Details for the ABCA Barnstormers Clinic |
Clinic Flyer (PDF)
Greensboro, N.C. - (August 13, 2018) - The American Baseball Coaches Association is hosting 20 Barnstormers Clinics across the country, visiting 16 states in 2018. The Barnstormers Clinics are presented by Blast Motion and will run September through December, leading up to the 2019 ABCA Convention in Dallas. This year's nationwide schedule includes return trips to Nashville, San Diego and San Francisco and features several new sites in the Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Atlantic Coast and other areas. Multiple events in different parts of the country will also now take place on the same weekend.
The New York Barnstormers Clinic will take place on September 22
nd at St. John's University. Among those presenting at the coaching clinic will be Fordham head baseball coach
Kevin Leighton and associate head coach
Rob DiToma.
The ABCA Barnstormers Clinics are one-day coaching clinics for baseball coaches of all levels. The clinics are focused on the fundamentals, with a full day of practical position-specific drills, coaching cues and practice organization tips that can be directly applied to your individual athlete or team.
The Barnstormer Clinics are geared towards youth, academy, high school and travel coaches and instructors in the area but are also great for any baseball enthusiast or parent who wants to learn more about the game from some of the most respected coaches in the sport.
Speakers at each event will cover a variety of topics, including hitting, pitching, arm care, catching, practice efficiency and planning, base running and defensive play. Blast Motion will also give a presentation during each event about hitting and the advantages of using motion detection and analytics to improve a hitter's performance. The events are hosted by ABCA member coaches and are open to the public. They will typically run 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The registration fee is just $25 for current ABCA members or $40 for non-members.
Leighton is heading into his eighth year at Fordham, while DiToma begins his sixth. The duo has helped Fordham baseball reach the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament in four of the last five seasons and seen six players taken in the MLB Draft. In 2018, the Rams finished with 35 wins, the most for the program since the 2007 season, and tied for second in the Atlantic 10 standings. The Rams also set a number of records throughout the year, which included team records for stolen bases, leading the NCAA with 169, strikeouts, surpassing the old mark by over 100 with 536, and saves (20). Other team records set were runs in a single game (29 vs. Saint Peter's) and strikeouts in a game (21 vs. Hofstra). Fordham also had four players reach 20 stolen bases in the same season for the first time in team history.
The Rams were also honored with a number of awards throughout 2018, led by
Jake MacKenzie, who was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, a
Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, First Team All-Atlantic 10, and First Team All-ECAC. MacKenzie also joined
Ben Greenberg on the ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region Second Team, while also being one of three Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection with fellow freshman
Joseph Quintal and
C.J. Vazquez.
