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Jack Patterson – First County Bank Athlete of the Month

Jack Patterson
Jack Patterson

Bobby Valentine’s First County Bank Athlete of the Month for January is Jack Patterson. Jack currently plays for Stamford Little League and Stamford Travel, and spends more time at BVSA than some of our own staff.

“Jack Patterson is easily one of the most consistent and dedicated kids we have in the building. His drive to become a better player, let alone athlete, is unmatched with the amount of swings he takes, pitches he throws, and simply minutes here in the building…
 
It is a pleasure to have Jack here on a regular basis and we are seeing the development of one of the next great baseball players from this area right in front of us!” – Justin Virgulak, BVSA Director 
Jack, who recently turned 11 years old, played over SIXTY games last season, batting over .500! As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he had more extra base hits than singles AND hit his very first home run! On the mound, he averaged over two strikeouts per inning. When he wasn’t on the mound, he also played first base and center field.
 
“Relentless. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of Jack. He simply does not stop. I feel like every day at some point he ends up in the cage next to me putting in work. I’ve seen him come in after having the flu, nothing stops him from accomplishing what he wants to accomplish.” – Joe Wanderlingh, BVSA Instructor
 
Jack is currently in fifth grade at Newfield Elementary School where he excels in the classroom. When he is not on the baseball diamond, he is on the football field playing for the Stamford First Down Club. Whatever spare time he has left, he loves to play wiffle ball and football which comes as such a big surprise!
 
We here at BVSA want to congratulate Jack once more on earning this honor of First County Bank Athlete of the Month for January. Safe to say this is just the beginning for Jack, and we cannot wait to see where he goes from here. It is an absolute joy seeing him around BVSA, and we look forward to continuing watching him grow into the baseball player that he is. Congratulations Jack!
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BVSA Teaches: Moving Plate Drill

BVSA Teaches: Moving Plate Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the moving plate drill. Hey guys, today we’re going to talk about the mechanics of swaying and how to practice timing. Some people think regular batting practice isn’t good for timing because it’s at a different speed than what you see in a game. In a game, you’ll see all kinds of pitchers with different speeds, angles, deliveries, and ball movement. So, it’s important to practice timing by throwing in different speeds and changing the placement of the pitches. 

As we get closer to the season, we focus less on mechanics and more on timing. You can do live pitching and make it up as you go, gauging your students’ frustration level and achievement level. Take X amount of swings from one spot on the map and then move up to another station. Moving closer to home plate in your rounds of batting practice is real effective in timing as you get closer to the season. Remember, part of being a good hitter is being able to make adjustments.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: Load & Transfer (Stride Drill)

BVSA Teaches: Load & Transfer (Stride Drill)

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the load & transfer (stride drill). One of the biggest issues with the transfer is the distance that you need to go to travel with your stride and the distribution of your weight. A lot of times, the kids don’t gain enough ground towards the pitcher and/or they don’t get their weight moving to their front side. They may have a long stride, but they really never transferred their weight. They’re still back here on their backside.

One really simple drill you can do is with no swings, drop swings, or on the tee. You can do it at every level of hitting. When they get ready to hit, line their foot up with this corner of the plate. Tell them they should stride to the front corner of the plate. That’s a good enough distance for most older kids. For 8 and 9-year-olds, it should be a little bit shorter, and if so, you could use a little foot fence.

Just give them an idea of when they do their load and transfer. then they could look down after their swing and see where their foot was. A lot of times, especially off the tee, we’ll be surprised that they’re barely moving their foot forward. It’s really hard to have a really efficient, effective transfer of weight when you’re not gaining any ground.

That’s a simple little one that you could use at the beginning, and you could do it throughout all their lessons or during the BAP’s to make sure team practices whatever to make sure that they’re gaining that ground. Then, obviously, work on the weight, which I’ll show you some other drills for.

 

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: Load & Transfer (Small Bat)

BVSA Teaches: Load & Transfer (Small Bat)

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the load & transfer (small bat). Hey guys, here’s a drill that might help. It’s good for kids or even older players who tend to disconnect when they get down and ready to swing. We don’t want the player to half-rotate and get a big looping swing. Instead, we need to stay connected up here and drive that left arm back. Accordingly, we need to be in the position to get down to contact, which should be with arms bent and staying connected at that point. Keeping those arms bent to generate power from the back leg is what we need to do.

To practice this, use one hand and put the short back with the one hand to help work through your load and transfer. Basically, drive straight to the ball without letting the arms lock out here. This drill may or may not work for you, so find what works best for your swing. Keep at this if it does help and work it into your routine.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: Stick Drill for Hands Back

BVSA Teaches: Stick Drill for Hands Back

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the stick drill for hands back. Hey everybody, I’m Frank Ramppen from Bobby Valentine Sports Academy, and I’m here with Anthony Pascal, a junior at the University of Bridgeport. We’ve been working on something pretty high level, a little more specific than what you would teach with the little guys. But you know, Anthony is already a high-level catcher and hitter, and he does a lot of things right in his swing. The thing we’ve been focusing on is maximizing his separation. We need to get his lower half working in front of his upper half, so there’s sequence and maximizing his torque. It’s easier said than done because there’s a tendency for most hitters to want to bring their hands too early.

So we’re going to do a couple of drills to help him feel the right timing. Let’s start with the stick drill. All we do in this drill is put the stick down stationary behind him. He gets his hands back into a nice relaxed position, does his load and transfer, whatever feels natural to him. Then he explodes off of his back foot, starts the rotation, and keeps his hands back. He might move his hands a little because most hitters have some movement with their hands.

Overview of the Sequence

It’s important that when you stride forward, your hands work back a little or wait until the front foot gets down. Many young hitters tend to bring their hands forward too early. Anthony will demonstrate it a couple of times.

Nice little load, good transfer, back foot starts the swing, and you can see his hands stay back here. The goal is for his belly button to rotate and face out while his chest stays back. He can hit any pitch from that position. What many kids do is they rotate their chest and hands at the same time, making it more difficult to hit pitches away. Let’s do it one more time.

Great job, Anthony! That’s just one good drill that might help you improve. Keep up the good work, Amp!

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: Banded Half Swing

BVSA Teaches: Banded Half Swing

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the banded half swing drill. Here’s a drill about staying connected and having the lower half happen first, and then your upper half happen after. Many kids fly open too early with their front side, and lock their left side out, getting into a big spinny move. Instead, we want to get down to this position of being transferred. You want that lower half to fire, and then we want that upper half to stay connected, so it all rotates together, as that right elbow drops into the slot, and you find your contact point, depending on the pitch. Too many kids let that front arm go flying and do some strange things. 

You can get a really light band, you really can’t do this with an L screen. A couple weights up here to hold the L screen work for stability. We’ll take the lower half, and then this will move. This rotates first, then this starts to rotate, and this keeps this angle right, versus a lot of kids who lock it out and get long or do that and pull out. This kind of keeps you pulling that band straight towards your target. It will keep you on plane and keep you in the right place. This isn’t the easiest drill for kids to learn but just another idea you can try out.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: One Handed Swing (Small Bat)

BVSA Teaches: One Handed Swing (Small Bat)

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the one handed swing (small bat) drill. Hey guys, here’s a short training session on a drill called the back one-handed swing. I prefer, and I think most people prefer, the left-handed version of this drill. This drill is useful for plenty of things, mostly for working on the bat path and staying inside the ball. Many times, when kids swing, their hands tend to go out, causing their swing to be too big and circular. Basically, this drill is designed to teach them to keep their hands inside the barrel. They’ll want to hit the ball up the middle or the other way with the proper bat path.

Make sure the kids stand up to the plate in their normal stance and distance away from the plate. Meanwhile, their backs both facing the side. Get in there nice and tight and stay behind the ball, transfer your weight, and get the barrel to the ball. For the right-handed swing, I don’t like this much because I think almost everybody tends to roll over their wrists on contact. If you want to make sure you’re doing it right, you’ve got to stay through the ball with your palm up and drive it. But everybody wants to hit the ball hard, so their first instinct is to roll over.

Overall, this drill is great for working on bat path and contact.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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Tristan Pearl – First County Bank Athlete of the Month

Athlete of the Month
Athlete of the Month

Bobby Valentine’s First County Bank Athlete of the Month for December is Tristan Pearl. This former three year varsity pitcher at New Canaan High School is currently a member of the Choate Rosemary Hall pitching staff heading into their Spring 2023 season. This southpaw was co-captain in 2022 for the Rams alongside Zack Ramppen, as well as an All-FCIAC East selection.

It all started for Tristan in the Federal Little League in Stamford, where he played from T-ball all the way up to Majors. From there, he played in the New Canaan Cal Ripken League and New Canaan Travel for three years. Following that was stints with our very own BVSA Fury, the Westchester/Long Island Junior Ducks, the Greenwich Cannons, and Baseball U CT. This upcoming summer, he’ll play for Ridgefield American Legion.
 
"I remember the first time I noticed Tristan on a baseball field. He was pitching in a Fury game he had to be around 11 years old. I thought to myself man this kid has potential! Potential is one of those strange things… it could mean the ceiling is extremely high and that player with the right coaching can play at a higher level. It also means that the player is still not where he should be. In Tristan’s case at 11 years old who really is? Tristan and I went to work! We worked together for the past 6 years. T was dedicated to the “process” day in and day out. I’ve seen him grow not only physically but mentally and emotionally. Both on and off the field. Tristan's character and work ethic is what channeled him to play at the college level. I’m extremely proud of all he has accomplished in his short journey thus far. There is so much more he’s going to accomplish in this game over time. Babson college is not only receiving a great LHP , but more importantly a great young man who comes from a great family!
Mike Abate
Mike Abate Abate Training
Tristan is a 2022 graduate of New Canaan High School, and is currently pursuing a post-graduate year at Choate Rosemary Hall, where he expects to graduate from in May.  After graduation, he will be pitching for Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts as a Fall 2023 commit. While there, he plans to study International Business & Entrepreneurship at Babson.
 
We here at BVSA want to congratulate Tristan on earning this honor of First County Bank Athlete of the Month for December. It has been a pleasure watching him train, following his career, and watching him succeed in all aspects of life. We cannot wait to see where he goes from here. Congratulations and good luck at Babson, Tristan!
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BVSA Teaches: Low Cone Drill

BVSA Teaches: Low Cone Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the low cone drill. Hey, here’s another drill that can help with bat path and staying inside the ball. Many kids tend to get their hands out too early and swing around their bodies, but this drill can help fix that. You simply put the ball on a tee and have them hit an inside pitch. Most kids drop their bat down and around the ball when hitting this pitch, instead of spinning around it. 

So, by doing this drill repeatedly and getting their hands in here to hit that inside pitch, they can start to understand the necessary inside path. You can then graduate up to smaller tees and move the pitch out over the plate a bit. It won’t be much higher but get them to still understand the inside path is necessary to hit that pitch. This drill can be time-consuming, and even if they do it perfectly, the bat may still hit the tee. As with most drills, repetition is key.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com 

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BVSA Teaches: Inside the Net Drill

BVSA Teaches: Inside the Net Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the inside the net drill. Hey guys, another little drill that sometimes helps with bat path. As we talked about, we can’t have the kids getting in and out here too fast and their bat out there. We want to keep it close to the body, rotating the lower half first, creating bat lag. So, I do not recommend it with an L screen but we’re not in a cage. So, I’m going to do it with an L screen. Here we have nets all over the facility. What you want to do is kind of just put the bat up against their belly button and the end of it at the net. Then have them take swings without hitting the net. 

As you hear, I just nicked that net, so I know I have to make a little bit of adjustment. The adjustment is it step out and give yourself more room. You have to make sure that they’re doing their regular load and transfer. They’re not opening too much to cheat when they do their load and transfer. Then they swing while they keep their hands inside the ball and don’t get the net. And again, all these drills, you repeat over and over, you start together, show them a little video for some reinforcement. It might help, hope it helps you.

Contact Us!

Here at BV Sports Academy, we are a passionate group of dedicated baseball and softball instructors with some pretty impressive resumes. More importantly we have been educated by Bobby Valentine himself. We teach a proven curriculum that has developed some of the finest talent in our area, and we’re just getting started. We’re have been blessed to be joined by some of the top programs around when it comes to other sports like lacrosse and soccer. Parties for all ages, we do those too! There is something for everyone at BVSA. We look forward to helping all athletes become the best they can be. If you would like to book anything or have any further questions, please email info@bvacademy.com