You've discovered the home of one of Indiana's premier baseball clubs, the Bandits Baseball Club.  The Bandits Baseball Club is in its 13th year of providing training for players ages 8 to 18.  In addition, the Bandits Baseball Club is sponsoring the following travel teams for 2009:  9u, 10u, 11u, 12u, 13u, 14u, 16u, 17u & 18u.  Bandits's teams are not about winning at all cost, but rather looking at the "big picture" of  a player's career.  The Bandits stress fundamentals, knowledge and playing the game the right way.  We're here to assist the player with achieving his goals, whether it be playing high school baseball, college baseball, or possibly beyond.  The Bandits' program has produced scores of good high school players and almost as many college players in the past 13 years.  Feel free to browse our site and contact us if you should have any questions. 

The beauty of baseball is that there is nothing intrinsically FUN about playing baseball.  If you were to stand in your office or your home and swing a bat after about 30 seconds you'd think, this isn't any fun.  It is, however, fun to hit the ball.  It is not fun to swing and miss all the time.  It is also not fun to miss the ball on defense and have it bite you in the nose!  But it is fun to make defensive plays.  And you can bet the guy that is batting .500 is having more fun than the guy that is batting .150.  But, if the .150 hitter is well coached, does his Tee work, hits whiffle balls in his back yard, and works to keep his hands back (loaded) and inside the ball, he will improve and have more success/fun.  Isn't that a great lesson in life to learn from a little boys game, that if you are diligent, disciplined, and have a good work ethic, you will enjoy more success/fun in life?!

Players in baseball must EARN the right to have fun.  No one just walks out onto the field the first time and can perform all the skills of baseball.  They must be taught.  They must work to master the skills necessary to enjoy success. That is where coaches and interested parents come in.  They must not only know how the skills of the game must be performed but they must be able to communicate to the ball player in such a manner that he can understand and implement those skills.  But think over various ways to communicate.  We recognize that kids don't necessarily learn very well from words - and you know that from lecturing to your son about doing his chores.  After about 15 seconds his eyes roll back in his head and he is hearing ‘words,words,words'.  So come up with numerous visual aids to allow the ballplayer to understand and be able to implement the necessary skills into his ability to play the game.  Consider instructional videos, videotaping your player (one of my favorites), and attending a game to discuss its play and the skills of baseball.

Coaches will want to implement as many learning experiences and reps into practices as possible.  So cram as many drills as possible that are applicable to a home training program.  It doesn't matter how good a coach you are, ballplayers just cannot possibly master all the skills necessary to have the maximum amount of success/fun in a couple of two hour practices twice a week.  Give each player ‘individualized homework' after each practice and game, to be performed before the next time the team gets together.  These can be as simple as throwing the ball onto the roof and practicing catching flyballs or it might even require Old Dad to drag up off the couch and actually play ball with his son.

There was a player one time that if Central Casting had sent over a prospect baseball player, this was it!  6'4”, 220 pounds, ran like the wind, cannon for an arm, and blasted them into the trees.  BUT, he said baseball was “2 HOURS OF ANGER MANGEMENT”.  He was cut the next year.  He forgot that baseball was supposed to be FUN but is also a game of failure. He never learned that it is how you handle the failures not the success that determine how long you get to play.

So it is a two pronged task. Work to EARN the maximum amount of success/fun possible, BUT learn to deal with the failure.

By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

06/09/09 8:30 PM ET

OAKLAND -- The Twins got the top-of-the-line college starter that they were looking for as they selected right-hander Kyle Gibson out  of the University of Missouri with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday (June 9, 2009).

Gibson went 11-3 with a 3.21 ERA in his junior yea for Missouri this season, helping the Tigers to their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.  He earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors and struck out 131 batters, tying the school record, in 106 2/3 innings.

Gibson, 6-foot-6, 208 pounds, was ranked the fourth overall prospect in this year’s Draft by Baseball America and was originally expected to be taken in the top 10.  But his stock fell after he was recently diagnosed with a stress fracture in his forearm that is expected to sideline him for several weeks.  Gibson’s injury could be an explanation for why the velocity on his fastball dropped from the low 90s to the low 80s in his final two starts for Missouri.

Gibson is said to have above-average command of three pitches -- fastball, changeup and slider -- and that is a definite plus for the Twins. 

* Kyle is also on the Bandits Wall of Fame as a gifted member and son of a founder of the Bandits Baseball Club and President, Harold Gibson. 

Often players get wrapped up in worrying about things over which they have no control.  They want to hit .400, or make the All Star team, or get a college scholarship, or play pro baseball.  The accomplishments are a product of the process - not a given reward.  Baseball is about the journey - not the destination. A young man should play baseball to learn lessons in life – an individual striving for excellence, discipline, a work ethic, and dealing with failure and resilience.  The reason one works so hard today is to strive to have the maximum amount of success/fun possible tomorrow when he gets on the field to play the game again. That next game is all that is a given.  The idea that there is a big payoff down the road is beyond his control.  The High School team may be very strong and the coach may not think he is good enough. College and pro scouts may say no.  He can't control their opinions.  But today he is on a team.  Tomorrow he has another game.  He may get to play, and he works to be ready to have success tomorrow if granted the opportunity. 

As he works in his training program at home or at the club’s facility, he can refer to training videos so that he knows how to execute all the skills of the game.  He has a multitude of drills to do.  He will need to hit off the tee.  He must be able to develop a short and consistent stride on the ball of his foot, keeping his weight back, not blend his stride and swing, and execute proper rotational swing mechanics when hitting the ball.  He must learn proper hand positioning at contact and to stay “inside” the ball.  He will need to throw a “pen.”  Dad, you can help by catching his “pen.”   

Hard work in a training program that’s done outside of team practices is empowering. When he steps into the box in a game, he is a greater sense of confidence or self-esteem with the knowledge that by golly, he has earned the right to have success.  He has the mental edge.  He worked to earn the success/fun he will be enjoying TODAY.  Baseball is about the journey - not the destination.  He may or may not play to all his dreams but when it is all over, he will be a young man who has learned to work to be the best that he can be.  And those memories of the journey shared with Dad will last a lifetime.

A complete listing of the 2009 Bandit Yard Tournaments can be found through the "Tournaments 2009" link on the left tool bar.  Or you can download a tournament brochure using the link below.  We're offering additional tournaments and, as always, will strive to provide the best possible baseball experience for you, your team, and their familes.  We hope that you'll consider Bandit Yard as one or more of your tournament stops for the 2009 Season.  Good Luck and we hope to see you this coming season.

 Remaining 2009 Tournament Schedule . . .

• "500" Extravaganza (May 15 - 17) (4 game min.)
  • 9's    ($300)
  • 10's   ($300)
  • 14's (60/90)  ($400)
• Jerry Lovell Memorial Tournament (May 29 - 31) (4 game min.)
  • 9's    ($300)
  • 10's   ($300)
  • 11's    ($350)
  • 12's   ($350)
• Bandits' Blast (June 5 - 7) (4 game min.)
  • 12's   ($350)
  • 14's   ($400) (60/90)
• June Jamboree (June 12 - 14) (4 game min.)
  • 10's   ($300)
  • 11's    ($350)
  • 13's   ($400) (54/80)
• Mid-Summer Showdown  (June 26 - 28) (4 game min.)
  • 9's    ($300)
  • 10's   ($300)
  • 11's    ($350)
  • 12's   ($350)
• Fire Cracker Farcas (July 3 - 5) (4 game min.) - WOOD BAT
  • 9's    ($300)
  • 10's   ($300)
  • 11's    ($350)
  • 12's   ($350)
  • 13's   ($400) (54/80)
  • 14's   ($400) (60/90)
• SANDLOTT World Championships - WOOD BAT
  • 13's . . . (54/80) . . .
  • Contat Mickey Hiter with SANDLOTT Baseball at mhiter@bellsouth.net
  • or visit their website at www.sandlottbaseball.com.
• Five-Tool Fling (July 10 - 12) (4 game min.)
  • 9's   ($300)
  • 10's  ($300)
  • 11's   ($350)
  • 12's  ($350)
• Summer Slam (July 17 - 19) (4 game min.) - WOOD BAT
  • 9's   ($300)
  • 10's  ($300)
  • 11's   ($350)
  • 12's  ($350)
  • 15's  ($400)
• Bandit Yard Blowout (July 24 - 26) (4 game min.)
  • 9's   ($300)
  • 10's  ($300)
  • 11's   ($350)
  • 12's   ($350)
  • 13's   ($400)
  • 14's   ($400)  (60/90)
• Back-To-School Bash (September 11 - 13) (4 game min.) - WOOD BAT
  • 9/10's  ($300)
  • 11/12's ($350)
  • 13/14's ($400) (54/80)
  • 15/16's ($400)
• Fall Fest (September 25 - 27) (4 game min.) - WOOD BAT
  • 9/10's  ($300)
  • 11/12's ($350)
  • 13/14's ($400) (54/80)
  • 15/16's ($400)

For information regarding tournaments, who's signed up so far and and schedules, please contact Mark Boos, Bandits Tournament Coordinator at 317-431-8301.

Here are just a few of the terrific teams that will be playing in one or more Bandit Yard tournaments in 2009:

Carmel Hounds Gold 13U --  Cincinnati Firebirds 14U  --  Cincinnati Mustangs 15U --  Cincinnati Sluggers 10U -- Deerfield (Illinois) Warriors 13U -- Franklin Flashes 14U  --  Indiana Bandits 9U --  Indiana Bandits 10U  --  Indiana Bandits 11U  --  Indiana Bandits 12U  --  Indiana Bandits 13U  --  Indiana Bandits 14U  --  Indiana Bandits 15U  --  Indiana Irish 15U  --  Indiana Sox 14U  --  J.B. Yeager Baseball (Cincinnati, Ohio) 11U --  Lafayette Squires 13/14U -- Lids Indiana Bulls 13U  --  Lids Indiana Bulls 12U  --  Pony Express 14U