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Brian Balkun – First County Bank Athlete of the Month

Athlete of the Month

 

Brian Balkun

Bobby Valentine’s First County Bank Athlete of the Month for November is seventeen year old Brian Balkun. A senior at New Canaan High School, Brian was just recently selected to be tri-captain for the upcoming varsity baseball season, which deserves a huge congratulations in itself!

Brian has been playing for New Canaan Baseball ever since he was five years old. He spent the last eight years playing both recreational and travel baseball, and has been pitching ever since the switch from coach pitch to kid pitch. When not pitching, he has played a ton of third base as well.

“Brian was one of our most reliable pitchers last year.  He is unflappable when things get tough, and his quiet confidence is contagious.  I look forward to him doing big things this coming year and being one of our leaders.” – Coach Anthony Bloss

You may very well know Brian around BVSA as Coach Brian, as he spends a ton of time here both with his New Canaan team but also coaching many of our clinics. He has been a tremendous part of our BAPs, TPTs, and pitching clinics, and we cannot thank him enough for the contributions and value he brings to our BVSA team.

“Brian is simply awesome. It’s so easy to be just an extra set of hands, but Brian goes above and beyond what is asked of him. He does an amazing job working with our kids, developing relationships with them, and having fun while doing it. It’s pretty cool to hear kids come back and ask for Coach Brian.” – Joe Wanderlingh, BVSA Instructor

Brian has been an honor roll student all throughout high school and just recently submitted his college applications. As far as baseball goes, he would love to play club baseball in college.

In his free time, Brian enjoys hanging out with his friends and family. He plays a lot of pickup basketball with his friends. Apparently, they invented a game called “tennis baseball”.  So next time you see Coach Brian at BVSA, make sure to ask him how to play!

BVSA wants to congratulate Brian once more for earning the First County Bank Athlete of the Month honor for November. The ability to lead so well while also being so humble and modest is not something you see every day.  We are so excited to continue to watch Brian grow both on and off the field!
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BVSA Teaches: Modified Skater Lunge Drill

BVSA Teaches: Modified Skater Lunge Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the modified skater lunge drill. Here’s another interesting drill that could be used for several different things. For some kids, it may not even work, but it’s worked for others. You don’t need the bat for some kids. Some will have a tough time with their load and feeling where their weight needs to be. Also, their transfer and feeling where their weight needs to be is important. Understanding that fire and that use of the ground getting off that backside and rotating. I just have them drop the bat, get in a nice athletic stance while keeping their head right over their belly button. You don’t want them rocking back and forth. Just have them hop on the balls of their feet back and forth so all your weight stays in here.

Rocking Method for Feel

Now, obviously, this doesn’t happen in the swing, but when you are going back, that’s kind of how you should feel when you get down before your load. And when you get forward, that’s kind of where you’re getting to when you transfer. Also, if you do it a little bit more explosively, it’s kind of like the feel of getting off your back foot. So that’s not really what happens during the swing. For a kid who really can’t get the feeling of transferring that weight while staying balanced, I just have them hop back and forth to get that feel. You try everything you can to get the kid to feel what they need to feel.

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: Tee Base Drill

BVSA Teaches: Tee Base Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the tee base drill. Okay, so here’s a drill or device mechanism to help you get that lower half and backside going. We did our load, we did our transfer and got our hands are in the right position. Now we get our body in the right position, and we really want to explode off that back foot and rotate the body, getting that energy going up and into the hips. It’s all one big thing, not just up; it’s an explosion. Pushing off the ground with that backside that goes that way and up and through, beginning the whole rotation.

Some of the kids have a tough time really getting off that backside and making that happen. One of the things that I like to use is the base of our tees. You want to get their heel on it, not too much, but their heel on it, and their toe has to be on the ground. It just kind of gives them a little bit more of a kickstart to get going, rather than being totally flat. You still have to push off of that tee and fire and get things rotating and going upward.

Using A Baseball

With just that little bit of an angle, you can also do it with a baseball. We’ve done it many times where you just put a baseball under your heel just to get that whole thing going. In conjunction with that, I’ve also done this many times. Try this, but be careful. Talk to the kid, tell them what you’re going to do. While he’s here and he’s trying to get the feel for that and he’s not really exploding and firing off that, you get down on the ground behind them and get your hand underneath his foot, and you actually push and fire and let him feel that explosive move, rather than that old school where kids just kind of spin and squish the bug and rotate around their body. So use the tee, the base of the tee, or if you’ve got to get down there, but maybe give the younger kids a wiffle ball bat when you do that.

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: Bosu Ball Drill (Stop Transfer)

BVSA Teaches: Bosu Ball Drill (Stop Transfer)

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the bosu ball drill (stop transfer). Another good drill for improving the transfer is using a Bosu ball. It can help you start your transfer, as well as prevent kids who tend to go too far out from doing so. You can work on your stance, balance, load, transfer, and stride into the Bosu ball. If it slides, you must put something against it or your foot to stop it. This will give you the feel of where you should stop, with your head over your belly button. Also, it will put you in a good balance position, without falling out past it. 

Other Uses

The Bosu ball can be used for both the front and back end of the transfer. Basically, it can help improve the transfer and also make it stop. The bosu ball is such a great tool for improving your swing in many different aspects. Take a look at our other video about using the bosu ball to start the transfer. 

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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Christina Zinicola – First County Bank Athlete of the Month

 

Bobby Valentine’s First County Bank Athlete of the Month for October is Christina Zinicola. Christina made the switch from baseball to softball when she was seven years old, and made her first travel team two years later. In her first travel year, she helped lead her Stamford Stars team to a state championship! This was only the beginning for Christina.

After a couple of years with the Stars, Christina made the switch to the Darien Angels. She went on to BVSA and the Lady Titans, where she is now in her fourth season with the team. Christina plays middle infield and pitches for both the Lady Titans 18u team as well as Stamford High School, where she received all-FCIAC honors this year!

“Christina is one of the best players I’ve ever coached. She is the definition of a gamer and a treat to watch on the field. She’ll make plays that could be on SportsCenter highlight reels and has a college level softball IQ. It’s been such a pleasure to both teach and learn from her.” – Ashley Simoneau, Lady Titans Coach

At Stamford HS, Christina is in her senior year and is currently taking all AP classes. She has also taken additional college classes at Norwalk Community College throughout high school, specifically studying software engineering. Last year, Christina was awarded a 2021-2022 College Board National Hispanic Recognition Scholar!

“Christina is a tough, tenacious softball player who consistently demonstrates her true passion for the game. Her drive and wanting-to-win attitude are remarkable. Christina is never afraid of getting dirty and is always thinking about taking the extra base. Christina’s an extremely hard worker in the classroom as well. She takes multiple AP classes and already has an associate’s degree. Christina is the true definition of a student-athlete.” – Coach Beezer

The hope and plan for Christina is to continue playing softball in college, while majoring in Civil Engineering. She has always been passionate about helping and giving back to the community, dating back to when she was nine years old. For the last nine years Christina has collected items to donate to local homeless shelters and food pantries in place of birthday gifts. Last year, she was a part of the Stamford Answer to Cancer team, contributing to raising over $25,000 towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

We here at BVSA want to congratulate Christina once more for earning this honor of First County Bank Athlete of the Month for October. She definitely has made her presence felt here at the facility, whether she is training with her team, or volunteer coaching for our softball clinics, or walking around in her inflatable dinosaur costume on Halloween. We cannot wait to see where Christina goes from here! Congratulations!

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BVSA Teaches: Bosu Ball Drill (Start Transfer)

BVSA Teaches: Bosu Ball Drill (Start Transfer)

The Transfer

Evidently, there are guys that aren’t striding with their whole body and are just striding with their legs. They are not getting their weight transferred properly, the bosu ball will help you get moving forward just a little bit. This drill is very simple and can help hitters a lot. Just make sure that they aren’t striding past their front foot and maintain a firm front side. This is a drill that can be repeated each lesson or clinic a few times before starting to actually hit.

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: Med Ball Drill (Loading the Hands)

BVSA Teaches: Med Ball Drill (Loading the Hands)

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the med ball drill (loading the hands). When we’re talking about transfer, most of the focus is on getting the weight shifted and taking a move towards the pitcher, getting into the position to hit. But there’s also the part that we talked about the hands and that at the highest levels there tends to be less movement. Meanwhile for these younger guys that we’re teaching we definitely have to teach some type of load with those hands. The hands when you’re striding forward and transferring forward you’re loading a little bit too. We need to get those hands backing up just a little bit, just a little subtle move.

Med Ball Effectiveness

So, we talked about how you’re kind of walking away from your hands to get to that proper hitting position. The drill that I find effective is using a light med ball that you can put in your palm with your other hand against it, simulating your stance. As you load and transfer you pick that ball up and move it back. This subtle move can put you in a better hitting position. The feeling with this may be easier than with a bat at first, especially for kids that may not get it instantly. If you put the mirror right in front of them, they can see it and have an easier time doing it correctly. Once they get it, they can progress back to the bat with that little bit of movement. Don’t let anything get flat behind your head to get to the ideal launch position.

BVSA Teaches: Med Ball Drill (Loading the Hands)

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: Hard Drive Stride

BVSA Teaches: Hard Drive Stride

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the hard drive stride. Okay, one of the big problems that we see with a lot of kids is they stride too far open. So, their front foot comes down and as it’s going forward it rotates open. Meanwhile, their knee rotates open, their hips rotate open, and if it’s really bad their shoulders rotate open. They’ll lose all their torque, all their power potentional there and they’ve lost the ability, unless their really athletic, to get to the outside of the plate. So, one of the drills we like to use that helps, it’s kind of weird but we found this heavy electrical box in our facility from years ago that we use that we just put a little bit on a 45-degree, so again i’ll do it from this angle. A lot of kids will come down here, and they’re kind of cooked. If they come down open but their hips are here and they’re back here, they’re still in a good position to hit but that’s a really difficult teach.

Staying Closed

We like to teach it a little more consistent where that foot’s kind of at a 45-degree angle, that knee is facing this way, not that way and their hips are still facing the plate. This box is very helpful. You can do it with live, do it with tee, you can do the whole thing. But we place this heavy box down in front and have the student load, transfer and stride into it so it forces them to stay at that 45-degree angle and not open up too much. And this box is pretty heavy and doesn’t slide too much, so you need something heavy. Another thing that they can do on their own is just stride into a wall. At their house, in their garage, in their basement, just practice striding into a wall. Obviously when you’re doing it into a wall you can’t take the swing because you’re going to hit the wall. But just repetitive moves to get your student to understand they need to be here and not here giving away all their torque. Found that to be very helpful and hope it works for your.

BVSA Teaches: Hard Drive Stride

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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Connor Kelly– First County Bank Athlete of the Month

 

Bobby Valentine’s First County Bank Athlete of the Month for September is Connor Kelly. You very well may have heard the name before as Kelly is currently playing in the PLL for the WaterDogs, where he is already a two time All-Star and two time champion.

Kelly started playing at Wakeman Boys & Girls Club in Southport when he was seven years old. He attended Fairfield Prep and then Avon Old Farms where he played both football and lacrosse. He was a two time captain in both sports and won a MVP award in both sports as well. From there, he went on to the University of Maryland and won a national championship. He currently holds the record for most goals by a midfielder in Maryland history.

Outside of football and lacrosse, Kelly loves competing and playing all sports. He is a part of a family of six, and grew up in Fairfield. He is an avid New York Jets fan and UConn basketball fan. To this day, Kelly still lives in CT and continues to coach lacrosse in the area.

Kelly’s awards and accomplishments include…

  • 2017 Big Ten Tournament MVP
  • 2018 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
  • 2016, 2017, 2018 First Team All Big Ten
  • 2016, 2017, 2018 NCAA All Tournament Team
  • 2017, 2018 First Team All America

We here at BVSA want to congratulate Connor once more for earning this honor of First County Bank Athlete of the Month for September. It has been a pleasure having Connor around our facility as we get to witness him continue to live out his dream! We wish him all the best moving forward in his career!

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BVSA Teaches: Up the Mound Drill

BVSA Teaches: Up the Mound Drill

On this episode of BVSA Teaches, Frank Ramppen talks about the up the mound drill. One of the major problems for young kids when you start teaching them the load and then the transfer is that they do everything too big, and they get out of balance. And when they go to transfer, too many of them come down way out here. If this happens, they’re never going to get firm on their front side. Their contact point gets way out there, so we’ve got to keep them landing balanced with their head over their belly button, with their weight here, not collapsing out past it. So we use the mound to get them transferred.

We also use the mound to teach stopping at the right time, not getting too far out. So we get on the mound, we get in a nice balanced stance, we do our load and our transfer. For the kids that are going too far, going up the hill will restrict them. But again, coach them through it, keep their head over the belly button, make sure they’re getting here. Put the mirror in front of them if you can so they can see it when it’s right. And again, you can do tee work here, you can do front toss, you can do all the progressions to keep your student from over transferring and to get their weight in the right place.

BVSA Teaches: Up the Mound Drill

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