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Sunday, August 20
Strong Showing
Welland teen awarded scholarship to play baseball at Niagara University
BERND FRANKE
Sports - Saturday, August 19, 2006 @ 09:00
Don't be surprised to see Geoff Strong skimming over titles in the self-help section at the bookstore as he goes back to school shopping for his first year studying biology and playing baseball at Niagara University.
A how-to book on improving selective memory would go a long way to helping the fireballing right-handed pitcher from Welland focus on his last strikeout, while forgetting all about the last hit he allowed or batter he walked.
"I remember specific at-bats, but that's not always good, the 18-year-old Notre Dame graduate admits while waiting to take the field at Burgar Park with his midget team, the Welland Harpwood's Trophies Mustangs.
"Sometimes, I'm too hard on myself. I feel I shouldn't make as many mistakes as I do."
This is not to say that Strong's career on the diamond has heretofore been a calamity of errors, with the miscues greatly outnumbering the milestones. Far from it.
Strong, who also has played on the Niagara Rebels under 18 elite team and high school ball with the Fighting Irish varsity team, was impressive enough at a recent college showcase at Welland Stadium to catch the attention of recruiters from Niagara University.
A fastball clocked at 89 miles per hour and a nasty curve - that can both find the strike zone on a consistent basis - are bound to turn some heads.
"He's got a 12-to-six curveball, and he throws it for strikes," says Mustangs head coach Rick Young, who is not surprised that a player he has mentored for the past 10 years received a four-year baseball scholarship to play with the Purple Eagles.
The son of Greg and Donna Strong also sparkles on the diamond when it isn't his turn to pitch for the Mustangs.
His coach describes Strong as a top-notch, centre-fielder, a lead-off hitter who can find the gap with seeing-eye hits and a quiet leader who leads by example.
"He's not a vocal leader," Young says. "He's not going to stand up and make a speech, but he will run into the fence to make a catch when some other players wouldn't."
Strong's work ethic is second to none, according to his long-time coach.
"He's my hardest-working player, without question," Young adds. "That's his No. 1 asset, he's a tireless worker.
"I think he's going to do well as the college level."
Strong likewise is confident that transition to university baseball is the U.S. from sandlot ball in Niagara will be smooth. He isn't worried that the learning curve will be too steep to overcome.
"I think I will be able to fit right in," says Strong, who has watched the Purple Eagles in action several times and has an idea of what pitches college batters hate to see.
Strong, who played defensive back on the Notre Dame football team that made it to the Ontario finals last season, prefers pitching to being a position player on the baseball field. While he concedes the pressure on the mound can be immense, so is the control and the "total involvement" in the game.
"When you're pitching, you're in the middle of the game the whole time," he says. "You dictate the flow of the game."
For the ultra-competitive Strong, that flow is closer to being a tidal wave than a trickle. Between the white lines, Strong doesn't give his team anything but his best, according to his coach with the midget Mustangs.
"He's a competitor. He wants to win so bad that he takes it personally when the team loses," says Young in describing this strong will to win as shortcoming as much as a strength.
"He needs to let that stuff go. What happens, happens. Just go from there."
Strong appreciates that he needs to work on improving the "mental part" of the game. He knows that he needs to forget the mistakes as soon as they happen, "but it's hard to forget.
"I'm really hard on myself. On the field, I need to have a short-term memory," he suggests with a laugh.
Strong, whose favourite big league pitcher is Oakland starter Rich Harden, a fellow Canadian from Victoria, B.C., hopes to parlay his degree from the Lewiston, N.Y., university into a career in physical therapy, chiropractic or teaching.
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