Sleepy Hollow 9U Summer Ball Notebook: Headless Horsemen Eyeing Playoff Berth

The stat book is nowhere to be found.

 The scorebook is typically irrelevant in post-game speeches. The key for TNT’s Sleepy Hollow 9U team is steadfast progression on a day-to-day basis. The goal from the beginning of the season was to eliminate any egos on the team and filter out any emphasis on individual totals.

Mike Fox has meshed this young core into a surrogate family that pushes each other’s development. Fox is an advocate of the longtime sports philosophy that the whole always outweighs the sum of the parts.

An unwavering coach who has never harped on wins and losses, Fox has made summer ball an all summer a high-order commitment. The young kids have labored through scalding 100 degree temperatures, some getting on the mound with a heat index of 105.

At this stage, where Fox plucked numerous talented players from the regular TNT little league system, he’s simply trying to preach principles team unity. He’s witnessed the camaraderie come into fruition, with players helping push the development of other players. In a tight-knit community of Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow’s ilk, he knows this is just the start of a baseball clique that will be on the diamond together for years and years to come. It’s all part of grass-roots pioneer Joey Good’s master plan to put Sleepy Hollow back on the map for baseball.

The youth leagues and feeder programs will eventually pan out in varsity teams and it’s through the fundamentals-first teaching of guys like Good and Mike Fox that these youngsters absorb the intricacies of the game.

Without struggle, there is no progress.

Sleepy Hollow 9U stands at a record of 6-11, the Headless Horsemen find themselves in nearly every game.

Their ability to keep errors at a minimum and make heads-up plays has elicited a response from their coaches, who place strong emphasis on fielding every day that ends in the letter y.

“We’re really starting to catch the ball, and field the ball, and the kids are starting to hit lately,” said Fox, who is already shifted his gaze towards growing and expanding.

And while the growth of this feeder program has come into focus, Fox believes the team can run the table over the ensuing couple of games. A playoff berth would mean a lot for team that barely fielded enough players to compete this season.

“At this level, we’re just trying to get them to make contact and follow the ball,” said Fox.

“Following the ball on every play, it’s really basic at this level. Follow the ball into your mit, follow the ball on a groundball. It’s really that basic. The kids we have, most of them are decent athletes. It’s just a matter of them understanding the game.”

Next year, the group will look to add on to their strength in numbers. The plan is to start scouting teams from TNT, and have a greater talent pool to pick and choose from. There were only nine kids to select from, clearly everyone made the team.

“Next year, we don’t care if we have 5-6 alternates,” Fox said.

 “We just want to have kids that could play the game at the higher level and having a deeper in the sense of a deeper talent pool, not so much that the roster is larger.”

 “Their summers are consumed by this,” said Fox, noting that the kids have braved the heat in playing a month and a half of straight baseball.  “We had a two-hour practice today, it’s the last full-team practice. We have batting practice during the week with other coaches. It’s a huge commitment, we’re real proud of the kids for following through.”

Sleepy Hollow’s game on Thursday will be a yardstick match. The Horsemen are slated for a date with Briarcliff, a top-four team and title contender that has lost just four games this season.

Similar to Sleepy Hollow’s 14U team, Fox’s recipe for success is small ball. Instead of trying to drive the ball over the short fence, he wants his players to slap offerings into seams in the outfield. Speed on the basepaths and awareness is another key for this team. A la the 14U team, this team waits for their pitch and makes the pitcher labor and hike up the pitch count.

The team is nowhere near a finished product, but the promise and progression displayed this season has the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow area buzzing.

“We have a really good core here, I’m really looking forward to the next level,” explained Fox.

“By the time they’re 12, 13, and 14, there are a good seven kids on this team who will really stand out and be all-star caliber. They will eventually arrive at the varsity level ready-made. We have some really good talent out of this group. Were short a few guys, but we have a good core here.”