Baseball Camp Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Final Details about the start of Baseball Camp at Alliance HS    

Players and Parents: 

This is a final reminder and update for the U.S. Baseball Academy session beginning this weekend at Alliance HS    

CAMP DATES 

Sundays: Jan. 27; Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24; Mar. 3 

If you can't locate your registration confirmation or confirmation e-mail, and there is any confusion over what time your session is, you can see your registration by visiting our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com.   

Click the "Login or Pay" tab and use your player's last name and the email address used at the time of registration to view your registration.

 WEATHER

Because we have reserved the facilities for the six days of the camp, and scheduling additional days will be difficult, we will avoid postponing sessions due to weather at all costs. In the event that we cannot host camp on one of the scheduled dates, we will post a note on our website.  

Please make sure that you check the website before coming to camp if the weather is questionable. On our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com, there is a scrolling "News Ticker" at the top of the page where we will post any news or updates regarding camp. Any sessions postponed due to weather will be made up. If weather turns bad during the day, parents or emergency contacts should be available to pick players up if necessary.  

REMAINING SPOTS

A limited number of spots remain in several sessions. If you have friends or teammates who may be interested, please tell them they can still register by phoning our office at 866-622-4487 to pay with a credit card. They must be registered and paid in advance of the first session.  

SCHEDULE

Sessions will last for 55 minutes. Each session will begin promptly, so please arrive a few minutes before your sessions begin. Players may stretch in an out-of-the-way place while the previous session ends, but must stay clear of interfering with other sessions. Players will NOT be permitted to throw balls or swing bats in the hallways or other areas of the building.

EQUIPMENT

What to wear: Players should wear something comfortable for working out. Baseball pants, sweatpants or shorts are best. We will be inside, so wear gym shoes, not cleats or spikes.    

Hitting: Every player in the hitting camp must bring a bat. Because some players may be taking more swings in a shorter period of time than they are accustomed to, it would be wise to wear batting gloves if you have them.  

Pitching: Participants in the pitching camp should bring a glove. It is not necessary to bring a baseball.

Remember, participants in the pitching camp must supply their own catchers. Because our coaches are working with the pitchers in a hands-on manner and all pitchers are participating in throwing drills simultaneously, each player needs to have someone catching for him. The catcher can be a parent, older sibling or friend. If the catcher is a friend or teammate, a mask is required. We do not want two players in the same session catching for each other, because each will only receive half as much instruction.  

Catchers: Participants in the catcher's session should bring their own gear: shin guards, chest protector, mask and a protective cup. If you do not own your own catcher's gear, you should be able to borrow it from your coach or league.  

Fielding/Baserunning: Participants in the fielding/baserunning should bring their own glove.

SAFETY

It is important that players not swing the bat unless they are at a station being instructed by a coach. If a player would step out of a station and swing the bat, or if players walking onto the floor to start the day swing their bats, there is a good chance someone could get hit. DO NOT SWING BATS unless you are in a station being instructed, and it is your turn to hit.  

THE ITINERARY

This is a progressive program over a six-week period. Each week the drills are different, becoming more advanced each session. Hitters will complete up to 30 different stations and drills during the program, and pitchers between 15 and 20. Week 1 is designed to provide a good foundation for Week 2, etc. Some of the drills and stations in Week 1 may appear basic, but we need to ensure everyone has a proper foundation for the rest of the program. Some of the drills and stations may appear unusual, but each drill has an important purpose, and coaches will explain the reason each is in the program. (Why will players hit badminton birdies? Why will they be hitting deflated soccer balls? To teach them to stay in balance with hands back on off-speed pitches, and to teach them to drive their hands hard through a ball at impact.) Please work hard in every drill, and if players or parents don't understand the purpose of a station, feel free to ask the coaches afterward.  

SPECTATORS

Parents are welcome to watch from the sidelines during the hitting program and to listen along as the Site Directors explain each station at the beginning of the session. Once the rotations begin, we ask that parents watch from a distance so as not to make the hitting area more crowded and louder than it already is.  

MAKEUPS

If you miss a session because of illness, vacation, or a schedule conflict, there can be no make-ups. We pride ourselves on maintaining the player-coach ratio and limiting enrollment in each session. If we allowed extra players in a hitting session because they missed the week before, it would be unfair to others and would compromise the instruction for everyone.

SITE INFORMATION 

The site director for your local program is Jeff Graffice, Head Coach, Alliance High School.  

The following directions are supplied by the Site Director:

Directions to Alliance High School - 400 Glamorgan Street, Alliance, OH 44601

FROM BUFFALO -- Take I-90 west to Erie, then I-79 south to I-80 west.

Follow 80 west for 15 miles past the Ohio border to I-76 west (Akron junction). Follow 76 west to Exit 54 (Rt. 534). Follow 534 south to Rt. 62. Take 62 west into Alliance. Take a right on Union Ave. The High School is on the left.

FROM CLEVELAND -- Take I-77 south to Canton, then Rt. 62 east. Take the Alliance exit. Turn right. Then take a left on Union Ave. The High School is on the left, 2.5 miles down 62 (State Street).

FROM COLUMBUS -- Take I-71 north to Mansfield, then Rt. 30 east to Canton. Follow I-77 north to Rt. 62 east. Take the Alliance exit. Turn right. Then take a left on Union Ave. The High School is on the left, 2.5 miles down 62 (State Street).

FROM PITTSBURGH -- Take Rt. 60 north to Beaver Falls, then take Rt. 51 west to Alliance. Stay straight on this highway, although routes will change from 51 to 14 to 14A and 62 west into Alliance... OR Take the Pennsylvania turnpike west (I-76 west) to the Ohio Turnpike. Continue west on the Ohio Turnpike to Exit 16 (Rt. 7). Follow Rt. 7 south to Rt. 14 west. Take 14 west to combined Rts. 173 and 62 west which will lead into Alliance. Then take a right on Union Ave. The High School is on the left, 2.5 miles down 62 (State Street).

The Camp is in the rear of the school. Enter the glass gym doors in the rear of the school buildings.  Follow the signs posted.

I hope you're looking forward to camp with as much enthusiasm as we are. Call us or e-mail info@usbaseballacademy.com if you have any questions.

Important Program Note for Parents

U.S. Baseball Academy is a progressive program that works through each of the building blocks for successful hitting, pitching and catching. For hitters, that includes grip, athletic stance, stride, balance, proper alignment, weight transfer, hand position, bat angle, path of swing, power position, contact points, bat lag, extension, pitch recognition, mental aspects, and many others. For pitchers, it includes various grips, stance, arm slot, arm action, balance point, hand and wrist position, release point, proper alignment, power position, follow-through, mental aspects, and more. For catchers, players work through stance, receiving, blocking, throwing, fielding drills, the mental side of catching and dealing with pitchers and umpires.

Because a flaw in any of the above areas will cause a player to be unsuccessful, each drill in our program is designed with an important instructional aspect in mind. The series of more than 30 hitting drills and 15 pitching drills will either confirm that the player has mastered that building block or identify a flaw and provide an avenue toward fixing it. Many stations will include a "player-assistant" in addition to the station coach. While the player-assistant is not technically coaching and is not factored into our coaching ratio, he is there to increase the repetitions each camper gets at that station. Each participant works with the adult coach at that station for instruction, and the player-assistant for repetition and reinforcement. If these player-assistants were included, our player-coach ratio would be about 3 to 1.

This is a teaching camp. If you are expecting to see your player take 200 swings a day in a cage against a pitcher, you will not find it here. You can get that by putting tokens in a machine at an arcade, but what will the player learn? Rather than improve, he will simply be driving bad habits deeper and deeper into his muscle memory. Pitchers who haven't thrown a ball in months would tear up their arm throwing full speed in January or February. They will not throw off mounds. Here, drills will break down mechanics and build muscle memory so players understand how to pitch and have success when they get on the field. The goal is not to get hitters out in the middle of winter.

As is the case at colleges and even Major League spring training, many of the drills will use hitting Ts, soft toss, and similar techniques. Young kids may think they are boring. You may think they are repetitive. They are not. At each station, the coaches are working on a specific "building block." Feel free to ask the coaches to explain the specific purpose of any drill you don't understand. Consider these stations as an example...

• Two Ts the same height, one directly in front of the other, with the player trying to swing through both balls. If the player hits the back ball and misses the front, his swing path is off in one or more directions (up, down, around), and we can work to fix it.
• Two Ts, one on the inside corner and one on the outside corner, with a coach commanding which ball to hit. This drill works on pitch recognition and different contact points depending on where the ball is pitched.
• Chest-high Ts focus on a top-hand dominant swing at the top of the strike zone.
• Knee-high Ts focus on a bottom-hand dominant swing low in the strike zone.

So, if your player tells you he hit off Ts all day, or he hit soft-toss, it's important to understand what is happening at each station. Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest hitters of all time, hit off a T for 30 minutes a day throughout his Major League career. He was known to say, "If you can't do it off a T, you sure can't do it off a pitcher." That always reminds me of one of the most memorable calls to come into our office in 20 years. A parent considering signing up her son for the camp asked if the kids hit off Ts in the program. She was told that yes, some of the drills involve hitting off Ts and soft-toss. "Tees are for T-ballers," she responded loudly. "My son is a fourth-grader. I'll take him to a batting cage."

Good thing she wasn't Tony Gwynn's mom.

We hope your player has a successful experience with us.  

Final Details about the start of Baseball Camp at CCAC South Campus   

Players and Parents: 

This is a final reminder and update for the U.S. Baseball Academy session beginning this weekend at CCAC South Campus

CAMP DATES 

Sundays Jan. 27; Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24; Mar. 3

If you can't locate your registration confirmation or confirmation e-mail, and there is any confusion over what time your session is, you can see your registration by visiting our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com.   

Click the "Login or Pay" tab and use your player's last name and the email address used at the time of registration to view your registration.

 WEATHER

Because we have reserved the facilities for the six days of the camp, and scheduling additional days will be difficult, we will avoid postponing sessions due to weather at all costs. In the event that we cannot host camp on one of the scheduled dates, we will post a note on our website.  

Please make sure that you check the website before coming to camp if the weather is questionable. On our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com, there is a scrolling "News Ticker" at the top of the page where we will post any news or updates regarding camp. Any sessions postponed due to weather will be made up. If weather turns bad during the day, parents or emergency contacts should be available to pick players up if necessary.  

REMAINING SPOTS

A limited number of spots remain in several sessions. If you have friends or teammates who may be interested, please tell them they can still register by phoning our office at 866-622-4487 to pay with a credit card. They must be registered and paid in advance of the first session.  

SCHEDULE

Sessions will last for 55 minutes. Each session will begin promptly, so please arrive a few minutes before your sessions begin. Players may stretch in an out-of-the-way place while the previous session ends, but must stay clear of interfering with other sessions. Players will NOT be permitted to throw balls or swing bats in the hallways or other areas of the building.

EQUIPMENT

What to wear: Players should wear something comfortable for working out. Baseball pants, sweatpants or shorts are best. We will be inside, so wear gym shoes, not cleats or spikes.    

Hitting: Every player in the hitting camp must bring a bat. Because some players may be taking more swings in a shorter period of time than they are accustomed to, it would be wise to wear batting gloves if you have them.  

Pitching: Participants in the pitching camp should bring a glove. It is not necessary to bring a baseball.

Remember, participants in the pitching camp must supply their own catchers. Because our coaches are working with the pitchers in a hands-on manner and all pitchers are participating in throwing drills simultaneously, each player needs to have someone catching for him. The catcher can be a parent, older sibling or friend. If the catcher is a friend or teammate, a mask is required. We do not want two players in the same session catching for each other, because each will only receive half as much instruction.  

Catchers: Participants in the catcher's session should bring their own gear: shin guards, chest protector, mask and a protective cup. If you do not own your own catcher's gear, you should be able to borrow it from your coach or league.  

Fielding/Baserunning: Participants in the fielding/baserunning should bring their own glove.

SAFETY

It is important that players not swing the bat unless they are at a station being instructed by a coach. If a player would step out of a station and swing the bat, or if players walking onto the floor to start the day swing their bats, there is a good chance someone could get hit. DO NOT SWING BATS unless you are in a station being instructed, and it is your turn to hit.  

THE ITINERARY

This is a progressive program over a six-week period. Each week the drills are different, becoming more advanced each session. Hitters will complete up to 30 different stations and drills during the program, and pitchers between 15 and 20. Week 1 is designed to provide a good foundation for Week 2, etc. Some of the drills and stations in Week 1 may appear basic, but we need to ensure everyone has a proper foundation for the rest of the program. Some of the drills and stations may appear unusual, but each drill has an important purpose, and coaches will explain the reason each is in the program. (Why will players hit badminton birdies? Why will they be hitting deflated soccer balls? To teach them to stay in balance with hands back on off-speed pitches, and to teach them to drive their hands hard through a ball at impact.) Please work hard in every drill, and if players or parents don't understand the purpose of a station, feel free to ask the coaches afterward.  

SPECTATORS

Parents are welcome to watch from the sidelines during the hitting program and to listen along as the Site Directors explain each station at the beginning of the session. Once the rotations begin, we ask that parents watch from a distance so as not to make the hitting area more crowded and louder than it already is.  

MAKEUPS

If you miss a session because of illness, vacation, or a schedule conflict, there can be no make-ups. We pride ourselves on maintaining the player-coach ratio and limiting enrollment in each session. If we allowed extra players in a hitting session because they missed the week before, it would be unfair to others and would compromise the instruction for everyone.

SITE INFORMATION   

The Site Director for your local program is Vince Mezza, Head Coach, CCAC

Site address:

CCAC South Campus
1750 Clariton Rd.
West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 15122

We recommend MapQuest for the most accurate directions.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.mapquest.com/

I hope you're looking forward to camp with as much enthusiasm as we are. Call us or e-mail info@usbaseballacademy.com if you have any questions.

The following directions are supplied by the Site Director:   

Directions to CCAC South Campus

From the North

• South on I-79 to Route 279 to Pittsburgh. Cross the Veteran's Bridge (Route 579). Follow the signs for the Liberty Bridge.
• Cross the Liberty Bridge and proceed through the Liberty Tunnels. Stay in the right lane and follow the signs indicating Route 51 South.
• Continue approximately 10 miles on Route 51. You will pass the entrance to Century III Mall.
• At Bowser Subaru there is a traffic signal. Turn left at signal onto Lewis Run Road. At the next traffic signal, turn right and you will see the entrance to South Campus on the left.

From the South and East

(Greensburg Area)

• I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) to I-70 West.
• I-70 West to Route 51 North.
• Continue on Route 51 North until traffic signal where Bowser Subaru is on the right.
• Turn right at this traffic signal onto Lewis Run Road. At next traffic signal, turn right and you will see the entrance to South Campus on your left.

From the West

(Airport Area)

• Route 22/30 (Parkway) to Route 51 South exit.
• Continue on Route 51 South for several miles. You will pass the entrance to Century III Mall.
• At Bowser Subaru there is a traffic signal. Turn left at signal onto Lewis Run Road. At the next traffic signal, turn right and you will see the entrance to South Campus.

From Monroeville Area via Parkway (I-376)

• West on I-376
• Exit I-376 at Edgewood/Swissvale exit. Make a left turn onto South Braddock Avenue. Pass Edgewood Town Center.
• Continue on Braddock Avenue and cross the river on the Rankin Bridge.
• At the end of the bridge, make a left turn onto Route 837. Follow Route 837 past Kennywood through Duquesne and Dravosburg along the riverbank.
• At 2nd traffic signal, go straight, crossing over Route 837 (the Shell gas station will be on your left) onto Coal Valley Road.
• At the top of Coal Valley Road, turn right onto Route 885. South Campus will be ahead approximately one mile on your right.

Once on Campus, continue straight through the first stop sign. The road will split, stay right. At the next stop sign, turn right and travel up the hill to the parking. Park anywhere in the lot and enter the only glass doors to the G Building (Gymnasium). Once in the building turn right and walk to the gym entrances.

Important Program Note for Parents

U.S. Baseball Academy is a progressive program that works through each of the building blocks for successful hitting, pitching and catching. For hitters, that includes grip, athletic stance, stride, balance, proper alignment, weight transfer, hand position, bat angle, path of swing, power position, contact points, bat lag, extension, pitch recognition, mental aspects, and many others. For pitchers, it includes various grips, stance, arm slot, arm action, balance point, hand and wrist position, release point, proper alignment, power position, follow-through, mental aspects, and more. For catchers, players work through stance, receiving, blocking, throwing, fielding drills, the mental side of catching and dealing with pitchers and umpires.

Because a flaw in any of the above areas will cause a player to be unsuccessful, each drill in our program is designed with an important instructional aspect in mind. The series of more than 30 hitting drills and 15 pitching drills will either confirm that the player has mastered that building block or identify a flaw and provide an avenue toward fixing it. Many stations will include a "player-assistant" in addition to the station coach. While the player-assistant is not technically coaching and is not factored into our coaching ratio, he is there to increase the repetitions each camper gets at that station. Each participant works with the adult coach at that station for instruction, and the player-assistant for repetition and reinforcement. If these player-assistants were included, our player-coach ratio would be about 3 to 1.

This is a teaching camp. If you are expecting to see your player take 200 swings a day in a cage against a pitcher, you will not find it here. You can get that by putting tokens in a machine at an arcade, but what will the player learn? Rather than improve, he will simply be driving bad habits deeper and deeper into his muscle memory. Pitchers who haven't thrown a ball in months would tear up their arm throwing full speed in January or February. They will not throw off mounds. Here, drills will break down mechanics and build muscle memory so players understand how to pitch and have success when they get on the field. The goal is not to get hitters out in the middle of winter.

As is the case at colleges and even Major League spring training, many of the drills will use hitting Ts, soft toss, and similar techniques. Young kids may think they are boring. You may think they are repetitive. They are not. At each station, the coaches are working on a specific "building block." Feel free to ask the coaches to explain the specific purpose of any drill you don't understand. Consider these stations as an example...

• Two Ts the same height, one directly in front of the other, with the player trying to swing through both balls. If the player hits the back ball and misses the front, his swing path is off in one or more directions (up, down, around), and we can work to fix it.
• Two Ts, one on the inside corner and one on the outside corner, with a coach commanding which ball to hit. This drill works on pitch recognition and different contact points depending on where the ball is pitched.
• Chest-high Ts focus on a top-hand dominant swing at the top of the strike zone.
• Knee-high Ts focus on a bottom-hand dominant swing low in the strike zone.

So, if your player tells you he hit off Ts all day, or he hit soft-toss, it's important to understand what is happening at each station. Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest hitters of all time, hit off a T for 30 minutes a day throughout his Major League career. He was known to say, "If you can't do it off a T, you sure can't do it off a pitcher." That always reminds me of one of the most memorable calls to come into our office in 20 years. A parent considering signing up her son for the camp asked if the kids hit off Ts in the program. She was told that yes, some of the drills involve hitting off Ts and soft-toss. "Tees are for T-ballers," she responded loudly. "My son is a fourth-grader. I'll take him to a batting cage."

Good thing she wasn't Tony Gwynn's mom.

We hope your player has a successful experience with us.  

Final Details about the start of Baseball Camp at University of Pitt-Greensburg   

Players and Parents: 

This is a final reminder and update for the U.S. Baseball Academy session beginning this weekend at University of Pitt-Greensburg

CAMP DATES 

Sundays: Jan. 13, 20, 27; Feb. 2 (Sat), 10, 17   

If you can't locate your registration confirmation or confirmation e-mail, and there is any confusion over what time your session is, you can see your registration by visiting our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com.   

Click the "Login or Pay" tab and use your player's last name and the email address used at the time of registration to view your registration.

WEATHER

Because we have reserved the facilities for the six days of the camp, and scheduling additional days will be difficult, we will avoid postponing sessions due to weather at all costs. In the event that we cannot host camp on one of the scheduled dates, we will post a note on our website.  

Please make sure that you check the website before coming to camp if the weather is questionable. On our website, www.USBaseballAcademy.com, there is a scrolling "News Ticker" at the top of the page where we will post any news or updates regarding camp. Any sessions postponed due to weather will be made up. If weather turns bad during the day, parents or emergency contacts should be available to pick players up if necessary.  

REMAINING SPOTS

A limited number of spots remain in several sessions. If you have friends or teammates who may be interested, please tell them they can still register by phoning our office at 866-622-4487 to pay with a credit card. They must be registered and paid in advance of the first session.  

SCHEDULE

Sessions will last for 55 minutes. Each session will begin promptly, so please arrive a few minutes before your sessions begin. Players may stretch in an out-of-the-way place while the previous session ends, but must stay clear of interfering with other sessions. Players will NOT be permitted to throw balls or swing bats in the hallways or other areas of the building.

EQUIPMENT

What to wear: Players should wear something comfortable for working out. Baseball pants, sweatpants or shorts are best. We will be inside, so wear gym shoes, not cleats or spikes.    

Hitting: Every player in the hitting camp must bring a bat. Because some players may be taking more swings in a shorter period of time than they are accustomed to, it would be wise to wear batting gloves if you have them.  

Pitching: Participants in the pitching camp should bring a glove. It is not necessary to bring a baseball.

Remember, participants in the pitching camp must supply their own catchers. Because our coaches are working with the pitchers in a hands-on manner and all pitchers are participating in throwing drills simultaneously, each player needs to have someone catching for him. The catcher can be a parent, older sibling or friend. If the catcher is a friend or teammate, a mask is required. We do not want two players in the same session catching for each other, because each will only receive half as much instruction.  

Catchers: Participants in the catcher's session should bring their own gear: shin guards, chest protector, mask and a protective cup. If you do not own your own catcher's gear, you should be able to borrow it from your coach or league.  

Fielding/Baserunning: Participants in the fielding/baserunning should bring their own glove.

SAFETY

It is important that players not swing the bat unless they are at a station being instructed by a coach. If a player would step out of a station and swing the bat, or if players walking onto the floor to start the day swing their bats, there is a good chance someone could get hit. DO NOT SWING BATS unless you are in a station being instructed, and it is your turn to hit.  

THE ITINERARY

This is a progressive program over a six-week period. Each week the drills are different, becoming more advanced each session. Hitters will complete up to 30 different stations and drills during the program, and pitchers between 15 and 20. Week 1 is designed to provide a good foundation for Week 2, etc. Some of the drills and stations in Week 1 may appear basic, but we need to ensure everyone has a proper foundation for the rest of the program. Some of the drills and stations may appear unusual, but each drill has an important purpose, and coaches will explain the reason each is in the program. (Why will players hit badminton birdies? Why will they be hitting deflated soccer balls? To teach them to stay in balance with hands back on off-speed pitches, and to teach them to drive their hands hard through a ball at impact.) Please work hard in every drill, and if players or parents don't understand the purpose of a station, feel free to ask the coaches afterward.  

SPECTATORS

Parents are welcome to watch from the sidelines during the hitting program and to listen along as the Site Directors explain each station at the beginning of the session. Once the rotations begin, we ask that parents watch from a distance so as not to make the hitting area more crowded and louder than it already is.  

MAKEUPS

If you miss a session because of illness, vacation, or a schedule conflict, there can be no make-ups. We pride ourselves on maintaining the player-coach ratio and limiting enrollment in each session. If we allowed extra players in a hitting session because they missed the week before, it would be unfair to others and would compromise the instruction for everyone.

SITE INFORMATION 

The site director for your local program is Anthony Williams, HC, Univ. of Pitt-Greensburg.    

The following directions are supplied by the Site Director:

University of Pitt-Greensburg - 150 Finoli Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601

*Camp will be held in Chambers Hall

Depending on your starting location, you may take the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76), U.S. Route 22, or U.S. Route 30.

If you take:

. The Turnpike, exit at Irwin new # 67 (old #7) and follow directions as outlined in From the West (via Pennsylvania).

. Route 22, follow it to the intersection of Routes U.S. 22 and Toll Route

66 and then follow directions in From the North (via Toll Route 66).

. Route 30, follow it to Irwin area and then follow directions in From the West (via Pennsylvania Turnpike) below.

From the East (via the Pennsylvania Turnpike)

Exit at New Stanton new #75 (old #8) - take U.S. Route 119 north about six miles to the Greensburg area.

. At intersection of U.S. Routes. 119 and 30, turn left at the traffic light and follow U.S. Rt. 30 east for about one mile.

. Exit right from U.S. Rt. 30 at the Greensburg- Mt. Pleasant Road Exit.

. At stop sign at foot of the ramp turn right and follow Mt. Pleasant Road for approximately one mile.

From the East/Latrobe Airport (via U.S. Route 30)  

Follow U.S. Route 30 west past Westmoreland Mall (Note: DO NOT exit into downtown Greensburg. Route 30 bypasses the city; stay on the bypass).

. Exit right from U.S. Rt. 30 at the Greensburg- Mt. Pleasant Road Exit.

. At stop sign at foot of the ramp turn left and follow Mt. Pleasant Road for approximately one mile.

From the West (via Pennsylvania Turnpike)  

Exit at the Irwin new #67 (old #7)- take U.S. Route 30 East for about 9 miles (Note: DO NOT exit into downtown Greensburg. Route 30 bypasses the city; stay on the bypass).

. Exit from 30 east at the Greensburg- Mt. Pleasant Road exit.

. At stop sign at the foot of the ramp turn right and follow Mt. Pleasant Road for approximately one mile.

From the North (via Toll Route 66)

(Automatic tollbooth requires correct change-$0.95 in any combination of quarters, dimes, & nickels-no pennies.) . Toll Route 66 south for approximately 7 miles to the U.S. Route 30 exit.

. Turn left at the light and follow U.S. Route 30 east for approximately

4.7 miles.

. Exit right from U.S. Rt. 30 at the Greensburg - Mt. Pleasant Road exit.

-At stop sign at the foot of the ramp turn right and follow Mt. Pleasant Road for approximately one mile.

From the North (via Routes U.S. 119 or PA 66)

U.S. Route 119 and PA 66 become Main Street in Greensburg.

. Follow Main Street south to its intersection with Mt. Pleasant Road.

. Turn left at traffic light onto Mt. Pleasant Road.

. Follow Mt. Pleasant Road to a cross over section in the road and continue on Mt. Pleasant Road.

-Go through the traffic light past the main entrance to Pitt-Greensburg and make the next right on to campus.  Follow this road past Rossetti International House and make a left in to the parking lot which is located behind the building.

From the South and/ or Southwest (via U.S. Route 119 and I-70)

Follow directions in From the East (via the Pennsylvania Turnpike) from New Stanton area.

There are two alternate routes offered below for your consideration. The first is direct, shorter, and it involves transiting Center City via Interstate Highway - more visually interesting to the first-time or infrequent visitor to Pittsburgh. The second is a bit longer, less direct, skirts the city proper, and yet can offer a timesaving alternate route during rush-hour traffic.

Direct -Through the City

. From the airport, follow PA Route 60 East just a few miles to where it merges with U.S. Routes 22 and 30 (also call The Parkway West).

. Now follow U.S. 22/30 just a few additional miles to where it begins to be additionally designated as I-279 (DO NOT turn onto I-79).

. Follow I-279 into the city of Pittsburgh. As you come down the hill and approach the Fort Pitt Tunnel, you would do well to be in the right lane before entering the tunnel.

. As you leave the Fort Pitt Tunnel behind and drive onto the Fort Pitt Bridge stay in the RIGHT LANE and prepare to make a ninety degree RIGHT TURN at the far end of the bridge.

. Center City Pittsburgh is now on your left and the Monongahela River is on your right. You should now be traveling east on I-376 (also known as the Parkway East).

. Follow I-376 East for about 12 miles to the Monroeville area and take the exit designated for the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76).

. Follow I-76 (the turnpike) East for about 14 miles to the first exit, Irwin new #67 (old #7) and follow the directions outlined in From the West (via Pennsylvania Turnpike) .

Indirect - Avoiding the City

. From the airport, follow PA Route 60 East just a few miles to where it merges with U.S. Routes 22 and 30 (also call The Parkway West).

. Now follow U.S. 22/30 just a few additional miles to its intersection with I-79.

. Turn South and stay on I-79 to its intersection with I-70, eastbound.

. Follow I-70 East to New Stanton.

. From New Stanton take U.S. Route 119 north about six miles to the Greensburg area.

. At intersection of U.S. Routes 119 and 30, turn left at traffic light and follow U.S. Rt. 30 east for about one mile.

. Exit right from U.S. Rt. 30 at the Greensburg- Mt. Pleasant Road exit.

From the Mt Pleasant Road Exit

. At Stop sign at the foot of the ramp turn right and follow Mt. Pleasant Road for approximately one mile.

. Enter the campus at the light and follow into the lower parking area.

*The gym is located in Chambers Hall*

Enter through Chambers Hall and access the downstairs gym via stairwell

I hope you're looking forward to camp with as much enthusiasm as we are. Call us or e-mail info@usbaseballacademy.com if you have any questions.

Important Program Note for Parents

U.S. Baseball Academy is a progressive program that works through each of the building blocks for successful hitting, pitching and catching. For hitters, that includes grip, athletic stance, stride, balance, proper alignment, weight transfer, hand position, bat angle, path of swing, power position, contact points, bat lag, extension, pitch recognition, mental aspects, and many others. For pitchers, it includes various grips, stance, arm slot, arm action, balance point, hand and wrist position, release point, proper alignment, power position, follow-through, mental aspects, and more. For catchers, players work through stance, receiving, blocking, throwing, fielding drills, the mental side of catching and dealing with pitchers and umpires.

Because a flaw in any of the above areas will cause a player to be unsuccessful, each drill in our program is designed with an important instructional aspect in mind. The series of more than 30 hitting drills and 15 pitching drills will either confirm that the player has mastered that building block or identify a flaw and provide an avenue toward fixing it. Many stations will include a "player-assistant" in addition to the station coach. While the player-assistant is not technically coaching and is not factored into our coaching ratio, he is there to increase the repetitions each camper gets at that station. Each participant works with the adult coach at that station for instruction, and the player-assistant for repetition and reinforcement. If these player-assistants were included, our player-coach ratio would be about 3 to 1.

This is a teaching camp. If you are expecting to see your player take 200 swings a day in a cage against a pitcher, you will not find it here. You can get that by putting tokens in a machine at an arcade, but what will the player learn? Rather than improve, he will simply be driving bad habits deeper and deeper into his muscle memory. Pitchers who haven't thrown a ball in months would tear up their arm throwing full speed in January or February. They will not throw off mounds. Here, drills will break down mechanics and build muscle memory so players understand how to pitch and have success when they get on the field. The goal is not to get hitters out in the middle of winter.

As is the case at colleges and even Major League spring training, many of the drills will use hitting Ts, soft toss, and similar techniques. Young kids may think they are boring. You may think they are repetitive. They are not. At each station, the coaches are working on a specific "building block." Feel free to ask the coaches to explain the specific purpose of any drill you don't understand. Consider these stations as an example...

• Two Ts the same height, one directly in front of the other, with the player trying to swing through both balls. If the player hits the back ball and misses the front, his swing path is off in one or more directions (up, down, around), and we can work to fix it.
• Two Ts, one on the inside corner and one on the outside corner, with a coach commanding which ball to hit. This drill works on pitch recognition and different contact points depending on where the ball is pitched.
• Chest-high Ts focus on a top-hand dominant swing at the top of the strike zone.
• Knee-high Ts focus on a bottom-hand dominant swing low in the strike zone.

So, if your player tells you he hit off Ts all day, or he hit soft-toss, it's important to understand what is happening at each station. Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest hitters of all time, hit off a T for 30 minutes a day throughout his Major League career. He was known to say, "If you can't do it off a T, you sure can't do it off a pitcher." That always reminds me of one of the most memorable calls to come into our office in 20 years. A parent considering signing up her son for the camp asked if the kids hit off Ts in the program. She was told that yes, some of the drills involve hitting off Ts and soft-toss. "Tees are for T-ballers," she responded loudly. "My son is a fourth-grader. I'll take him to a batting cage."

Good thing she wasn't Tony Gwynn's mom.

We hope your player has a successful experience with us.