USSSA and ABR staff traveled to Barcelona, Spain
to conduct a three day player development clinic September 2nd-4th.
The event was held at the Barcelona Olympic Baseball Stadium and marked the 20th
anniversary of the Barcelona Olympics thus gaining tremendous international
recognition.
The ABR/USSSA Player Development clinic served as a development
program for Spanish baseball players from around the country and was hosted by
former MLB players including:
- Jeffrey
Hammonds (12 year MLB veteran, 2000 NL All-Star) 1992 Olympian - Barcelona
- Charles
Johnson (11 year MLB veteran, 2× All-Star
selection, World Series champion, 4× Gold Glove Award
winner)
- Michael
Tucker (11 year MLB veteran, 1992 Olympian-Barcelona)
- Luis
Alicea (14 year MLB veteran, 3 year MLB coach, World Series Champion)
- DJ
Wabick (Mets AA All-Star, NCAA DI All-American)
- Davide
Dallospedale (2 x time Olympian and 2 x World Baseball Classic for Italy)
- Andrea
D’Auria (General Manager of the Italian professional baseball league,
USSSA International Director-International
Each day of the clinic was broken into
two parts. The mornings consisted of
base running and defense, which was led by the MLB players at their primary
positions. The group then broke for
lunch and returned in the afternoon for the offensive routine. During the offensive portion of the clinic,
each player took part in multiple hitting stations which were geared towards
specific fundamental flaws that were discovered by the ABR development staff.
USSSA/ABR has made a major push to help develop baseball on an
international level. It is this push that has led to numerous baseball
development opportunities around the world. The goal of all these
opportunities is the reinstatement of baseball back into the Olympics.
“Teaching baseball in Barcelona
was one of the best experiences of my entire life. I was fortunate enough to go
to a developing baseball country with former major league players such as Luis
Alicea, Jeffrey Hammonds, Charles Johnson, and Michael Tucker. We were able to
combine all of our knowledge and experiences and teach a country of players all
about the different aspect of the game we love. It was an honor to be asked to
go over there and an experience that I will never forget. I cannot wait to go
back and continue where we left off.” – DJ Wabick (ABR Player Development
Staff)
Click on a video link below to view:
Main Field Video: http://video.videolicious.com/e077edf4-8cd2-4740-88ca-a38913b0bb85
Video Camps in Hockey Field: http://video.videolicious.com/2146b36b-1865-426a-b617-59c52c13afe6
Video Olympic Stadium: http://video.videolicious.com/3a8def7e-e987-47cc-aa90-04cf92b946a3
Click on a video link below to view: