by Frank Farnacci
Twenty-Nine college coaches descended on Eisenhower Park in East Meadow Tuesday for the Batting 1.000 Seminoles 4th annual organizational showcase for its 14u – 17u teams. Over 160 players from the B1 14u – 17u teams participated in a pro style showcase in front of coaches from Division-1, 2 and 3 schools including Sacred Heart University, Fairfield University, Quinnipiac University, NYU, Vassar, LIU, Molloy and Marist. 23 Batting 1.000 coaches orchestrated the event.
“The Seminoles coaches and I look forward to getting all of our players guaranteed opportunity to work out with and in front of college coaches from all over the northeast”, said Mike Ferriggi, Co-Owner, Head Trainer and former University of Maine Black Bear. “I speak with many of the college coaches regularly and they were just as excited to see a deep talent pool of Long Island baseball players.”
The full day event spread across four fields at Eisenhower Park and was split into a morning session (8:00am – 12:30pm) for its 14u and 15u teams, and an afternoon session (12:00pm – 5:00pm) for its 16u and 17u teams. Every player was videotaped drilling at their primary position including hitting, pitching and catching; and then had their core performance statistics measured and recoded including one’s 60-yard dash, throwing velocity and hitting exit velocity. Every player will receive their video to use in their own promotional efforts. Both groups of players then participated in live batting practice and a full pro style Infield/Outfield with all players including Pitchers and Catchers showcasing their skills in front of the coaches.
The entire event was at no cost to Batting 1.000 players as it’s part of the program’s commitment to expose its players throughout the collegiate baseball community. “The day went exceptionally well”, said Evan Okon Assistant General Manager at Batting 1.000, Manager of the 16u Black and Gold teams and former University of New Haven player. “We received great feedback from the coaches and many of our players received positive attention from a number of schools.”
The showcase concluded with a high amount of personal interaction between players and coaches with numerous coaches indicating that they will be following players at future league games this summer. “We are committed to advancing the visibility of Long Island baseball throughout the collegiate level”, said Mike Ferriggi. Patricia Langdon, Co-Owner of Batting 1.000 added, “This has been our most successful event to date, and we’re going to make it bigger and better next year.” Visit Batting 1.000 at www.batting1000academy.com
