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Clements HS 2008 Off Season Baseball Website
Welcome to Clements Baseball.
Wednesday, July 16
Wednesday July 16th
As of 3:30 both the JV & Varsity Games are on.
Coach Tucker
Monday, July 14
Monday July 14th *Games today*
Reminder,
Varsity plays 2 games at Brazoswood in Clute tonight starting at 5:30. Be there by 5. Most of you have made the trip before but rememeber it takes about an hour to get there.
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JV playes Travis at Travis tonight at 8:00.
Good luck to both teams,
Coach Tucker
Friday, June 6
JV Schedule
| JV |
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| Day |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Opponent |
| Wed |
4-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Hightower |
| Mon |
9-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Austin |
| Thurs |
12-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Bellaire |
| Tues |
17-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Bush |
| Wed |
18-Jun |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Travis |
| Tues |
24-Jun |
8:00 |
Kempner |
Kempner |
| Thurs |
26-Jun |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Dulles |
| Tues |
1-Jul |
8:00 |
Hightower |
Hightower |
| Wed |
3-Jul |
8:00 |
Austin |
Austin |
| Mon |
7-Jul |
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NO JV GAME TODAY!!!!
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| Tues |
8-Jul |
6:00 |
Butler |
Bellaire |
| Thurs |
10-Jul |
6:00 |
Frankie |
Bush |
| |
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8:00 |
Frankie |
Bush |
| Mon |
14-Jul |
8:00 |
Travis |
Travis |
| Wed |
16-Jul |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Kempner |
| Thurs |
17-Jul |
6:00 |
Austin |
Dulles |
Friday, June 6
Varsity Schedule
| Varsity |
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| Day |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Opponent |
| |
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| Wed |
4-Jun |
5:30 |
Butler |
Dulles |
| Mon |
9-Jun |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Bellaire |
| Thurs |
12-Jun |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Foster Black |
| Tues |
17-Jun |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Foster Gold |
| Wed |
18-Jun |
7:30 |
Frankie |
Brazoswood |
| Tues |
24-Jun |
5:30 |
Travis |
Travis |
| Thurs |
26-Jun |
7:30 |
Frankie |
Terry |
| Tues |
1-Jul |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Foster Black |
| Thur |
3-Jul |
7:30 |
Butler |
Bellaire |
| Mon |
7-Jul |
5:30 |
Foster |
Foster Black |
| |
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7:45 |
Foster |
Foster Black |
| Thurs |
10-Jul |
7:00 |
Foster |
Foster Gold |
| Mon |
14-Jul |
7:00 |
Brazoswood |
Brazoswood |
| Wed |
16-Jul |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Travis |
| Thurs |
17-Jul |
5:30 |
Kempner |
Dulles |
Friday, June 6
Freshmen Blue Schedule
| Freshmen Blue |
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| Day |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Opponent |
| Wed |
4-Jun |
6:00 |
Frankie |
Hightower |
| Mon |
9-Jun |
6:00 |
Kempner |
Austin |
| Mon |
11-Jun |
6:00 |
Austin |
Dulles |
| Tues |
17-Jun |
6:00 |
Austin |
Lamar Consld. |
| Thurs |
19-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Bellaire |
| Mon |
23-Jun |
8:00 |
Elkins |
Elkins Gold |
| Wed |
25-Jun |
6:00 |
Travis |
Travis Red |
| Tues |
1-Jul |
6:00 |
Hightower |
Hightower |
| Wed |
2-Jul |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Austin |
| Wed |
9-Jul |
6:00 |
Frankie |
Dulles |
Friday, June 6
Freshment Grey Schedule
| Freshmen Grey |
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| Day |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Opponent |
| Thurs |
5-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Terry |
| Tues |
10-Jun |
6:00 |
Elkins |
Foster |
| Mon |
16-Jun |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Elkins White |
| Wed |
18-Jun |
5:30 |
Butler |
Bellaire White |
| Mon |
23-Jun |
5:30 |
Butler |
Strake Jesuit |
| Thurs |
26-Jun |
6:00 |
Elkins |
Elkins Blue |
| Tues |
1-Jul |
5:30 |
Frankie |
Bellaire White |
| Wed |
2-Jul |
5:30 |
Terry |
Terry |
| Mon |
7-Jul |
6:00 |
Travis |
Travis White |
| Wed |
9-Jul |
8:00 |
Frankie |
Kempner |
| Sat |
12-Jul |
10:00 |
Frankie |
Championship Game |
Wednesday, June 4
Game Day
Hi Everyone,
I'm sure the men are tired of looking good hitting off of me so let's celebrate Game Day is finally here. Good luck to all of our teams this summer. Remember you are representing Clements High School. Make the school, your family and yourself proud with your hard work and positive attitude.
Varsity:
The game Start at 5:30 at Butler, Be there by 5 to get ready. The plan is to split the pitching up a couple innings a piece so everyone can pitch again this weekend if needed. Ballard will start so get ready accordingly. I don't know if we are home or visitors but be ready for a 5:30 1st pitch.
JV:
We play at 8 at Frankie. Our Freshmen play at 6 so our game will start at approximately 8:00 PM. Later if they play right up to the 7:50 time limit, right at 8 or a little sooner if there is a run rule or they otherwise finish early. Be at the field by 7. The Press box will be open. Get the balls and pitch to yourselves in the cage. I should be there between 7:15 & 7:30. The plan is to split the pitching up a couple innings a piece. Brian Brown will start.
Freshmen:
It was just announced that Saturday July 12 10:00 AM at Frankie Field, there will be a 1 game Championship game played between the two freshmen group winners. We have a team in each group. It would be nice to have an all Clements Championship Game. Good Luck to both teams. Play hard.
Ranger Pride,
Coach Tucker
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Saturday, May 17
Freshmen Rosters
Hi Everyone,
I'm pleased to annouce the two freshmen teams rosters.
I am looking forward to a great season from both teams. Good Luck to our newest Rangers.
Clements Grey - Coach Mesa
David Angelo
Michael Burr
Cullen Cook
Adam Curruth
Chet Danto
Shameet Desai
Briley Farmer
Thomas Long
Juan Mesa
Alex Ng
Daniel Perez
Roger Salti
Clements Blue - Coach Adams
Shane Adams
Austin Bass
Joshua Binder
Seth Ensor
Juliene Hernandez
Ballard Infante
Ryan Lilly
Cayden Maloney
Zach Mayock
Matthew McCauley
Michael Munnell
Rahul Naik
Mason Pope
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Sunday, May 4
Nice Start to the Summer
Freshmen:
We had another solid turn out of freshmen at tryouts Saturday. I was pleased with the effort and hustle I saw and expect these young men to carry on the winning tradition at Clements High School.
For those who were unable to attend but would still like to try out, I will have a makeup session This Monday, May 5th from 7 until Dark at Frankie field.
Currently we are right on the bubble for the numbers required to field two freshmen teams. I would like a minimum of 13 on a team. We had 23 register on Saturday. We need at least 1 and preferably3 (or more) to tryout Monday.
The teams will be split as evenly as possible. I will split the pitching, catching and hitting the based on what I saw at tryouts. I am not as concerned about positions. They all need to be able to play multiple infield and outfield positions. And when we asked the boys what positions they played; well, it appears we have a whole lot of short stops and center fielders ;-)
We will have a practice on Thursday, May 8th from 6 until dark at Frankie. Everyone should attend. The practice will be for all of our teams, freshmen through Varsity. My goal is to have all the registrations and tryouts complete so that I can split the teams on Tue & Wed and then I will let the boys know after practice on Thursday.
JV & Varsity:
We will be at Frankie on Monday from 6-7 before the freshmen tryouts, collecting paperwork and answering questions. Our first practice will be the Thursday practice mentioned above. Please see below for further information about the summer schedule.
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Monday, April 21
Summer 08 Registration (Freshmen/Varsity & JV new is below)
Students who will attend Clements High School on the Fall of 09 are invited to play in the Clements Summer Baseball program. Our program consist of 1 Varsity, 1 JV and (depending upon how many players tryout) 1 or 2 incoming Freshmen team(s).
For incoming freshmen and current Clements students who did not play for the school in the spring of 08, Clements Summer Baseball (Mickey Mantle) Registration and Tryouts are scheduled for:
Saturday May 3, 2008 from 10:00 PM to 12:00 PM.
All tryouts will be at the home of the Clements Rangers, Frankie Field (behind Mercer Stadium).
If you are playing for the Clements High School this spring (08) you do not need to tryout to play this summer. You are required to complete a registration form and player contract. Forms will be available Saturday May 3rd from 9-1 at Frankie to register and pay. Please note: This year, you will not be allowed to participate in any way (practice or games) until your paperwork has been completed and turned into the league office.
Important Dates:
Saturday May 3rd 10-12 Freshmen Trayouts @ Frankie
The season will start Wednesday May 29th
Friday July 4th No games will be played.
Saturday July 19th will be the last day for league play
If you are considering playing in our program in the summer of 08, please make note of the schedule above and plan your summer vacations, camps and select league participation accordingly.
If you have any questions please contact Chris Tucker at ctucker@wilsonmohr.com or 281-980-5944.
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VARSITY & JV NEWS
For the varsity:
* We will play in Two Leagues
, A Wed night premier league ( 6:30 on Wed )
* The league starts June 4 and ends by July 16. There will be No season ending tournament
* Initially includes Kempner, Elkins, Dulles, Hightower, Clements, & Bellaire (these are the premier teams in our league. The idea it this Wed league will be the best competition our league has to offer.
? Roster composed of returning varsity lettermen and 2008 JV squad
* The plan is to play each team once so we will play 5 games in this league
*
* If you sign up for the 2nd league there will be no additional charge for playing in on the Wednesday night team. Our program will pay for the new Premier League.
Mon/Tue/Thurs night regular league( 5:30 / 8:00 on Mon, Tue, and/or Thurs )
* The league starts June 2 for Fort Bend schools and ends by July 19. There will be No season ending tournament
* Roster composed of returning varsity lettermen and 2008 JV squad
* We will play 15 games with a NEW 2:30 time limit/7 innings so we will get our games in.
Varsity Fees for this summer will be 155/per player. For Varsity this will include both leagues (so you will get 3 games a week), 2 shirt (so mom is not washing every night), a hat & socks.
*****
For the JV:
* Games will be played on Mon/Tue/Wed/Thurs nights. Friday’s are reserved for rainouts. To avoid select league conflicts, no Saturday games will be schedule.
* The league starts June 2 for Fort Bend schools and ends by July 19. There will be No season ending tournament
* Roster will be composed of the returning sophomore squad with some possible additions (new players to the area, kids that didn’t make the team in the spring that want to try again next spring etc.)
*
* We will play 15 games 1:50 time limit/7 innings.
JV Fees for this summer will be 140/per player. For JV this will include 2 shirt (so mom is not washing every night), a hat & socks.
Freshman tryouts are tomorrow Sat. May 3 from 10-12 at Frankie. Paper work will be available.
I
will be at Frankie Monday May 5th from 6-7 for Varsity and JV to come fill out paperwork and ask questions.
I am also available via email at ctucker@wilsonmohr.com or cell 281-513-5944 (you usually have to leave a message and I’ll call you back).
Thanks,
Chris
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Monday, April 24
Out of your control
Help me!!!!! My Son is 0-7 so far
He's hit the ball hard thrice but right at someone, struck out twice, once looking on a low and away pitch, and got his weight way out front on a change-up and dribbled it to second and his last swing yesterday was what appeared to be a half swing to the third baseman. He plays on a select team last year hitting .395 on a team that hit .340 on the year. He's always been a good hitter, but now, we're seeing a lot
more change of speed, including sadly, hooks. Any advice? I think his last swing yesterday showed he is losing confidence and is becoming tentative.
It doesn't matter whether a kid is failing math, they all can figure a BA. They all have a preseason goal like "I'm going to hit .400". They start off 0-7 and go home and extrapolate the math and " I've got to hit .575 the rest of the season to hit .400. This season SUCKS!" It becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
This player hit the ball hard three times! Had they found a hole, he's a happy camper! But because he is concerned with his BA, he is " losing confidence and becoming tentative". Sounds like a SLUMP to me.
Batting Averages are so subjective as to be almost meaningless. If the scorekeepers' son is a pitcher, all balls that are not converted into outs are errors. All balls that get by the catcher are "pass balls" not "wild pitches". Hence, Junior's ERA stays low even though he gave up 10. If the scorekeeper's son is a hitter, those boots are all bad hops or "too hot to handle". I once noticed that one HS team had 5 players hitting over .500! Yet, their record was 3-16. Must have been some pretty bad pitching.
I keep stats on my team but I no longer post them in the dugout. I got tired of Dads coming up to me with their interpretation of their son's stats and arguing that I should change an error to a hit. I really don't care what their BA is. I don't need to see their BA to know if they are a productive offensive player or not.
As I have said before. A player must learn that he can only concern himself with those things over which he has control. He can only control:
1. The amount of preparation he has done so that he can expect to have success.
2. The pitch at which he chooses to swing
3. How hard he runs to first.
He can not control whether the SS stabs his rope, the umpire makes a bad call, or the scorekeeper calls his shot in the hole an error. To concern ones self with any of those things is completely counterproductive.
Baseball is a game of failure. Only failure 2 of 3 times for your career and you will end up in the Hall Of Fame. But you failed twice as much as you succeed. More players are driven out of the game not because they can't play but because they can't handle the failures that come with the game.
If a kid plays long enough, he will be confronted with off speed pitches, even GASP, curveballs. He has to learn to not blend his stride and swing, stay back, and wait on the ball in order to have any success hitting off speed pitches.
Yours In Baseball,
Bruce Lambin
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Friday, May 5
Shoes
Note to all players,
Cleats, sandals, socks and bare feet are not allowed in the batting cages at our fields or any other fields. If you don't have proper shoes you will not be allowed to take batting practice. Get in a habit of bringing shoes to hit in, then change to finish getting loose.
Coach Tucker
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Stride then Swing
Hall Of Fame pitcher, Whitey Ford coined the phrase to "pull the string". By that he meant that when he threw a 'change up', he felt as if he had a string on the batter and pulled his weight forward onto his front foot at which time he had destroyed the hitter's timing and owned him. The key to being a good hitter is to be able to keep your weight back long enough to be able to identify the pitch and react to the velocity and break. How does one master this skill? First the hitter must have correct swing mechanics. He must learn to not blend his stride and swing. He must learn the stride is merely a timing device not a means of generating power in the swing. Quite the opposite, blending the stride and swing, will result in diminished power as the hips and upper body turn simultaneously. Bat speed and power are a result of a lag in the rotation of the upper and lower body creating torque. The hitter must learn to take a short stride on the ball of the foot, keeping the weight back. For complete instruction on hitting mechanics get the FUNdamentals Of Hitting video from my BASEBALL SKILLS AND DRILLS video series. What kind of drills can be utilized to synthesize this movement pattern into the hitter's muscle memory? Soft toss drills can be utilized to work on staying back and not blending the stride and swing. This is totally a function of you, the tosser, delaying the toss until the stride foot touches the ground. Then the amount of arc on the toss determines how long he must delay triggering the swing.
The other option is the HANDS BACK HITTER.
With the HANDS BACK HITTER, the batter trips a trigger cord when he strides. There is a slight pause while the ball is popped up into the hitting zone. The hitter then triggers the proper hip rotational mechanics by triggering the back knee, rotating the hips and building the necessary toque in the upper body which then responds by uncoiling and maximizing bat speed. The hitter can really simulate the necessary swing discipline by waiting even longer for the ball to begin its downward path and thereby also simulate matching the plane of the bat to the descending arc of a curve or change up. The nice thing about the HBH is that he can work with it on his own without you being there to soft toss to him and it is fun.
My son returns from pro AAA ball today. The HANDS BACK HITTER will be an integral part of his off season program as at AAA the pitchers that could get by with gas learned that they had to develop quality change ups. He had difficulty with the pitch. With the help of the HBH, he expects to develop the ability to stay back and drive the change and keep moving up.
A few flame throws can get by just fogging gas in youth league but the others are going to have to 'pitch'. The hitters are going to have to learn to stay back and adjust to the off speed pitches. When they get on the big field, that flamethrower is doused and he to must develop off speed pitches. Only those that learn to stay back, not blend their stride and swing and match their swing arc to the descending path of the curve and change will survive.
Yours In Baseball
Bruce Lambin
THE COACH
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Use the Teams link on the Left to see your teams info.
Clements Varsity Team Site
Clements Rangers North Standings
Check Yourself! (Learn to be your own batting coach)
PROVIDED BY COACH JOHN PETER, BASEBALLTIPS.COM
NOTE: Learn to check yourself from the feet up
every time.
This will keep you from missing certain parts of the swing and more easily allow you to remember all details.
Rest Position How does it look, how does it feel? Are you comfortable? Is your weight about 40% front foot and 60% back foot? Are you on the balls of your feet with your weight bearing on the inside of your slightly flexed knees and again, the balls of your feet?
Hands about 4-6 from your body? Tall backside? Head equal distance between both feet? Eyes level, so both eyes see the ball?
Load Position Take a negative move (this is when you load with your hands moving toward your back shoulder) with hands held high (at the top of the strike zone).
Can you feel the slight pull of muscles from your torso and upper body
like the winding of a spring?
Keep your stride shorter rather than longer! Hands go toward the back of your body while front foot strides toward pitcher (some coaches will call this walking away from your hands).
NOTE: Your weight should now be 80% on the back foot and only 20% on the front foot with knees slightly flexed.
Contact position Are you up on the toes of your back foot?
Is your front foot slightly open at a 45% angle with FRONT KNEE BRACED AND LOCKED?
Are your hands in a palm up and palm down position? Head still and between both legs like a stick man drawing?
Are your eyes focused at the point of contact?
Finish Are you hitting off a firm front side with your front knee locked?
Are you still balanced with head between both legs and not lunging forward?
Is the bat completely wrapped around your back?
Is your head still?
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More on Hitting
Well the kid is now leading the league in hitting at .382. Last year he hit .244. What is the difference? Why the improvement? He spread and opened his stance. Is that it? Well, he contends it is helping him stay back and on balance. Because he must stride closed, it helps him not fly his front side. But if that were the answer, everyone one would do that and rake.
First off it is only 70 ABs. Good streaks happen, as do bad ones.
Last year his Hitting Coach analyzed his swing mechanics after every AB. He was constantly focused on adjusting his swing mechanics. Further the Hitting Coach convinced him that on this level he must think with the pitcher. He couldn't just react but must anticipate what pitch and location.
Over the winter, I suggested that seldom does the pitcher think 'I'm going to hang a slider or pipe a FB .' Those are the pitches that you hit for a high degree of success. Even if you guess correctly that the pitcher is going to throw a CU down and away at the knees, it's the pitcher's pitch and you ain't gonna have much success hitting it. Further if that is what you are looking for and he happens to groove a FB, you won't be prepared to hit it but will be jammed and foul it off at best.
Fortunately, the new Hitting Coach told him the same thing I had said (even if he is so blessed to have THE COACH in the house, its still Dad and what does he know about pro ball). The kid says his approach is back to 3rd grade (as well as his stance). He goes to the plate looking 'Dead Red" expecting the P to make a mistake. He reacts to pitchers pitches and hopefully fouls them off or can flip them over SS for singles. He is thinking 'yes, yes, yes, NO or yes, yes, YES, SWING! Instead of no, no, no, Yes. He anticipates that the pitcher will make a mistake and reacts. That may be why his SL% is .802.
Hitters seldom fail or succeed because of swing mechanics but because of their mental approach at the plate.
So how does this effect me you ask? I coach 9 yr olds. Are you trying to coach swing mechanics during games, even ABs? What about during live BP? The ONLY thing a hitter should be thinking when a live ball is coming is speed, spin, and location. He cant be thinking, I need to keep my front shoulder down, hip weight back, stride on the ball of my foot, etc. The place to work on swing mechanics is on the Tee, during practice or home training.
A batter is no better hitter than the pitch at which he chooses to swing . You must impress plate discipline early in the count. This is what the game is all about! The pitcher is trying to get you to swing at pitches that you will likely enjoy a low probability of success if hit. Literally, letting the hitter get himself out because he doesnt wait for a good pitch. The only difference is at younger ages the plan is less sophisticated than at the higher levels. At the beginning levels of kid pitch, this might mean learning the strike zone and only swinging at strikes. As this is mastered, layers of sophistication are added progressing to zoning on only pitches in a particular area early in the count and trying to get the pitcher into hitters counts (2-0,3-1, 3-2) in which the pitcher must challenge the hitter and he is more likely to get a pitch that he can hit with a higher degree of probability of success.
Yours In Baseball,
Bruce Lambin
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