Ahead of this Saturday’s season opening games in the youth leagues we are in conversation with Herts Baseball Club’s Head of Under-11 programme, Mike Wakelam.

The Dodgers versus Giants rivalry resumes this Saturday with the opening day of the 2013 season for the Herts U11 teams. Is one of the teams seen as the favourite or do you expect it to be a close race once again?

Mike Wakelam: It’s been close the past couple of years, and really, at the beginning of the year we feel it’s best to revisit the lineups for each time and make sure both teams are balanced out to ensure a great season’s competition and fun for all.

We understand that several players from the U11 age group will gradually be making the step up to the U14 league. Do you have any specific advice for them?

Mike Wakelam: There are a couple of the under 11s ready to move up this year or definitely next year. Ozan Martin and Oliver Durer are turning 11 in August, so primed to step up when needed in the Under-14 team. They’re both ready, having grown immensely the past couple of years.

There has been a good number of new players joining the U11 teams. If this continues would the club consider creating a new U8 age group and how would this benefit the Herts baseball programme?

Mike Wakelam: We’d love to have an Under-8 age group. The past couple of years we’ve had a few players join, and yes, this year more are interested, but unfortunately not enough to have their own age group. There are a couple of considerations when including Under-8 players in the Under-11 age group. Safety is an important point, as the older players are hitting and throwing the ball harder, but also the enjoyment factor. Young players enjoyment is usually linked to their skills and understanding, and this is different for all players.

Do you have any suggestions for the new U11 players who have joined the league on things they can do during the week at home or in the park to help their development?

Mike Wakelam: Consistency is very important at a young age. So playing catch at home with parents or siblings is a great way to improve skills. Also watching games or youtube skills videos is a great way to get a further understanding of the game.

We understand that the number of U11 teams from other regions is increasing. Will Herts look to use this opportunity to add a few exhibition or interleague games for this age group?

Mike Wakelam: Yes! This season we will be playing several games against other clubs. We’ll be selecting an All-Star team to play these games, giving the older and more experienced players in the age group a chance to display their skills at a higher level of competition.

The parents of the U11 league members are always in attendance on game days to support the teams. Do you have a message to the parents ahead of the new season?

Mike Wakelam: Enjoy! And please try to be on time. The first part of each Saturday is skills work, so for players to improve, they need to be on time. This means at the field with gloves on when it’s time to start. If you want to be in the starting line-up, please try to get to the park on time. Of course it’s fine when players are late with legitimate reasons.

 

 

Herts recently announced the appointment of Jake Caress and Lee Manning as the co-managers of the Herts Cardinals, the club’s U14 league team. We had the opportunity to put some questions to Jake Caress as his team prepares for the start of the U14 season next month.

We are not too far away from Opening Day. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Jake Caress: In many cases this year the march weather has greatly affect the amount of training in preparation for the season, but all of this aside I believe that the team will be ready for opening day.

What are your main goals for this season?

Jake Caress: The main goal for the Cardinals this year is to work on fundamentals while playing the game but more importantly to have fun.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Jake Caress: If we could break even with a .500 then I would consider the season very successful, I have high hopes that we will certainly challenge our way into a playoff spot as well.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Jake Caress: I haven’t had a chance to look at all of the players this year yet but I’m sure by the end of the season some will be a Herts household name.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Jake Caress: From what I can remember the London Mets are always tough competition, but there will be others who will also be challenging for the title.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Jake Caress: Well it has to be the London Mets game as Southern derby’s go.

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Jake Caress: I hope it will. The new facilities are second to none is this country.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of the U14 season?

Jake Caress: We’re going to give it our best and hope to come out with some positive achievements, Play ball!

The Herts Baseball youth program had a good 2012 season and it is expected that 2013 would be even better. Ahead of the new season we put several questions to Herts Harriers (U17) Head Coach Cristobal Hiche who is in his second year in charge of the team and led them to postseason quarter-finals.

We are just days away from the Opening Day clash with the London Mets. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Cristobal Hiche: No, I don’t feel ready. We haven’t practiced as a team. Maybe individually they’re ready since most attended GB and/or the Academy during the last few months. But baseball is still about teamwork.

What are your main goals for this season?

Cristobal Hiche: To reach the playoffs and fighting to reach the championship game. In other words that no matter if we end up winning or losing in the playoffs, the opposite team will be quite worried until the last pitch of the game. There are other goals off the field to try and make this the best Youth Program in the UK and creating future GB players.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Cristobal Hiche: We need to finish above .500. That to me is the minimum for the year. We should reach the playoffs and a lofty but achievable goal is to reach the championship game.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Cristobal Hiche: There are many players, if not all, in the team that can make an impact this season but also in the future. However, if you ask me for players that should step up to the plate because it’s either their last year in the team and/or are ready to play in the adult league very soon (some already are doing it), those would be Zack Longboy, Marty Cullen Jr, and Jonny Compton-Weight. They’ll need to carry this team this season.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Cristobal Hiche: I think in U17 every team can be a challenge because kids can grow and improve so fast, a year can make a difference between an ok team and an excellent team the next year. Furthermore because it’s age-specific, you’ll have players getting too old but also getting many new young players. This means you don’t have the consistency for example of NBL teams like Falcons, Nationals, Mets,etc which you know they’ll be strong based on last year’s performance. We’ll have to see each weekend how strong the opposition is, which is actually quite exciting and should be fun.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Cristobal Hiche: All of them. Each weekend will be a new challenge as mentioned above…Of course I’m looking forward to the championship game!

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Cristobal Hiche: Maybe, maybe not. I think the incentive for players to make the playoffs should be more than where the playoffs are played. The desire to win should be as a reward for their hard work, commitment, and the love of the game and to say they’re the best team in the UK, regardless if we play in Yankee Stadium or in a barn. Nevertheless, if that’s an extra motivation I’ll take it.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of Opening day?

Cristobal Hiche: Come watch us some time. You’ll have fun watching these kids and possibly future GB stars. Besides, there are always some nice doughnuts, hot dogs, and drinks to kill the time.

The Great Britain National Team has confirmed that six members of Herts have been selected in the final GB Under-16 National Team roster for the 2013 GB games schedule.

Callum Vangundy, Carlos Casal Jr, Conner Brown, Marty Cullen Jr, Tom Everex-Armstrong and Zack Longboy have received confirmation of their inclusion in the GB squad. All of them are members of the Herts U17 team which is preparing for the start of the British U17 league season which opens next Saturday, 27 April, with a home clash against one of the favourites, London Mets.

Herts U17 manager, Cristobal Hiche, was very pleased about this news. He said: “we at Herts are very fortunate to have players with a lot of potential to excel both in the domestic league and internationally”. He added: “the players have put a lot of hard work into this and they should be very proud of what you have achieved. Of course the hard work is only just starting.”

This means that these Herts players may miss quite a large number of games for their club in the U17 league and the adult leagues, which is a major setback for the club, but at the same time it is an opportunity for others to take their place and compete for that spot in the roster.

A total of ten Herts players were part of the GB Under-16 National Team extended roster before this week’s announcement of the final roster. Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “We have some Herts players who didn’t make the final roster and they will feel down. Our club needs to pick them up. They need to realize that this is a challenge for them to work hard over the next 12 months with the Herts teams. Our club has one of the best baseball programmes in the country to develop players and promote their careers. Those players who do the hard work with Herts will see the rewards very quickly in terms of domestic and international recognition and call-ups.”

The progress of Herts players with the GB teams is a tremendous boost for Herts as an organisation. The Club is even more excited by the fact that there are many more talented players coming through the various age groups of the Herts youth system, from the U-11 and U-14 teams through to the U-17 age group. The opportunity is there for any young players who want to get involved in baseball to progress and wear the GB Team jersey. But you don’t have to be a GB National Team player to play baseball. Any interested players, boys and girls between 6 and 16 years of age, from complete beginners to advanced players can join the Herts baseball youth teams (click here for more details).

 

Herts Baseball Club has announced the appointment of Jake Caress and Lee Manning as joint managers of the Herts Cardinals, the club’s Under-14 league team.

While the recent announcements of acquisitions of high-profile players by the Herts Falcons can excite supporters of the club in the short run, this appointment could potentially bring even greater value for the club in the long run.

Ware-based Jake Caress is 17-years-old. Some may view this as too young to be a team manager, but on the other hand some of this country’s best baseball coaches started their coaching careers at a similar age. The coaching staff of the Great Britain national teams is a good example. Brendan Cunliffe, James Pearson, Liam Carroll and Will Lintern started their development as coaches early and they now play leading roles in British Baseball and internationally. Herts’ own Lee Manning and Mike Wakelam both started coaching at the age of 16.

Herts approached Jake Caress several months ago and this could see the beginning of a deliberate strategy by the club to identify young club members who have interest and potential to become coaches and promote their long-term development as part of the club’s coaching staff. The emergence and recognition of young talented coaches is not limited to British baseball. The trend is noticeable in other sports, most notably Jose Mourinho’s rise from a 20-year-old coach of a school team to one of the world’s most successful football managers. If this approach adds five new Will Linterns to the Herts coaching staff, this would give the club a very significant advantage not just within British Baseball but in the wider competition for market share in the very crowded UK sports industry.

We understand that Kyle Lloyd-Jones who, like Jake Caress, has just graduated from the club’s U17 team, could be joining the coaching staff soon after the end of his exams in the current academic year.

Herts Falcons’ manager, Lee Manning, will be working alongside Caress as co-Manager of the U14 team, providing support along the way. When Caress settles into the role after the initial few months, Manning is expected to gradually leave Jake Caress in sole charge of the Herts Cardinals. The role is also a Board position which means that the club now has a Board member who can further enhance the diversity of the Executive Board.

As a player of the Herts youth and adult league teams and the Great Britain U19 National Team, Jake Caress has played under some of this country’s top coaches. He can now begin to transfer the information and experience he has picked up to the next generation of Herts youth players.

 

Herts fans have been voting to decide the name of the Herts U14 team over the last few days. The polls closed at midnight on Monday and the results of the vote showed a four-way tie between Cardinals, Kestrels, Ospreys and Red Wings. To break the tie, the poll deadline was extended by 21 hours.

The extended deadline passed a few minutes ago and Herts Baseball Club can officially confirm that the name of the Herts U14 league team is Herts Cardinals. The cardinal (pictured above) certainly fits with Herts Baseball club’s official colours of Red, Black and White.

The Cardinals proved to be the most popular name according to Herts baseball fans with 33.3% of the vote.

 

TEAM NAME	POPULARITY (%)
Herts Cardinals	33.30%
Herts Red Wings	23.80%
Herts Kestrels	19.00%
Herts Ospreys	19.00%
Herts Red Kites	4.80%
Herts Crows	0.00%
Herts Griffins	0.00%
Herts Loons	0.00%
Herts Red Deers	0.00%
Herts Woodpeckers	0.00%