Turn2 is very excited to announce Summer Camp Series 2012!  Coming June 4th – June 7th, come join the Turn2 staff at Camp with a different focus each day!  Look at the details below and get signed up today before all spots are full!

Summer Camp Series 2012 Registration Form

Camp Days/Times/Focus Areas:
Monday, June 4, 2012: 9am – Noon —> Throwing and Catching
Tuesday, June 5, 2012: 9am – Noon —> Defense
Wednesday, June 6, 2012: 9am – Noon —> Hitting
Thursday, June 7, 2012: 9am – Noon —> Competitions and Games

Location, Location, Location!
Collinsville Baseball/Softball Complex
103 Complex Drive
Collinsville, IL 63325

Turn2 asked Van Smith, one of Turn2′s baseball pitching instructors, “What is a story from your most recent scouting experience that is most memorable to you and why?How does your scouting profession help you with younger athletes?” Read a very inspirational story in how Coach Smith answers these questions below!!! 

Nobody seemed to know much about this kid. He was playing for an American Legion summer team, and that team was playing in a 4th of July tournament in Springfield, Missouri. There were 32 teams in the tournament, playing at four different sites around Springfield. Nearly every ML team had a scout at this affair, and I remember a couple of scouts from Kansas City mentioning that a kid from their area was playing a 1 o’clock game over at a field over in the North part of town.

When I arrived at the field I saw this big, soft bodied, mature kid. Thick boned, , it was easily predictable that he’d more than likely soon have a weight problem. He played 3rd base, had a good arm and could catch the ball. Had a hard base hit to left field, and you could tell that he had baseball IQ (instincts). In other words, he knew how to play.

In August he would be a senior in high school. I wasn’t overly excited about this kid, nor did it appear that many other scouts were either, but I did note in my little black book that I should go to KC to see him play for his high school team the following Spring. I noted that when he hit the ball it went a long way.

When I arrived that April to see him play, I quickly realized by looking over the players on the field that the kid I came to see was know where to be found. I asked a school official his whereabouts. The principal quickly pointed out to me that there were some questions brought up to the Missouri High School athletic association about his inability to meet residency requirements. Nobody knew much about this kid. How did he get here from the Dominican Republic, where is he staying, how is he surviving? The principal did tell me however that the kid did get some good guidance from a school counselor, and had enrolled down the street at Maplewoods Junior College. Now he would be eligible to play because he was working on his GED accreditation.

I went to Maplewoods JC to see him play. I was the only professional scout there. Maplewoods played a double header, and he played shortstop both games. Hit a long home run and a couple of other singles, but struck out 4 times against what I thought was subpar pitching. He swung and missed a lot, and missed some pitches by 2 feet as he lunged forward so much in his swing. He caught the ball at shortstop, and showed a good arm across the diamond, but well below average range because of his body type. I wasn’t real convinced he was a ML prospect, but did write a report up on him, and put him at the bottom of my list. I noted in my book how this kid practiced endlessly hitting off the tee between the games and after the game. I could see he liked to play. But to be sure, I knew I needed to come back in a few weeks to evaluate once more.

His team won the Missouri Junior College State tournament, and advanced to the pre World Series round in Seminole Oklahoma. I knew I wanted to be there, as Seminole had two hard throwing pitchers, and would provide a good matchup. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a good day, and probably 8 or 10 teams were there to witness his subpar play. And probably like me, reevaluated.

My experience told me that striking out so much was going to be a problem, as well as his weight. With this body type, it looks like he’s limited to 1st base. And if you sign as a 1st baseman, you better be some great hitter to have a chance. There were other red flags, such as what appeared to be lack of a support structurhis life. Who’s going to guide this kid through troubled times. For me, when talking to him, there was some language barrier. Like me, most middle class white people were going to have difficulty relating to this kid and his circumstances. To complicate matters, he was now supposedly living with an older girl, who had a child (Down’s Syndrome child). It was my judgment that this kid had too much to overcome to be a ML baseball player. It won’t be long until this kid needs money, quits baseball to get a job in order to survive.

So I wrote a second report, taking him off my draft list. If I leave him on my list, I might get him. In the end, there were just a couple of teams who had genuine interest in this player.

So the Cardinals drafted him in the 13th round of the draft, more as a favor to their Midwest Scout, and later that summer signed him to a small bonus contract.

A very ordinary 1st season in pro ball, but established himself in the Midwest League in the second season, hitting enough homeruns and playing well enough at 3rd base to get a late season call up to 2A. He did so well that he earned an invite to the ML Cardinals Spring Training. He had a great Spring Training, and because of an injury to Bobby Bonilla, made the ML team to start the season.

I remember coming home from being on the scouting road in May, and saying to myself,” I’m going to see this kid play in St Louis when I’m home”. So I went to the stadium early during batting practice, looking around, I’m not seeing this big lumbering body that I saw on the Junior College field a couple of years back in Kansas City. Where is he?

A fan pointed him out to me. Now a well conditioned athlete. His long and enduring winter workouts, and disciplined diet, had produced a physical monster. He’s moving around over there at 3rd base like I never dreamed that he would. I saw him bat four times that day. Had made adjustments in his swing – spreading his base wide and no longer striding. His eyes now remained on a level plane, no longer diving at the ball, and not swinging at a pitch an inch out of the strike zone. He played with the confidence of a veteran. He believed in himself because he had attended to detail in his life. Developed the skills to play the game, maintained a healthy diet, tirelessly worked at conditioning, weight training, agility, and all held it all together with a strong faith in God.

And by the way, he married that girl from back in Kansas City, has become an advocate for Down’s Syndrome Children, and has raised millions of dollars for the less advantaged.

Turn 2 will be holding Sunday night hitting sessions all winter long for those High School & Junior High Baseball Players looking to stay in swing shape during the off season. Each session will feature a Turn 2 Instructor taking hitters through various drill stations, as well as Live Batting Practice.