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By DAVE KONOPKI davek@leader.net
Wednesday, March 12, 2003 Page: 9A
OK, so there might be a half-foot of snow on many area baseball fields. But
that doesn’t mean players can’t get ready for the upcoming season, says former
professional player Johnny Oliver.
The former Lake-Lehman High School standout, who was a first-round pick of
the Cincinnati Reds in 1996, says players of all ages can benefit from indoor
workouts.
“The season is right around the corner, so players need to start doing
things to get ready,” said Oliver, who owns the Baseball Academy in Kingston.
“They can do small calisthenics, work with small weights and do stretching
exercises. Stretching is very important, and now is the time to start.”
And the exercises, as well as activities such as swinging a bat, can be
done at a facility such as the Baseball Academy or in the player’s basement.
“Swinging a baseball fine-tunes every little muscle in your body,” said
Oliver, who stopped playing in 1999 after suffering a serious hamstring
injury. “You use muscles in your legs, forearms, abdomen … it’s a great
workout.”
The Baseball Academy features three batting cages and a pitching mound. The
speed of the pitches in the batting cages range from the low 80s (for high
school-age players and older) to the high 50s (for older Little League
players) to the mid-30s (for beginning Little Leaguers).
The Baseball Academy isn’t the only indoor baseball facility in the Wyoming
Valley. The Sandlot, located near the Pittston Mall, features two batting
cages, two party rooms and a huge video arcade in the 8,000-square foot
facility.
Oliver says spending time in the batting cage, especially at this time of
the year, is important no matter where the player practices.
“Repetition, as long as its done in the proper way, is very important,”
said Oliver. “You can go to an indoor facility and get 150 swings a night.
“And it doesn’t matter if the kids decide to go to the Baseball Academy or
The Sandlot, I’m here to promote baseball in our area,” said Oliver. “For
years, baseball was lagging in this area. But now, more and more kids are
starting to play baseball again.”
The snow-covered fields and low temperatures have been keeping the indoor
facilities busy. Area high school teams have been flocking to the Baseball
Academy for practice time.
“I think coaches are antsy to get outside,” said Chris Shaver, who operates
and manages the Baseball Academy. “They want to get their teams on the field.
I don’t think the kids worry too much about the weather. They just want to
shake off the (cold) weather and get into baseball condition.”
With most local Little League organizations starting their seasons in mid
to late April, the winter weather isn’t a factor – at least not yet.
“It’s still early, so I think we’ll be fine,” said Back Mountain Baseball
president Jack Snyder, whose league begins play April 21. “But if we get
another major snowstorm, we could be in trouble. For now, at least the kids
can go to the indoor batting cages. You can’t hit a baseball with a coat on.”