Owners, Dennis Boucher and Jason Pfannenbecker celebrated their inaugural year in business last week with an in depth planning session to plan for the 2016 Season. The planning session incorporated a 360 review of 2015 from facility review to team performance to player development to program goals. Here are some highlights:
Facility Review
Since the Grand Opening in November of 2014, the CT Edge has made tremendous strides. The building renovations were completed by mid Winter 2015 housing five turf cages for indoor training, a lounge to facilitate team meetings and parent interaction, and a ProShop with CT Edge clothing and accessories. Despite a late Winter, two baseball fields were carved out of the adjoining property to facilitate convenient, outdoor practices as well as host 8U - 12U home baseball games. Moving forward into 2016, CT Edge will focus their facility efforts on the adjoining baseball fields, by improving the grounds conditions for practices and games. In addition, the ProShop clothing line will be expanded with a more extensive offering of clothing and accessories for players, parents, siblings, and fans.
Team Performance
Many of the CT Edge teams experienced winning seasons - racking up trophies, rings, and medals to adorn the walls of their bedrooms. Others had seasons filled with continuous improvement through intensive player development of individual skills while learning how to work together to create a team chemistry. CT Edge does not identify one of these seasons to be more successful than the other, as a trophy or a title does not determine the ultimate success of a player or a season in youth sports. Development, perseverance, focus, drive, and desire are elements that can come out of a winning or losing season for which there is no medal, yet the rewards are far greater than the title. As tryouts commence in mid November, CT Edge will look for players who are not only skilled ball players, but players that have the drive to improve and willingness to learn.
Throughout the course of the season, it became clear that leadership, in the form of both coaches and players, is crucial to the team dynamic. Changes have been implemented to ensure that players have strong role models on the field who excel at transferring baseball skills, increasing one's understanding of the mental part of the game, and are committed to the development of the players on all levels - as athletes, as students, and as young men. In regards to player leadership, CT Edge will work with all players to model positive leadership techniques and address behavior unbecoming of young athletes. To facilitate this ongoing effort, CT Edge is in the process of developing conduct code guidelines for both coaches and players to set an organizational standard for all members of the program and will communicate this standard prior to the start of the Spring season.
Player Development
Baseball is a team sport driven by individual opportunities. As such, the Winter training regime has been revised to reflect the need for specialized, position specific training complemented with longer team practices to develop team chemistry on the field. A series of Winter Clinics were announced highlighting opportunities for small group, specialized training in hitting, pitching, catching, and infield work. These sessions promise to provide interested players with an opportunity to focus on their individual skills on their own time, in order to more significantly contribute to their team in the Spring. This change in programming will allow for longer team practices during the off-season. Open hitting, which was highly successful in he inaugural year, will start back up in December. At $10 per player, kids are welcome to come to CT Edge and hit off of live pitching in multiple tunnels. This informal, no pressure style is a great opportunity to kids to stay loose all Winter long, regardless of their commitments to other teams or sports.
Program Goals
In 2015, several of our CT Edge athletes were identified as players to watch by college recruiters. Invitations to college showcases in Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts were offered to these players in the Fall of 2015. Beyond the responsibility of providing baseball instruction, CT Edge will continue to work with our players who have a desire to play baseball at the college level. We will achieve this program goal by assisting them with the recruiting process, providing mentorship with the application process, communicating with coaches in accordance with NCAA regulations, and providing opportunities for players to be seen by college and pro recruiters.
Facility Review
Since the Grand Opening in November of 2014, the CT Edge has made tremendous strides. The building renovations were completed by mid Winter 2015 housing five turf cages for indoor training, a lounge to facilitate team meetings and parent interaction, and a ProShop with CT Edge clothing and accessories. Despite a late Winter, two baseball fields were carved out of the adjoining property to facilitate convenient, outdoor practices as well as host 8U - 12U home baseball games. Moving forward into 2016, CT Edge will focus their facility efforts on the adjoining baseball fields, by improving the grounds conditions for practices and games. In addition, the ProShop clothing line will be expanded with a more extensive offering of clothing and accessories for players, parents, siblings, and fans.
Team Performance
Many of the CT Edge teams experienced winning seasons - racking up trophies, rings, and medals to adorn the walls of their bedrooms. Others had seasons filled with continuous improvement through intensive player development of individual skills while learning how to work together to create a team chemistry. CT Edge does not identify one of these seasons to be more successful than the other, as a trophy or a title does not determine the ultimate success of a player or a season in youth sports. Development, perseverance, focus, drive, and desire are elements that can come out of a winning or losing season for which there is no medal, yet the rewards are far greater than the title. As tryouts commence in mid November, CT Edge will look for players who are not only skilled ball players, but players that have the drive to improve and willingness to learn.
Throughout the course of the season, it became clear that leadership, in the form of both coaches and players, is crucial to the team dynamic. Changes have been implemented to ensure that players have strong role models on the field who excel at transferring baseball skills, increasing one's understanding of the mental part of the game, and are committed to the development of the players on all levels - as athletes, as students, and as young men. In regards to player leadership, CT Edge will work with all players to model positive leadership techniques and address behavior unbecoming of young athletes. To facilitate this ongoing effort, CT Edge is in the process of developing conduct code guidelines for both coaches and players to set an organizational standard for all members of the program and will communicate this standard prior to the start of the Spring season.
Player Development
Baseball is a team sport driven by individual opportunities. As such, the Winter training regime has been revised to reflect the need for specialized, position specific training complemented with longer team practices to develop team chemistry on the field. A series of Winter Clinics were announced highlighting opportunities for small group, specialized training in hitting, pitching, catching, and infield work. These sessions promise to provide interested players with an opportunity to focus on their individual skills on their own time, in order to more significantly contribute to their team in the Spring. This change in programming will allow for longer team practices during the off-season. Open hitting, which was highly successful in he inaugural year, will start back up in December. At $10 per player, kids are welcome to come to CT Edge and hit off of live pitching in multiple tunnels. This informal, no pressure style is a great opportunity to kids to stay loose all Winter long, regardless of their commitments to other teams or sports.
Program Goals
In 2015, several of our CT Edge athletes were identified as players to watch by college recruiters. Invitations to college showcases in Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts were offered to these players in the Fall of 2015. Beyond the responsibility of providing baseball instruction, CT Edge will continue to work with our players who have a desire to play baseball at the college level. We will achieve this program goal by assisting them with the recruiting process, providing mentorship with the application process, communicating with coaches in accordance with NCAA regulations, and providing opportunities for players to be seen by college and pro recruiters.
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