San Ramon – Some of the Bay Areas best baseball is played in the Contra Costa county. In particular that stretch up the 680 freeway from the 580 to highway 4. There are highly competitive, little leagues, travel teams and high school programs. Each year hundreds of kids attempt to make the transition into highschool baseball by making the all important freshman squad. Programs like De La Salle, San Ramon Valley, Campolindo and others can see easily up to 60-70 athletes aspiring to make their freshman teams. Unfortunately there are only a few roster spots.
We’ve been training baseball athletes for over 23 years in this area and this is of great concern to athletes and parents. Everyone wants to play freashman baseball. The hard truth is most will be cut. Some things will be out of there control, others are not. In most cases the athletes are just plain not prepared. Most dont have the athletic habits that are required to succeed initially in highschool sports.
Well we can tell you of three young men who made sure that wasnt going to happen. Conor and Ryan Jewik along with Josh Sherwood with the help of their parents dedided well in advance to make sure they were ready for their freshman tryouts. Since the 6th grade these boys have worked specifically to build their bodies, baseball skill and develop proper athletic habits. They made a year – around commitment to that goal by particpating in physical training at Gamespeed and baseball instruction with EJ Sports. They attended numerous classes such as the Athletic Infielder Academy, Power Ball Hitting and Speed Skills to improve their performance. Along the way we’ve watched these young men put in countless hours of work and develop into solid ballplayers.
The resulting committment was a better functioning athlete. The training allowed them to trust their skill and movements because their bodies and minds were trained for game/tryout conditions. It’s one thing to train but it’s another thing to take your baseball sports performance and instruction to a pressure filled environment and be successful.
That work culminatined in all three making their freshman team at San Ramon Valley High. We just wanted to say congratulations and well done your hard work and sacrafice has paid off. Also congratulations and thank you to the parents who have supported these young men along the way.
Have a Great Season
Aaron Thigpen Gamespeed
Erik Johnson EJ Sports
