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Welcome
Visit RichmondBraves.net for additional information on the Richmond Braves National college development program
Welcome to the Richmond Braves National 2012 Team Website
The Braves 2012 team is patterned after the highly successful Richmond Braves National '08 team coached by Jeff Roberts. Coach Roberts will lead the players of the Braves '12 team on a similar journey toward college baseball. Please take a few minutes to visit the archives of the Richmond Braves National '08 to learn more about our methods, expectations and achievements.
Friday, November 14
Braves ranked among nation's elite college develepment programs
The Braves National program is listed among the nation's top 10 College Development Programs (CDP) by Rounding Third Blogspot, a leading edge web based aggregator of amatuer baseball news and information. The publication notes the program's remarkable success in winning national championships as well as its impressive list of alumni who have advanced to college and pro baseball. The exclusive list features national rivals like Norcal, ABD and East Cobb Baseball. The Braves are one of only three east coast programs to make the list and the only entry from New England to Georgia.
Monday, June 23
Braves finish 5th in 2008 Perfect Game/WWBA 14U National Championship
The Braves 2012 team finished 5th in their first appearance in a national championship tournament. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 by going 3-0 in pool play, then advanced to the Elite 8 before exiting. The event marked the first introduction of Braves 2012 players to the Perfect Game Scouting Service and WWBA national championship events in Atlanta. We look forward to many more summers of fun and success in Atlanta!
Monday, April 21
Braves win 2008 USSSA Super NIT
The Braves 2012 pitched, played and pounded their way to the championship of the 2008 USSSA Super NIT in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Braves performance caught the attention of one at least one national observer, travelballselect.com:
"The Charlotte Super NIT was full of upsets as the Richmond Braves National would persevere and bring home the Championship. Earlier in the week, TBS warned the competition that the Richmond Braves would be the sleeper and looking to spoil the rest of the competitions plans. The #13 Texas Drillers would walk away empty handed as they were really high on capturing a berth to the Elite out of Charlotte, but would end up with a 5th place finish. Other teams that looked good, but came up a little short were the #23 Carolina Tarheels (finished 3-1 with a 5-2 loss to Richmond) and the Goose Creek Diamondbacks who had an awesome run and barely came up short from winning it all. The Diamondbacks finished 4-1 with their only loss coming in the Championship Game against Richmond 7-6. Congratulations to the Richmond Braves National on a job well done and we look forward to hearing from you throughout the season."
--- Visit www.travelballselect.com for more information.
Sunday, March 16
Braves Win 2008 St. Patrick's Day Slugfest
The Braves opened their 2008 season by capturing the St. Patrick's Day Slugfest 14U championship in Prince George, Virginia.
Sunday, February 17
Braves pitching staff attends advanced pitching clinic
The Braves pitching staff received a full day of training for pitchers at D1Draftable.com's Advanced Pitching Clinic featuring Rob Steinert on Sunday, February 20. Rob Steinert is a New York based teaching professional. The session covered a wide variety of topics including emphasis on the building blocks necessary for a repeatable delivery. The clinic also included a bootcamp conducted by former Japanese pitcher Shingo Mitsumori, C.S.C.S. and patterned after the techniques used to train pitchers in Japan and the East. The event is designed to give players who seek to play in college or the pros the foundation they will need to avoid arm injuries and constantly refine their skills.
Thursday, December 27
Braves get early exposure and a jump on building a D1/Draftable resume at Christmas Camp
Braves '12 players took a big first step in their journey to become top baseball prospects at the Christmas Camp in Prince George this week. The camp is designed to identify talented players and provide them with the knowledge and skills training they will need if they are to become D1/Draftable prospects. The camp is also designed to facilitate personal interaction between promising players and the decision makers who annually award millions of dollars in scholarships and professional baseball contracts. This year’s camp featured VMI Head Coach Marlin Ikenberry and pitching coach Ryan Tau, University ofVirginia pitching coach Karl Kuhn, Atlanta Braves Area Scouting Supervisor Bobby Myrick, Milwaukee Brewers Scout Jack Cooper, and St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Donnie Smith.
Wednesday, December 5
Braves '12 Team Summer 2008 Tour: The Tradition of Excellence Continues
The players on the Braves '12 team will get their first taste of national scouting exposure on our 2008 Summer Tour. The Summer Tour is a Braves tradition started by the Braves '08 team. Each summer, "The Tour" takes the team to the most heavily scouted events in the country. Thanks to the program's extraordinary success in placing players in D1 college baseball, the Braves '12 has been exempted from qualifying for several of the top scouting national events in 2008 and received a direct berth in the events.
Participation in the highly competitive events will give our players early exposure to the 'opinion makers' that carry the most clout with college/pro scouts. Players will begin to build a resume of success against top national competition and then burnish their resumes with each successive Summer Tour.
The Braves annual Summer Tour is the roadmap that leads to college scholarships/pro contracts. If you would like learn more about our program and the Summer Tour, please contact Coach Roberts at coach@bravesmail.com
Sunday, September 23
Braves Win 2007 CABA Virginia Wooden Bat State Championship
The Braves 2012 Team struck gold in their first ever tournament by winning the 2007 CABA Virginia Wooden Bat State Championship. The team relied on the traditional Braves formula of excellent pitching, steady defense and pressure offense to claim "state champion" bragging rights and qualify for the 2008 CABA Ultimate World Series. Way to go Braves!
The Braves Way
The Richmond Braves National Teams have established a long and illustrious history of achievement at the highest levels of travel baseball. Braves teams have won dozens of state, regional and national titles. Braves players have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in college scholarships and play in top college conferences including the ACC and SEC. The record of accomplishment has come through years of hard work on the part of parents and coaches, but mostly it has come from outstanding on-field performance by our players. No coach, parent or player can talk a college coach into a scholarship offer. At some point, every player must perform and be measured against top competition at the highest levels. To prepare our players for that opportunity we have developed a formula for success that we call THE BRAVES WAY.
The Braves Way starts with a simple question to the parents: Do we have your permission to challenge your son reach his full potential? Our cardinal rule is that parents must not make or give players excuses. Players must be willing to adjust to and accept our way of doing things if we are to succeed as a team and they are to grow as a prospect.
One of the first questions we get when exploring a new relationship with a player has to do with playing position. Our policy is simple: performance determines position. Probably 85% of the players we recruit play or once played shortstop and/or pitcher. We have found that on a team of this caliber, players find their natural positions. We know that not all pitchers are position players and not all position players are pitchers. The crucible of national competition will be used to sort players into their natural roles on the baseball field.
Once the parent/player has accepted these terms, a realistic assessment of player talent and make up is next. Division 1/Draftable skills must be evident to play for the Braves and an unflappable demeanor is an absolute pre-requisite to play in the highly competitive environments we visit. Among the attributes we look for in our players are game speed, physical and mental preparedness and toughness, high intelligence, baseball savvy and superior playmaking skills. Offensively, we require outstanding bunting and baserunning skills and the ability to move runners. We expect players to use the situation and count in their favor. Players with the ability to hit with power to the opposite field are highly prized.
Pitching is perhaps the most crucial element to suceed on the national level. The ability to command the fastball and have touch on the change up cannot be overstated. We expect a high strike to ball ratio. The training we give our pitchers in the heat of battle is unparalled and has led others to describe our teams as "Pitching U."
The Braves Way is certainly not the only way to get to the next level of baseball, but our track record indicates that it is certainly a proven way. We invite inquiries from serious players aged 13-17. Contact coach@bravesmail.com for more information on tryouts.
Got questions?
Please send questions about the new Braves 2012 team or the Richmond Braves National organization to coach@bravesmail.com
Tuesday, August 7
Visit the national champion Braves National '08 Team website
To learn more about the history and achievements of the Richmond Braves National program, please take a few minutes to visit the website of our most famous Braves team at www.eteamz.com/08braves
Sunday, August 12
Braves '08 star, Tim Melville, crowned top high school player in America
Braves '08 team pitcher and third baseman Tim Melville received the two highest awards a high school player can earn at the 2007 Alfac High School American game in San Diego this week. Early in the week, Melville received the award as the Best Overall Prospect in the class of 2008 as voted by scouts. At the Friday night awards banquet, he received the highest honor a prep player can receive when he was named the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Jackie Robinson Award. The Jackie Robinson Award is presented annually to the Aflac National High School Player of the Year, the nation's top high school rising senior. Each year six Aflac All-Americans are nominated to receive the Jackie Robinson Award, which is given to the player who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership, participates in the community and embodies the values of being a student-athlete. Melville is the first player to ever receive both awards. In the nationally televised Aflac High School All American game on Saturday, Melville was named the starting pitcher for the West squad. He pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning. Later in the game he played 3rd base and delivered an RBI hit.
Melville first burst onto the national radar in a Braves uniform at the 2004 Perfect Game/WWBA 16U National Championship in Bourbonais, IL. Only 14 years old at the time, he threw 88 mph in his first outing and instantly rocketed to the top of the prospect list in the class of 2008. Since that time, he has consistently burnished his reputation as one of the best all around players in the nation while helping the Braves reach the top echelon of travel baseball. Following his performance in the 2005 USA Baseball Jr. Olympics with the Braves, Melville was selected to the 2005 USA Baseball Youth National Team. Known far and wide for his baseball abilities, Tim is also well liked and respected by his Braves teammates for his loyalty to the team and his hard play. Despite his acclaim as one of the nation's top prospects and a potential first round draft pick, Melville plays every game to win and never concerns himself with his own safety. The Braves salute our longtime teammate and friend for his many well deserved accolades and thank him for his unwavering devotion to the team.
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