Upcoming Baseball Christmas Camp

There's an old adage in the game of baseball that champions are made in the offseason. This winter, the Connecticut Baseball Academy is looking to help guide youngsters along in their journey of becoming a championship caliber ballplayer.

  The Connecticut Baseball Academy is offering those between the ages of 8 and 16 the chance to come out of baseball hibernation and continue their development as hitters, catchers, pitchers and refine their fielding skills at its annual Christmas Camp.  

Current San Diego Padres scout and former Division I college coach Jim Bretz knows as well as anyone how much of a positive impact the camps offered by the Connecticut Baseball Academy can have on a young player. He said he witnessed the results first-hand as a coach and is now doing the same as a professional scout.  

"Any player who attends a camp or various camps usually has a direct advantage over those who don't. It's simply because they are committing extra time to their game and not just the required practice time handed out by the coach," said Bretz. "Anytime  that a player can learn from qualified coaches and instructors at an advanced level, he can be sure that he is learning the game the correct way, with proper techniques."  

Players had the opportunity to work on those techniques with a group of Division I college coaches on Dec. 4th and 5th at the Academy's Prospect Camp.

The Camp was attended by players from throughout Connecticut as well as neighboring Massachusetts and New York.   The Prospect Camp featured Notre Dame's Joe Hastings, College of the Holy Cross Head Coach Greg DiCenzo, Brown University's Brian Murphy, and Pat Hall of Central Connecticut State University. Hastings, Murphy and Hall each serve as the recruiting coordinator of their respective programs.  

"These camps are important from a college standpoint because we're in our quiet period," said Hastings. "By coming here, it gives us an opportunity to come out and see some players during a time of year when we're not allowed to be out actively recruiting. We like to come to these camps and do some instruction and work with the kids to see how they handle themselves."  

The Prospect camp featured 27 combined hitting and pitching stations as well as a total of four seminar sessions in which each of the collegiate coaches discussed the importance of work ethic, dedication, academics, controlling one's emotions and the significance of always being willing to listen and learn.  

"The second you think as a player that you've learned it all, that you know everything, is the second you stop becoming a better baseball player," added DiCenzo.  

Players will have the chance to continue to learn the necessary skills and techniques later this month at the Christmas Camp. There, they'll receive hands-on instruction from individuals who focus on baseball 365 days a year.  

"Quite often, lower level amateur players are forced to learn the game from coaches that are not baseball-first coaches. They're assistant football coaches and basketball coaches that are handed the equipment and the responsibility of coaching the team," said Bretz. "Therefore, the player gets cheated from a lack of proper instruction. That is where camp comes into play. Anytime a player can get extra work and apply proper teaching, he can only improve."  

The San Diego scout is just one of several "baseball-first" coaches and instructors that will be on-hand during the Academy's Christmas Camp. Bretz will be joined by Triple-A All-Star pitcher Steve Bray, Arizona Diamondbacks' second-round draft pick Jamie D'Antona, National Championship coaches Dan Kennedy (spent time in the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs systems) and Bob Hetu as well as Connecticut Baseball Academy's Mike Levandowski, Matt Manders, Steve Blinn and Eric Rosario.  

The two-day Christmas Camp will take place from Dec. 27th to Dec. 28th at the Connecticut Baseball Academy's East Hartford location (525 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford, CT 06108) and from Dec. 29th to Dec. 30th at its Berlin facility (598 Deming Road, Berlin, CT 06037). Hitting instruction for campers ages 8-12 will run from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on both days while a session for pitchers and catchers will take place from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 in the afternoon. The same sessions will be offered for 13-to-16-year-olds from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at each location. Both second sessions in Berlin will include fielding instruction in addition to lessons in pitching and catching.  

Each session is $100, or players can attend both sessions for just $150. Pre-register by Dec. 18th and 50 percent will be taken off the price.

This camp, at this value, Bretz said, is something that anyone serious about the game should take advantage of.   

"Talent alone will only take a player so far," said Bretz. "The old saying that champions are made in the offseason couldn't be more accurate. It's the extra hours put in and the extra knowledge gained that gives a player the advantage over his competition in the long run."  

To register for the Christmas Camp, visit www.ctbaseballacademy.com.  

The Connecticut Baseball Academy was founded in 1994 in East Hartford, Conn. in a 7,500 square foot facility that at the time featured only four batting cages. It has since grown to span a combined 51,000-pus square feet in two locations - its flagship facility in East Hartford as well as its Berlin, Conn. facility - with a total of 19 multifunctional tunnels for baseball and softball hitting, pitching and throwing in addition to a 50ft. x 80ft. turf training area and an 800 square foot strength and conditioning quarter.  

Forty-four individuals who are currently playing professional baseball or have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft to go along with an extended list playing collegiate ball across the country, including at Notre Dame, Stanford, North Carolina, Auburn, Southern California, St. John's, Tennessee and UConn, have been aided by the Connecticut Baseball Academy.