Guam Baseball Academy to host 4-day pitcher, catcher academy in January

The Guam Baseball Academy will be hosting a National Baseball Pitcher, Catcher Academy from Jan. 2 to 5, 2025. It’s a total of 16 hours of highly specialized training over a four-day period to help Guam’s young athletes fine-tune key elements of baseball pitching and catching.

For pitching, it includes grips, mechanical drills, defensive play, fielding bunts, covering home plate, backing up bases, achieving better accuracy, conditioning, and healthy arm care, according to Guam Baseball Softball Academy’s Justin Bennett. Catchers, meanwhile, will receive instruction on footwork, stance, signs, receiving, framing, mitt roll, blocking, retrieving wild pitch, throwing, fielding bunts, tag plays at home plate, pop ups. “Become the backbone of your team.



Catchers play the most important defensive position on the field, yet are the most under-coached. That’s why the academy created a systematic training program to help catchers,” Guam Baseball Softball Academy’s Bill Bennett said. It will be from 8:30 a.

m. to 1 p.m.

at the JJJ Guam Baseball Academy Field located on the Okkodo High School campus. There is a $50 registration fee. There will be only 10 players each.

Catcher and pitcher slots are available. The academy needs youth coaches or parents to be assistant instructors. Youth pitchers should expect and be open to learning different cues and styles of preparation for baseball pitchers, Justin Bennett said.

“Starting from proper body and arm warmups to throwing target practice. Pitchers will also interact training with academy catchers,” he added. Sean Cruz, GBA lead pitching instructor, said pitchers will be introduced to pitch sequences, mental preparation and pitching psychology, which will serve as a cornerstone in their pitching development as they mature.

“Young pitchers learning the pitching motion is a process of repeating segments of the pitching delivery on a consistent basis over time. In order to throw with maximum velocity and accuracy, the body mechanics need to be solid,” Cruz said. GBA’s pitcher academy, he said, will use proven methods to increase body posture, balance, and coordination of the pitching movements, which plays a big role in pitching accuracy.

“The pitching motion involves the entire body moving to the position of power on a line of direction towards home plate,” Cruz added. GBA said the four-day catcher academy is highly instructional and specific to the position to cover all major aspects of being behind the plate. Catchers must bring their own catching gear.

“Whether you’re a beginner or aiming to enhance your existing abilities, the Catcher Academy will elevate your game play and accelerate your overall catching mechanics and technique skills,” Bill Bennett said. He said the academy will not be a lecture clinic. “With a low player-coach ratio, each catcher gets individualized quality instruction in a small group for four days, 16 hours.

Catchers will also interact with training with academy pitchers,” he added. Parents and coaches are welcome to participate or observe pitchers and catchers, and leave with a valuable list of drills they can incorporate into their own practices. GBA said the timing of the National Pitching and Catcher Academy is perfect for preparing young pitchers and catchers for the season ahead and beyond.

Interested participants are encouraged to enroll by Dec. 5, 2024. For more information, contact Jarett/Jacinta Elm at (671) 685-2012/689-9511.

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