Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 16, 2006
The Texas All Star Baseball Academy (TASBA) announced today the roll out of an inaugural Player Development Camp and Baseball League, which will work in partnership with Cliff Gustafson, the former University of Texas legendary head baseball coach, and other sports leaders to bring a high quality baseball experience to Central Texas for young players.
The TASBA Player Development Camps will be held July17-20 at the South Austin Little League/Pony Baseball Complex and also on July 24-27 at the Dripping Springs Youth Sports Association. These camps are open to boys between the ages of nine and 14-years-old.
âThis baseball camp was developed for kids from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to have a chance of being trained under the guidance of professionals who specialize in baseball skill development,â said Pat Reid, founder of TASBA.
The Texas All Star Baseball Academy will also administer the Cliff Gustafson Player Development Fall League, which will select two teams of players directly from the participants of the TASBA Player Development Camp. The Fall League will include the same age range of players from nine to 14-years-old, and the first practice session will begin on August 7th. Games will again be played at Dripping Springs Youth Sports Association and South Austin Little League/Pony Baseball Complexes.
The Fall League will include two outdoor position-specific training sessions and one indoor skill-specific training session per week for the players; and the weekly league gameâs will be added to the training schedule beginning September 9th. In addition, a celebration banquet is also scheduled for November 18th to close out the season.
TASBA is also quickly becoming recognized as the leader in player development. The Velocity Improvement Program (V.I.P.) serves as an example of the skill set and focus for the training taught in the baseball camp and the Player Development League. Since February 2003, the V.I.P. Program has trained over 300 players ages eight to 18, and has seen an average increase in playersâ overall velocity of 3.7 mph over six-week increments. Every week the training emphasis will be placed on the development of hitting, catching, running, and fielding skills, as well as increasing arm speed and overall functional body strength. Professional trainers will help hone the playersâ baseball skills in a well-developed, organized training program where the staff ratio is one to six or less per group of players. Video analysis of playersâ baseball performance also occurs every four weeks in addition to a written player development evaluation. Development of speed, agility, and core strength will be conducted by the staff of Pure Austin Fitness.
For more information on the Cliff Gustafson Player Development League, TASBA and related programs for players under nine-years-old, as well as experienced high school players, visit www.tasba.com or call 512-293-9762.
About TASBA
Cliff Gustafson is helping lead the way in the development of TASBA. Previously, Gustafson led the Longhorns to the College World Series titles in 1975 and1983 before retiring in 1996 with an impressive 1,466-377 record in his 29 seasons as the University of Texas head baseball coach. This July, Gustafson will be included in the first Class of Inductees of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Former players include Roger Clemons, and Dennis Cook.
Also named the National Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983, the Kenedy, Texas, native coached 133 All-Southwest Conference players, including nine SWC Players of the Year; his teams featured six Academic All-Americans, 35 first-team All-Americans, 12 second-team All-Americans, and nine third-team All-Americans.
Coach Gustafson’s roots with UT date back to 1952, when he played for the Longhorns on the Southwest Conference championship team that advanced to the NCAA College World Series; his coaching career also includes 14 seasons as head coach at South San Antonio High School and an astonishing seven Texas high school championship crowns; Gustafson is also a member of the American Baseball Coaches, the Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Patrick Reid, a former professional baseball player, collegiate baseball coach and personal development trainer, founded TASBA in 2002. Since that time, Coach Reid has trained over 700 youths in the Austin area, many of whom have gone on to play Division I baseball. Reid grew up playing a variety of sports: a baseball shortstop/pitcher, a basketball point guard and a football quarterback. But there’s only one sport that has refused to let go of him over the years–baseball. After playing college baseball for a community college and Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Reid went on to play in the minor leagues for the Helena Gold Sox and Miami Marlins for a couple of years. Since then he’s coached for eight different programs, including independent teams, universities and a community college. He’s worked with over 25 students who have signed a professional baseball contract as well as over 100 others who have gone on to play college baseball. Three of his former players were first round draft choices.
Today, Reid runs the Texas All-Star Baseball Academy, coaching a sport he has played since he was four-years-old. His love for the game and coaching moved him to open the Houston academy in 1995 and an Austin academy in June of this year.
###
