There are a lot of baseball camps, various assessments and showcases out there. Instead of spending a ton of money on them all, I think it’s better to stick to one so that at least the data that is derived from them is consistent. By data I mean things like exit velocity, 60yd dash and the like.
USA Baseball is a world renowned brand that has produced some of the best baseball players in the country.
Olivia participated in last year’s NTIS (15U) and made it to the second round of the Northeast region.
The competition was excellent in the second round. Her performance exceeded my own expectations. This year the competition will be even tougher as the boys are older. Developmentally, boys are just starting to hit their stride, whereas girls at this age (15), are more mature physically, but that also means they have less potential to grow.
But if there is a sport where women can compete with men, baseball is a great candidate for it. Skill triumphs over raw strength. A 450ft homerun doesn’t score more runs than a 330ft one.
The reason that we are entering this program is to find the best competition out there. Any athlete will only be as good as the competition that they are exposed to. At the very least, facing the best competition possible will let the athlete see where they are, and what is possible to do at their respective age. It’s a bit of a sink or swim situation. You either perform or you come up short trying to do so.
This year, Olivia tried out as an infielder as her primary position. Since her team had been working out indoors since January, she had put the most amount of reps at fielding ground balls. The weather for this year’s tryout wasn’t very good and it had to be moved indoors. This worked out great because the conditions for the tryout were nearly identical to what she is used to during her practices: same surface, indoors.
The other players who came up were very big, and strong. Her mechanics were very good and her arm was also feeling good. She performed very well and has once again made it to round 2!
She’s got a busy schedule as the season begins proper in June. July it’s even busier and hopefully those games leading up to the tryout will serve as a way to sharpen her skills.