Sunday Swings:

Sundays 10:00-1pm (Beginning May 1st, 2011)

(1)Hour: In-Season Training with Athletic Edge Performance Staff (Allen Van Orden, Gary Helmick, Brian Hesson)

(2) Hours: Open Hitting with Staff, Live BP, Hitting Tips & Drills

$25.00 Per/Sunday  Maximum- 20 Players Per Session

Open to ALL High School & College Level Players

Call or Sign Up Today (410)-590-BATT/ thebatt@verizon.net

Anthony has successfully coached at UMBC and Frostburg State University and has been a long time member and instructor here at the BATT.  Congrats and best of luck Anthony!

Allen Van Norden has agreed to become the new Director of Athletic Performance at Athletic Edge, a part of the BATT Academy LLC.

Van Norden enters his first season as the director of strength and conditioning at Coppin State after being hired in October 2010.

Van Norden, who has worked with more than 15 different sports at the collegiate level during previous stints at Delaware State and South Carolina State, oversees Coppin State’s department of strength and conditioning.

A 2004 graduate of Bowie State University, He is CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) certified and a member of the CSCCA (Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association). Van Norden spent two of the last three years as a director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at South Carolina State. During his time in South Carolina State, and Delaware State, he worked with a number of different men’s and women’s sports teams which have won conference championships and finished remarkably better then the previous years.

Van Norden has organized and conducted strength and speed camps and clinics for high school teams, worked with professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS. He also founded Anatomy Sports Performance which provides strength training to high school, amateur and professional athletes. And it also serves as a mentoring program which provides students with the opportunity to work and learn more about the strength training profession.

Van Norden, a native of Port Chester, N.Y., is Married to Millicent Sylvan and they have three children Christian, Cain, and Loki.

Josh made his big league debut with Toronto in 2007 and the following season was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres.  Banks logged 115 innings and 17 starts with San Diego between 2008-2009.  In 2010, Banks made only one appearance with the Houston Astros and became a free agent after the season before signing with San Francisco last week.

Josh spends the off-season working out here at the BATT in preparation for spring training and his persistance and dedication to the game of baseball is a great example for our younger players to follow.  Congratulations Josh and we wish you the best of luck this upcoming season!

Kendall has spent the last ten seasons coaching in the Orioles organization at various levels including Bluefield (rookie) Aberdeen (Short-Season A) and Delmarva (Low A) in additon to running the Orioles extended spring training in Florida.  Managing the Baysox who compete in the Eastern League will mark Kendall’s first season at the AA level.

Gary has been a big part of the BATT family for a long time and continues to play a role in helping us develop players in this area.  Whether it’s a  high school or college player trying to reach the next level or an 8 year old who dreams of being a big leaguer, Gary spends time working with players of all ages, throws batting practice every Monday and occasionally will hold free clinics here at the BATT. 

Gary, thank you for all of your dedication and support here at the BATT, and we look forward to seeing some games in Bowie this year.  Congratulations and best of luck this upcoming season!

First, effective January 1, 2011, the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA will all be adopting the BBCOR standards for aluminum baseball bats.  BBCOR stands for the Ball-Bat Coefficiet of Resitution.  It is simply a new, more advanced testing standard which takes account for bat inertia.  Only bats that display the BBCOR certified label will be deemed legal bats at the college level.  The idea is to reduce the exit speed of the ball off the bat and ultimately close the gap between aluminum and wood bats.  As a current college coach, I saw first hand this fall of the difference these new bats make.  Certainly a significant decrease in distance with the new BBCOR bats.  Much like Major League Baseball this year, I think we will see an increased emphasis on pitching and defense and perhaps also less inflated offensive statistics across the board. 

For all you high school players out there, no need to worry this year, your Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) certified bats will still be legal for another year.  However, beginning in 2012, the National Federation of High School Athletic Assocations will adopt the NCAA rules by allowing only BBCOR certified bats.  There are also a few “composite” bats that have been approved for this year as well:

-DeMarini CF4

-DeMarini Vendetta C6

-Louisville Slugger – TPX Dynasty

-Louisville Slugger – TPX Triton

- Combat Backbone AB

-Combat B1AB

-Combat B2AB

You can find more about high school rules and approved bats here…

From everything that I’ve seen, the pricing of these new BBCOR bats will be about the same as the BESR bats so don’t expect much of a change in pricing.  Average cost seems to be around $199.   In addition, of the new DeMarini BBCOR bats, most players favor the DeMarini Voodoo over the Vexxum. 

It should be interesting to see how the offensive and defensive sides of the game are affected by these new standards.  Personally, I think it is good for the game of baseball, and I think you will see, at least in the college scene, a shift back to small ball (bunts, hit & runs, etc).

Have you used any of the new BBCOR bats yet?? Please post your thoughts/comments/questions here.

Thanks for reading!

Speed, Agility, & Strength (SAS)

Our SAS program is designed to enhance the athletes speed and quickness, while also increasing strength and flexibility. 

The course is heavy in plyometric exercises which forces the athlete to utilize their fast-twitch muscle fibers.  Some of the areas of focus include:

The full course lasts 8 weeks, with two sessions per week (each sessions is about an 1 hr 15min long).  However, we do offer 4 and 6 week courses as well.  Our classes are based on a group rate, and to form a group you must have a minimum of 5 athletes.  If you are an individual without a group and wish to join a class, we will place you in the first available group.  The group rates (minimum of 5) are listed below:

8 Week Program:

• BATT Members – $18 per session
• Non-Members – $25 per session

6 Week Program:

• BATT Members – $20 per session
• Non Members – $25 per session

4 Week Program:

• BATT Members – $20 per session
• Non-Members – $25 per session

To register your group, or to inquire about joining an existing group, please send us an email at thebatt@verizon.net or call 410.590.BATT

Or you can reach Coach Williams, who runs all SAS programs, via email:

Coach Anthony Williams

anthony.williams84@yahoo.com

* Gift certificate must be used towards a BATT Academy or Athletic Edge product or program.  This includes private lessons, video analysis etc.  Gift certificate CANNOT be used towards membership fees*

Baseball fans and enthusiasts everywhere look forward to the calendar changing to October, because that means MLB playoff baseball is here at last.  But for those of us not playing in the MLB playoffs, our OFF-SEASON has begun!  Time to reflect on the past season but more importantly think about what you are going to do this off-season to make yourself a better player.  Here’s the first step: sign up for a membership at The BATT Academy!

Our facility and professional staff provides every resource necessary to prepare you for the upcoming season.  Aside from our four cages with “Iron-Mike” pitching machines and four pitching mounds, we also have a weight room and a 130 ft. multi-purpose room that is used for long-toss, infield play, as well as athletic training.  Check out our photo gallery here

The BATT is unlike your typical batting cage, as we do not have tokens and our only reservations are for private instruction.  We pride ourselves on being an open “baseball gym” where members have unlimited access to our facility seven days a week.  The traditional off-season for baseball players is our IN-SEASON and we try to provide the very best resources and instruction for our members to help prepare them for the upcoming season. 

This “off-season” we plan to implement several events including free weekly clinics for our members.  With a professional and knowledgable staff offering everything from pitching/hitting/catching instruction to college recruiting workshops and athletic training, we truly are a “full-service” baseball academy.  To join or to find out some more information about the BATT Academy and our memberships, call us at 410.590.BATT (2288) or send us an email at thebatt@verizon.net

This month we want to recognize a special group of young ballplayers as our BATT Academy – MEMBERS OF THE MONTH.  They are the Lakeshore GraySox 10U travel team.  Not only is each player on the team a BATT Academy member, they can now all be called CHAMPIONS!!  The GraySox competed in the Cal Ripken “Big Kahuna” Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The GraySox returned to Maryland as champions after cruising through the competition with an 8-1 record.  In the championship game they defeated the Saints of St. Petersburg Florida by the score of 10-8.  Congratulations to the 10U GraySox, we are extremely proud of you for the excellent job you did representing Lake Shore, the BATT Academy, and the entire state of Maryland.  Job well done!!

Team Photo Above:

(Top Left) Bobby Quesenberry, Daniel Casalino, Roland Siwinski, Mike Storm, Blake Rebstock

(Bottom Left) Andrew Revels, Tommy McNamaara, Trace Carleon, Chase Hilliard, Dillon Young, Andrew Colebrook

 The GraySox are Managed by Jeff Young.  Assistant Coaches Shawn Rebstock, Marty Hilliard, Pop-Pop Caputo,and Aaron Revels.

And to all the Moms who spend tireless hours here at the BATT Academy, and out at the field as well.  Thank you!

To view past Member of the Month winners, click here