Brad Cordell will run the U.S. Baseball Academy's six-session event starting Sunday at the Ocala Rotary Sportsplex.
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Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 12:41 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 12:41 p.m.
When the U.S. Baseball Academy kicks off its six-session baseball camp Sunday at Ocala Rotary Sportsplex, Brad Cordell ? assistant baseball coach at St. John ? hopes that it will be the start of a new era for local player development.
?It's a pretty big deal,? he said. ?The academy has probably between 150 and 200 different sites that they are doing and there are only two in Florida that I know of.
?For Ocala to be able to get involved in that and get one is really good,? he added. ?Right now we are definitely one of the smaller camps ? smaller academies. You're looking at 500-600 kids going to a lot of them and I think we've got like 75 right now or something like that, but it's definitely something that can evolve into something a lot bigger.?
The truth is, if it wasn't for Cordell, who worked with the U.S. Baseball Academy for several years during and immediately following his days as a shortstop at Concordia College in Wisconsin, the organization would probably never have considered Ocala as a camp host.
But the 2001 St. John graduate, who is set to begin his fourth year as an assistant with the Saints, saw an opportunity to potentially change the landscape of youth baseball development in the area and made a call to his U.S. Baseball Academy contacts in Wisconsin.
With the Ocala Rotary Sportsplex on board, Cordell struck a deal to bring the camp to Ocala with hopes that a successful first year will lead to an annual event.
Camp sessions, which will be held every Sunday for the next six weeks, will be run by Cordell and four other coaches that are all well-versed on U.S. Baseball Academy protocol. Each of the sessions will focus on the development of proper hitting, pitching, catching, fielding and base running techniques.
?The program is all designed by guys at U.S. baseball and major league players and coaches,? Cordell said. ?And the goal of the U.S. Baseball Academy and all of the coaches they hire is to get a kid to the next level.
?We're going to give them drills that they can take home with them that they can use every day, every week, every month, every year,? he added. ?And no matter how many times they do these drills it's always going to make them better.?
Although the ultimate goal of the camp is to develop the fundamentals needed to succeed in the sport's upper echelon, Cordell insists the program is beneficial to attendees of all skill levels.
?The reason this camp works for all ages, from first grade through senior year of high school, and all skill levels, is because the first week we are basically going back and kind of retooling and rebooting everyone,? he said.
?Their mechanics are going to be perfect by the time they get done,? he continued. ?No matter if they throw 90 mph or don't know which hand their glove goes on, they are going to see major improvements.?
Packages are available to youths, grades 1-12, and begin at $99. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register by calling 866-622-4487 or visiting USBaseballAcademy.com. For additional information, call 209-1863.
Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20130116/articles/130119785
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