Tryout Dates Confirmed

I am so glad to see that the calendar has changed to 2011, as the last three weeks of 2010 were detrimental to my training and momentarily stunted the great strides I’ve made since the first week of September.

It all started with the cruise and my inability to workout properly; not to mention the questionable nutritional choices throughout the week combined with the consumption of one too many alcoholic beverages (as my rather imposing credit card bill from that week can attest).

I returned from the cruise right smack dab in the middle of the Christmas season, which was filled with a plethora of familial and friend commitments. This meant that more bad food and drink was crammed into a two week period than I’m used to imbibing in a normal quarter.

Rushing around to these various engagements came at the expense of my strength and conditioning program and, to top it all off, the indoor facility where I throw was closed for the holidays.

It was a perfect storm of inactivity and gluttony.

Everything peaked (or should I say valley-ed) with two extremely tough training sessions I worked into my schedule just before New Year’s. The resulting soreness I experienced from those efforts was nothing short of debilitating and put my body in state of pain that I haven’t felt in years. I couldn’t get up from a chair without grimacing or yelping like a five year old girl with a bee sting.

Luckily, I am happy to say that both my nutrition and my training are back on track and I feel better than I have since the first week of December. I am filled with a renewed sense of vigour and I’m more than ready to chase down my dream as it moves into the backstretch.

My disposition was lifted considerably with the posting of tryout information for three of the leagues I have my eyes on. The tryout dates have reaffirmed my desire to make this dream a reality so much that I find myself shaking with anticipation at the chance to show these leagues what I’m capable of on the field.

The Frontier League will be hosting their annual Tryout Camp and Draft on May 2 and 3 in Florence, Kentucky. On the first day pitchers will be expected to run a 60 yard dash and then complete a 15-20 pitch bullpen. The field managers for all the teams will then pick the pitchers they want to see in the next day’s intrasquad games. From there, clubs will make their selections for the 2011 draft.

Strangely enough, I am more confident for the opportunity to pitch in the intrasquad game than I am in the bullpen session. I don’t possess dominating stuff, but I know I have ability to get hitters out. My strengths may not be seen in their entirety without the opportunity to face live hitting.

However, it is a chance to get on the mound in front of scouts and team personnel; beggars can’t be choosers.

The American Association and the Can-Am League have combined their tryouts in something called the ‘Indy Pro Showcase’ which takes place in Fort Myers, Florida on February 9 and 10.

It looks like a great opportunity—albeit a tad sooner than I had originally anticipated—and it will be a good barometer of where I’m at pitching-wise heading into the season. Unfortunately, it will also be quite an expensive barometer, but one that is ultimately worth the cost.

There is supposedly another showcase in Detroit at a time to be determined, but that most likely won’t be until the weather warms up considerably in this neck of the woods. Thus, it probably makes the most sense to bite the financial bullet, head for the warm confines of Florida, and see where I stack up.

Time to stop dreaming about this and put my plan into action.