jon’s performance, saying “He did an excellent job with runners in scoring position. He’s a very hard worker and is very coachable, and he’s a great team player.”

Jon and the 11U team play again September 24th and 25th in the ECTB Autumn Fall Fest in Allentown, PA.

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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 from West Chester. They went 4-1 the weekend of the 10th and 11th on their way to winning the Patriot Day Tournament in Aberdeen, Maryland. They are coached by Brian Rorick.

The 11U squad blew away the competition in the tournament, scoring 49 runs in 5 games. On their way to the tournament championship, they beat the Germantown Hawks 10-0, the Staten Island Legends 11-0, and the Franklin Rockets 10-0, with the lone loss being a 5-4 battle against the North Howell Bombers. In the championship game, they put up 14 runs in a 14-7 win against the Long Island Braves.

While everyone contributed to the offensive onslaught, Jon Moldoff and Adam Smith lead the charge with stellar performances. Moldoff was 9-15 for the weekend with 4 RBI, while Smith was 7-12 and chipped in 3 RBI.

The offensive performance was matched by the pitching staff, with 3 shutouts on the weekend. Pitching standouts were Jonah Frankel and Zach Cantrambone, who both threw complete game shutouts.

Coach Rorick was very pleased with his team’s performance, saying “It was our first weekend out, and I think it was exciting for the guys to come out swinging and throwing as well as we did. I was excited for the guys. We shutout 3 teams, we lost a close game and were able to win it all. I was very proud of the guys for the way we put pressure on the other team’s defense. We played very well defensively. We came out throwing strikes and swinging at quality pitches.”

The 11U Team plays again September 24th and 25th at ECTB’s In the Net Autumn Wood Bat Tournament in Allentown.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY RYAN HOWARD JERSEY WINNER: Matt Hennessey

All Star Baseball Academy capped off an exciting day with a special raffle prize given out by Powerade. That prize was an autographed Ryan Howard Jersey, which was won by Matt Hennessey and his family. As raffle prizes were given out all day, everyone was waiting for that last ticket to be called.



When asked about the day, Matt said “It was pretty cool that Ryan Howard talked about preparing to play, and he taught me how to mentally and physically prepare myself before the game, how to be relaxed. It was really cool that we won the jersey; we’re going to frame it and hang it up.”



His dad was just as thrilled, saying “He had a great time and enjoyed listening to Howard’s responses. Now all I have to do is decide if it’s going in Matt’s room or in the bar.”

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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 courtesy of Mick Bigwood, a business manager and instructor for ASBA Broomall. Mick, a 4 year starter at Delaware Valley College, stressed the importance of warming up properly.



For Mick, warming up properly means Dynamic Stretching. Dynamic Stretching is defined as “a type of sports fitness routine in which momentum and active muscular effort are used to stretch and the end position is not held.”



A brief example of a dynamic stretching routine might look like this:

(note: each stretch goes down and back, 60 feet each way)

• Light jog

• High knees

• Butt kickers

• Walking lunge and twist

• Monster walks

• Walking knee hugs

• Quad Walk

• Power skips

• Shuffles

• Carioca

• Sprints (stealing a base)



Along with this routine, players can do ladder and cone drills to improve their agility.



When asked what advantage this gives players, Mick said “The more your body is warmed up, the better your arm and body will feel. Also, there is less risk of injury while playing.”



Please keep a look out for our next tip of the week. If you have any questions about a proper warm up please contact your local ASBA facility for advice.

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ALL STAR BASEBALL ACADEMY RYAN HOWARD DAY

Despite thunder, lightning and a steady downpour, Thursday, August 25th of 2011, will be a day that ASBA kids will remember as the day they met Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard and Mitch Williams. In a joint effort, they were able to give the attendees an in depth look into what it takes to be a professional ball player.



After it was evident that the weather was not going to allow the clinic portion of the morning, everyone took shelter. Mitch Williams, the former closer for the Phillies ’93 World Series team, arrived shortly after and launched into an impromptu question and answer session. Williams answered questions for about an hour, with questions ranging from “Who was the best player you played with?” (Lenny Dykstra to the surprise of many) to “How did you mentally prepare to pitch?” Williams answered each question like a seasoned pro.



After about an hour or so, Williams gave way to Ryan Howard, who was equally impressive in his Q&A session. Like Williams, he answered questions about how he prepares for a game and gets out of a slump. He managed to avoid the trick question of “If you weren’t on the Phillies, what team would you want to play for?” with ease.



After each Q&A session, both men were gracious enough to take pictures with all of the All Star Baseball Academy kids, as well as the ASBA staff who were in attendance. After the fanfare of getting their picture taken with Mitch Williams and Ryan Howard, it was time for the ASBA-Powerade HR Derby. Williams was kind enough to stick around and throw to the contestants, which included his own son. After the first two rounds, John Brogan and Dan Hoy were able to advance to the finals. The two sluggers were still tied after one overtime round, until Brogan was able to put one well over the fence to put the pressure on Hoy. Down to his last out, Hoy made his last two swings count, as he hit two long homeruns to claim the title of Homerun Derby Champion. Other participants included Shane Allen, Dan Rosenbaum, Ryan Hissey, Mitchell Williams and Luke Emling.



Overall, it was a great day for everyone. As kids got to meet a Major League slugger, parents got to reminisce about the ’93 Phillies and everyone got to see some great hitting and enjoy some good BBQ after.

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INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHT: Sean Kirkpatrick

Featured in this week’s All Star Baseball Academy’s Instructor Spotlight is Sean Kirkpatrick. Sean is an Instructor at All Star Baseball Academy Downingtown. He gives lessons for catching, hitting, and fielding. Sean has been part of the ASBA family since August of 2010.



Sean played his high school ball for Council Rock South, where he was a standout catcher. While attending Council Rock South, he was a two year starter, and was named Team Captain his Senior year. After graduating from there in 2006, he went on to play baseball at Wesley College in Delaware, where he was the starting catcher for 3 years. In his first college appearance behind the plate, he threw out a runner trying to steal second on the first pitch of his college career. As a freshman, he hit .286, including 2 homeruns and 17 RBI. During his time at Wesley, he played on a team that was nationally ranked in the Top 25. He was voted Team Captain for his Junior and Senior years, in which time he led a squad that won the ECAC in 2010.



At All Star, Sean has had the opportunity to coach several different teams ranging in all ages. Along with working at All Star, he works as a physical education teacher at the Wilmington Friends School.



When asked about giving lessons, Sean says that “Patience is the key. Every player is different, and you have to be able to adapt to different players. Some kids respond to certain drills, while other players don’t do as well in the same drills, instead excelling in other drills.”



When asked what he likes the most about coaching and giving lessons, Sean said what he enjoys is “Seeing the player get a lot better over time, as well as getting to know them and their families on a personal level. Along with that, I’ve learned more about the game from coaching than I did from playing, and I’ve become a better teacher of the game while working as a coach.”



To schedule lessons with Sean, please call the Warminster-Hatboro facility at 215-672-1826.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephen Ball

This week’s All Star Baseball Academy Player of the Week Award goes to Stephen Ball, a pitcher and third baseman for ASBA West Chester’s 16U Team. Stephen is coached by Kevin McGrath, who has produced a number of POTW Award winners. Stephen is going to be a junior at Malvern Prep High School, where he is also a pitcher and third baseman.



In his lone start the weekend of the 30th, Stephen went the distance for the 16U squad. He allowed just one run in the effort, leading the team to the win. He recorded 5 strikeouts while scattering 7 hits, and gave up just one walk.



“I’ve been taking lessons with Scott Grimes for 3 years, and he’s really helped me improve my power when I hit,” Stephen said when asked about his experience with All Star. “I’ve been taking pitching lessons with Dave Slusser as well, and he’s really helped me with my changeup, which is the off speed pitch I use most now. I thought we did very well as a team, we did make some mental mistakes, but overall we did well as a team. It’s an honor to be nominated because we have a lot of talent on our team. I really wanted to work on pitching this summer.”



Coach McGrath was very pleased with Stephen’s success for the weekend.

“Stephen did a good job,” said McGrath. “He battled for us and threw strikes. He’s a real hard worker and a great teammate, and he’s got great work ethic.”



Stephen’s dad has been pleased not only by his son’s play, but by the coaches as well, saying that “I thought Kevin and his other coaches did a great job with the boys this summer. They focused on development, making sure the kids improved on their primary positions. Lessons with Dave Slusser have helped tremendously. They have been a big positive for us, along with hitting lessons with Kevin. We’ve been training with All Star for years, and we’ve been pleased with this team. The coaches have been positive in the games as well, keeping their cool and not yelling.”



Stephen and the 16U squad are done playing for the summer, but be sure to keep an eye out for him this Fall and in the Spring.

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