Read on Twitter
Working a youth camp in the Dominican Republic was one of the greats experiences I’ve had in baseball. It also led me to a couple key takeaways regarding baseball in America. Thread:
1. How lucky we are to have the resources we have in America. The field we played on had boulders in the outfield, rocks in the infield, concrete on the mound, and a barbed wire fence. Yet we complain about some ripped turf in the cage.
2. The true enjoyment of the game that the kids play with. They were so attentive and willing to learn it was amazing. After the camp of about 2 hours they were preparing for another practice. Keep in mind these kids are 10-14 years old.
3. How advanced their skill sets are compared to American kids the same age. This goes to show self organization is king when it comes to youth development. Their actions in the field, movements at the plate and on the mound were incredible. Because it wasn’t coached out of them.
4. The competitiveness was unmatched. I watched a 12 year old throw live ABs to one of my college teammates from 60’. Also when we said throw harder they looked like they were trying to break their partners hand. Then their partner gave it right back to them.
5. Not one of them complained about their arms hurting. Yet they throw hard, and they throw almost every day. Also every single kid threw multiple pitches most of them also throwing breaking pitches. This shows we should probably re think “arm health” protocols in the US.
6. These kids are good, they’re coming. If we don’t figure out player development these guys will be more than happy to take our places. They hit jacks and throw fuego and are taught to do it day in day out. This is the standard that has been set. It’s time to match it.
7. You don’t need to communicate in advanced terms for kids to make progress. You’re not there to sound smart you’re there to make kids better. I speak minimal Spanish but was able to help kids get better. Through simple external cues such as “mas fuego” these kids got the point.
