Hello Dawg Fans!
Our fall practice has concluded and we enter one of my
favorite periods of the year: Winter
strength and conditioning. In the coming
weeks we will turn our focus to the weight room where we will be lifting four
days each week until Thanksgiving. Size
and strength are the biggest separator in teams in the modern college baseball
game and our ability to create an edge in the weight room is critical for our
player and team development.
While our players are in the weight room we also have small
group skill instruction where players will work for about 30 minutes on their
hitting, pitching, and defense four days per week to sharpen their tools. Lastly, we dedicate a lot of focus to the
team building this time of year through various avenues. One of these is our “Dirty Dawg” challenge
which is a series of competitions designed to test the physical and mental strength
of our players. Points are awarded to
players after each competition and accumulated throughout these
challenges.
Our fall will conclude with our Dirty Dawg Obstacle Course
Tuesday, November 26 in which our players are challenged on an obstacle course
that has various physical obstacles along the way. At the end of the obstacle course the final
points will be tallied among our players and the player who accumulates the
most points throughout all of the challenges will be crowned as the Dirtiest
Dawg.
When done right, this time of the year is instrumental in
galvanizing a team before we the spring season.
This team has put in a lot of hard work and are excited about what is to
come.
Fall Practice Recap
The team practice portion of fall concluded Friday, November
1 with our last practice. It was a 45
day window that allowed us to practice as a team, intersquad scrimmage, and
play outside competition. It is a window
that builds the foundation of the team as we implement team defenses and
philosophies.
Throughout the session there were 23 newcomers on our roster
joining 20 returning players. The
competition was strong and players worked hard to get better.
Winter Skills Camp
Saturday, November 23 we will be hosting our Winter Skills
Camp at Husky Ballpark. This camp is
open to all players who are 2030 high school graduates and older. Our prospect camps our great ways for players
to experience the University of Washington and work with our baseball
coaches. This camp is focused on
providing players an opportunity to work on their craft with the day being
dedicated to positional development for infielders, outfielders, catchers, and
pitchers, as well as hitting instruction for all position players. More information can be found at www.UWBaseballCamps.com.
National Signing Day Approaches
Wednesday, November 13 marks the open signing window for
baseball and we are excited to ink a very impactful class for Husky
Baseball. The class will include several
players from Washington as well as some players who have garnered national
recognition from throughout the country.
In total, we anticipate a class of about 15 newcomers for next fall. Our focus always begins with keeping the best
high school players from Washington in the state!
Montlake Futures
You now have the opportunity to make a greater impact on
Husky Baseball than ever before!
For decades college baseball players have had to pay to play
due to scholarship limitations set by the NCAA.
These NCAA rules have shifted to allow us to deliver more comprehensive
support to our players. This new
landscape has provided a platform where top college baseball programs to
provide full coverage of tuition, room, and board the way so many volleyball,
softball, basketball, and football players have experienced for years.
This summer many of our best returning players left UW with
better financial packages enticing them to explore other opportunities. In order to retain our current roster and
then recruit top talent, it is critical that we are able to provide our players
with financial packages that are on par with our opponents. For round numbers, I believe that $250,000 is
needed for us to simply retain our current roster and $500,000 to be competitive
in the top quadrant of the Big Ten. Your
help is desperately needed for our program to compete with our peers in the
Northwest and the Big Ten.
To contribute, visit www.montlakefutures.com
and select “donate” and then choose “baseball” as the designated fund for your
donation.
By supporting our players with a gift to Montlake Futures
you can make a greater impact on our players the program than ever before in
college athletics!
Save the Date
February 1, 2025 we will be holding a “Hot Stove” event for
local friends of the program at an establishment near Husky Ballpark. The night will feature the opportunity to
spend time with other Husky Baseball faithful, coaches, and hear a message
about the upcoming team. Mark your
calendars today – more details to come!
We are now less than 100 days away from Opening Day! It will be exciting to have you all out at
Husky Ballpark to follow the Diamond Dawgs in 2025!
