*$5/PLAYER FOR ACADEMY TEAM PLAYERS (NOTE: YOU ARE AN ACADEMY MEMBER ONLY IF YOU ARE ON ONE OF OUR TRAVELING TEAMS)*

*Ask about the 2013/2014 Hit Dawg Academy Fall/Winter Traveling Teams for players 7 to 18 years old!

*Check out our 2013 Summer Clinic Information!- Camps and Clinics.

*Check out our 2013 Fall Ball Information on our Fall Ball Page!

*We now have a registered dietician on staff- Contact us for information!

*Hit Dawg Academy Gift Certificates Now Available!!

Our 12U & 14U Teams played in a 2-day tournament in Rockford, IL March 31st-April 1st. It was a competitive and fun experience for our teams!

Our 7-18U Players traveled to Phoenix, AZ for a 4 day weekend full of exceptional instruction and touranament games. Our teams were in AZ from 2/2-2/5 and worked with our Hit Dawg coaches along with some of the best professional instructors (from Major League Teams) there are in the game. It was great to have the opportunity to meet and listen to former AZ State Head Coach, and current Padres's Coach, Pat Murphy talk about college recruiting and playing at a higher level. Our teams also participated in a one day tournament in Mesa, AZ and played against some tough AZ competition. Our players went and competed. It was a great opportunity for our players and a fun experience for all!

Our 12-18U Teams traveled to Florida December 28th-31st for a tournament in Kissimmee, FL. It was a fun time with some very tough competition. Our players went and competed and got a great deal of experience in doing so!

Our 18U Team traveled to Benedictine College in Atchison, KS for a competitive Showcase Event October 22nd-23rd. There were several colleges in attendance. Our team traveled to this event last year and one of our Seniors was recuited after the event!

Our 15-16U Teams travelled to Rockford, IL for the Monster Bash Tournament October 22nd-23rd. This was a competive and fun event for our players!

Our 15U-18U Teams traveled to East Cobb, GA September 23-25th. It was a very fun and exciting weekend of baseball! The 16U team went 3 and 2 and won the Consolation Championship. The 18U team played against some very good competition, but did not come away with a win. They played very hard, and played one of the best games of the year that ended in a tie after 12 innings. The players got the opportunity to play at some beautiful ballparks and play against some of the best competition that Georgia has to offer. They definitely came away with a very good baseball experience!

Our 12-18U Teams traveled to Lee Summit, MO for a tournament September 17-18th. The coaches used this tournament for player evaluation, and were very impressed with what they saw from the players. Most of our players played up an age level or two in this tournament and did awesome. The level of play was very good. The players came to compete and did great. Our 16U team took 2nd place in the tournament! Unfortunately, the bracket play that was scheduled for Sunday was cancelled due to the weather. It was an exciting weekend of baseball!

Our 18U Team went down to Kansas July 7-10th for the 6th Annual Great Plains Shootout at Kansas State University. This 32-team wood-bat tournament is an "invite only" event. It was be a great opportunity for our players, as this tourney was represented by numerous college and pro scouts and was promoted to the fullest. Our team went and competed in this tournament. Our players had some great at-bats using the wood bats, and had some solid pitching preformances. Our team had over 50 hits in 5 games. We had one pitcher pitch a complete game shut out. The team went 2 and 3, but very easily could've gone 4 and 1 because 2 of the losses were walk-offs by the other team in the 8th and 7th innings, respectively. Overall, it was a fun experience for all!

Congratulations to the 14U Hit Dawgs Team who played in the Rockford USSSA Early Bird Bash Tournament April 2nd-3rd. This tournament was a World Series pre-qualifier. The team went undefeated winning the Championship game. The entire team played very well and a fun time was had by all!

Shawn, a current minor league manager for the Padres, set up this special trip for the Academy teams. Our trip down to the Padre's training facility in Peoria, AZ over February 4-6th was a fun experience for all. This was a special experience for our teams as we will practiced and played games at the San Diego Padres Spring Training facility in Peoria, AZ. This was truly a "Big League" experience for our players! Some of our teams also got the opportunity to play in a one-day tournament against some good competition in Mesa, AZ. Our 14U team played in the Championship game, while the 15U and 16U teams played in a wood bat tournament. All three teams played against some good competition, and played well. Our 18U team played well and came to compete against the 2010 AZ 4A High School State Champions.  Our daily practices were run much like a professional baseball instructional camp in that we practiced and received instruction in the mornings with the help of Padres coaches and instructors. These coaches and instructors were there helping Shawn and the Hit Dawg Academy coaches run practices and provide instruction to the teams. This was a great learning experience for our players- we had a great time!

Shawn and the Hit Dawg Academy Team coaches and teams had a fun trip down to Orlando, FL over New Years for the 2010 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Classic Baseball Tournament. We had 3 special guest speakers come and talk to our teams. They included: current Major League Baseball player, DAVID ECKSTEIN, current MLB coach, RICK ECKSTEIN, and professional scout, JAMIE BANE. They all spoke to our teams when we were in Florida, and delivered a very important message about what it takes to be sucessful in the game.We will had a great time on this trip, and continued to develop and advance our players' baseball skills.

Welcome to the 2012/2013 Hit Dawg Winter Clinics!

Week 1- It was a great first week! We started with our moving warm-up. We then played regular catch. The older kids worked on quickness and feetwork with 5 different agility drills. They also did a sprinting drill. The older and younger kids both moved into the baserunning portion of the clinic. We learned how to do left right shuffle shuffle off the base. All groups then worked on defense. We worked on fly balls- saying "hi" to the ball so they catch the ball correctly. We also worked on getting around a ground ball that allows them to stay through the ball. We then moved to the offensive portion- hitting. We worked in three stations. First, regular front side toss where the instructor fixed flaws in the swing. Next, we did a drill where the player took 4 pitches with the front knee straight, then another 4 pitches with the back knee on the ground. Finally, the curve ball station. See you next week!

Week 2- We started with our moving warm-up. We then played regular catch with long toss. The younger kids played a game that helped them work on their cut off and relays. The older kids worked on quickness and feetwork with 5 different agility drills. They also did a sprinting drill. The older and younger kids both moved into the baserunning portion of the clinic. We worked on how to do left right shuffle shuffle off the base. The instructor talked about getting a lead. We worked in three stations. First, regular front side toss where the instructor fixed flaws in the swing. Next, we did a drill where the front foot strides over a pole and then at contact the back foot goes over the pole. In the third station we worked on defense. Another great week!

Week 3- We again started with our moving warm-up. We then played regular catch with long toss. The younger kids played a game that helped them work on their cut off and relays. The older kids worked on quickness and feetwork with 5 different agility drills. They also did a sprinting drill. The older and younger kids both moved into the baserunning portion of the clinic. We worked on how to do left right shuffle shuffle off the base. We then worked on learning how to properly slide. We worked in three stations. First, regular front side toss where the instructor fixed flaws in the swing. Next, we did a drill where the front foot strides over a pole and then at contact the back foot goes over the pole. In the third station we worked on defense. Awesome week!

Week 4- The younger players started the session with our moving warm up. We then moved into working on our leadoffs and sliding. Then, we played catch- long toss. Next, we worked on the correct way to catch a fly ball and ground ball. Finally, we worked on hitting. We di the 2 stick drill hitting (over both sticks,) and hitting off the machines. The Older 3 groups started with the moving warm-up. We then moved into working on our leadoffs and steals. We also worked on agility & sprints. Next, the groups played catch- long toss. We then worked on our flyballs, groundballs, and diving for line drives. Finally, we worked on hitting. We worked in three groups- back knee down on soft toss, 2 stick drill, and machine hitting. Merry Christmas and see you next weekend!

Week 5-  The younger and older players started the session with our moving warm up. We then played catch- long toss. The younger players then worked on some basic fundamentals off the mound. Both the older and younger players then moved into fielding work and played a fielding game. The players either had to catch a fly ball or ground ball with a throw to a base to get an out. The younger players then finished the session with hitting in three stations- Curve Ball Machine, Regular Soft-toss to work on their swings, and a Flat bat drill to work on their path. The older players finished with a hitting and fielding game called "over the line." Have a safe New Year and see you next week!

Week 6- The younger groups started with their moving warm up. They then played catch- long toss. We then moved into working on catching fly balls and fielding ground balls using the correct footwork with our throws once the catch was made. We finished with hitting in two stations- flat bat hitting, keeping fee over both lines hitting drills, and hitting off the machine. The older groups also started with the moving warm up. They then moved into an AB workout. We then played catch-long toss. We then broke into defense positions- pitching, outfielders, and infielders. The pitchers worked on chair drills. The OF and IF groups worked on their footwork with their throws. All players also did strength work. We finished with our hitting stations- Regular front toss hitting, Over 2 sticks hitting, Rhythm drill off the machine, and Regular swings off the machine. See you next week!

Week 7- The 7-9U group started with the moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. The group then worked on fielding both ground balls and making throws. We finished with hitting in two stations. First, we did machine hitting over both sticks, and second we did front toss drills over two sticks. The 10-12U group did their moving warm up and then played catch- long toss. We then worked on Ground Ball and Fly Ball progression with throws. We also worked on receiving throws at a base. We finished with hitting in three stations. First, hitting off the curveball machine, second Flat Bat drill with top hand release, and third Front Toss with back knee on the ground. The older groups started with the moving warm-up. Then, moved to playing catch- long toss. The group was then split into groups based on defensive position. The Catchers worked on receiving. The Infielders worked on ground balls, forehand, and backhand. The Pitchers worked on mechanics from windup and stretch. The Outfielders worked on catching balls on the run, both in and out. We finished with hitting in 3 stations. First, curveballs off the machine with 2 sticks. Second, Flat Bat drill with top hand released palm up, and finally the Mat drill with foot into block and back foot over the stick. Great Week of Clinics!

WEEK 8- The 7-9U group started with the moving warm-up. We then moved to some agility work on the ladder. We then worked on baserunning from home to 1st. We played catch- long toss. We also worked on our flyballs with throws. We finished with hitting- we did a 2 tee drill with hitting to keep our hips back, and also did a 2 pole up and over drill. The 10-12U group The 7-9U group started with the moving warm-up. We then moved to some agility work on the ladder. We played catch- long toss. We then worked on baserunning from home to 1st and worked on our sliding technique. We then worked on our groundball and flyball progression with throws. We finished with hitting in 3 stations: 2 Pole (over and over) hitting drill, 2 tee (keeps hips back) drill, and hitting fastballs off the machine. The older two groups started with the moving warm-up and then played catch- long toss. We then moved into doing core strength work. We then worked on baserunning- home to second and our sliding technique. The group then split into small groups based on their position. The pitchers worked on their wind-up and stretch off the mound. The Outfielders worked on ground balls with throws and fall balls with drop steps. The catchers worked on general body position and receiving. The infielders worked in pairs doing a rhythm/hands drill and took ground balls off the machine and fungo. We then moved to hitting in 5 stations: 2 Pole (over and over) hitting drill, 2 tee (keeps hips back) drill, ball off ground (back knee down) hitting drill, and resistance bag hitting drill, and machine hitting. We finished working on agility with the ladder for speed and agility and the 5 excercise weightroom circuit. See you in a week!

WEEK 9- The 7-9U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. We then worked on our baserunning- home to first. We then played a defensive game working on fly balls, and then ground balls. We finished with hitting in two stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, and 2 tee chest over the plate hitting drill. The 10-12U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. We then moved to baserunning, working on home to first and first to second with lead offs. We then did a flyball/groundball reaction drill off the machine. Then, moved to working on covering bases with throws using the machine. We then did a drill to work on flyballs with a throw. We finished with hitting in 4 stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, and 2 tee chest over the plate hitting drill, rhythm hitting drill off the machine, and curveballs off the machine. The oldest two groups started with the moving warm-up and then played catch- long toss. We then did core work. We then moved to baserunning, working on home to first and first to second with lead offs. Then, we separated into our defesive groups. The pitchers worked on throwing from the wind up and stretch. The outfielders worked on catching flyballs moving in all directions with throws. The infielders worked on their groundball footwork off the machine (forehands and backhands) with throws and live fungos. The catchers worked on basic positioning and receiving. We worked in 8 stations for hitting:2 pole over and over hitting drill, heavy bag hitting, hitting ball off ground with back knee down, 2 tee chest over plate hitting drill, fungo hitting, flat bat with top hand released, rhythm hitting drill off machine, and curveballs (left handed) off the machine. We finished with speed and agility work- ladders and hurdles. See you next week!

WEEK 10- The 7-9U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. We then worked on our baserunning- home to first. We then played a defensive game working on fly balls, and then ground balls. We finished with hitting in two stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, and 2 tee chest over the plate hitting drill. The 10-12U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. We then moved to baserunning, working on home to first and first to second with lead offs. We then did a flyball/groundball reaction drill off the machine. Then, moved to working on covering bases with throws using the machine. We then did a drill to work on flyballs with a throw. We finished with hitting in 4 stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, and 2 tee chest over the plate hitting drill, rhythm hitting drill off the machine, and curveballs off the machine. The oldest two groups started with the moving warm-up and then played catch- long toss. We then did core work. We then moved to baserunning, working on home to first and first to second with lead offs. Then, we separated into our defesive groups. The pitchers worked on throwing from the wind up and stretch. The outfielders worked on catching flyballs moving in all directions with throws. The infielders worked on their groundball footwork off the machine (forehands and backhands) with throws and live fungos. The catchers worked on basic positioning and receiving. We worked in 8 stations for hitting:2 pole over and over hitting drill, heavy bag hitting, hitting ball off ground with back knee down, 2 tee chest over plate hitting drill, fungo hitting, flat bat with top hand released, rhythm hitting drill off machine, and curveballs (left handed) off the machine. We finished with speed and agility work- ladders and hurdles. Have a great week!!

WEEK 11- Again, we worked on and built upon what we did in the past couple of weeks of camp. These fundamentals are important in a player's development and skills. The 7-9U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss.  We then played a defensive game working on fly balls, ground balls, throwing, and baserunning. We finished with hitting in three stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, Rhythm drill, and machine hittng. The 10-12U group started with their moving warm-up. We then played catch- long toss. We then worked on fly balls (drop steps) with throws, ground balls off of fungoes. We also did a fly ball/ ground ball reaction drill. We finished with hitting in 3 stations- 2 pole over and over hitting drill, and 2 tee chest over the plate hitting drill, and curveballs off the machine. The oldest two groups started with the moving warm-up and then played catch- long toss. We then did core work. We then moved to baserunning, working on home to first and first to second with lead offs. Then, we separated into our position specific groups. The pitchers worked on wind up and stretch and towel drills. The outfielders worked dropsteps and barehanded pick ups with throws. The infielders worked shorthops off the machine and live fungoes. The catchers worked on basic receiving and throwing. We worked in 4 stations for hitting: 2 pole over and over hitting drill, flat bat with top hand release, rhythm hitting drill off machine, and curveballs off the machine. See you next week!

WEEK 12- The youngest group started with the moving warm up and then played catch. We then worked on our ground balls with throws and fly balls with long toss. We then played a flyball, groundball, baserunning game. We finished with hitting in 2 stations- machine hitting, and 2 pole (over and over) drill. The older three groups started with their moving warm up. We then played catch- long toss. We then did AB work. Then, we played a flyball, groundball, baserunning game. We finished with hitting in 6 stations- curveballs (right and lefthanded) off the machine, regular front toss, 2 pole (over and over) drill, ball on the ground hitting drill, fungo drill, and the heavy bag hitting drill. See you next week!

WEEK 13- The 7-9U group started with the moving warmup. We then played catch. We moved into taking ground balls with throws, and flyballs with long toss. We finished in three stations for hitting- 2 pole (over and over) hitting drill, machine hitting (fastballs), and regular front toss drill. The oldest three groups started with their moving warm up and also played catch with long toss. We then did core work. We then split into our defensive position groups. The pitchers worked from stretch and windup. The catchers worked on positioning and receiving. The outfielders worked on flyballs coming and dropsteps. The infielders worked did a rhythm drill with the machine and groundballs off the fungo. We split into 6 stations for hitting- Ball on ground drill, fungo hitting, heavy bag hitting, 3 stick (over and over the line) drill, regular front toss, and maching hitting (curveballs.) Great week!

WEEK 14- The youngest group started with the moving warmup and then played catch. We then worked on basic pitching from the windup. Then, we worked on infield groudballs with throws, and outfield flyballs with long toss. We finished with hitting in three stations- machine hitting, front toss drill, and 2 stick (over and over) soft toss drill. The oldest three groups started with our moving warm up and then moved into core work. We then played catch with long toss. Then, we split into our position groups. The pitchers worked on pitching from the stretch and windup and did towel drills. The outfielders worked on flyballs and dropsteps. The catchers worked on basic set up and receiving. The infielders worked on flips with pivots and taking ground balls off the fungo. We finished with hitting in six stations- top hand reverse front toss, regular front toss, balls off the ground drill, fungo hitting, heavy bag hitting, and curveballs off the machine. See you next week!

WEEK 15- The 7-9U group started with a moving warm up and then played catch. We then worked on ground balls (infield) with throws, and flyballs with long toss. We then worked on pitching from the windup. We finished with hitting in 3 stations- regular front toss, machine hitting, and 2 stick (over and over) front toss drill. The oldest 3 groups started with their moving warm up. We then did our core work. Then, we played catch with long toss. We then split into our defensive groups. The Catchers worked on receiving and throwing. The Infielders worked on Live Fungos and short hops off the machine. The Outfielders worked on flyballs, and groundballs with throws. We also worked on dropsteps and direction change. The Pitchers worked on pitching from the stretch. We finished with hitting in 5 stations- heavy bag, fungo hitting, regular front toss, 2 stick (over and over) front toss drill, machine hitting- fastballs. Have a great week!

WEEK 16- Our youngest group started with their moving warm-up and then moved to playing catch. We then worked on pitching off the mounds from the stretch. Then, we worked on our outfield and infield skills. For outfield we worked on ground balls and fly balls with long throws, and drop steps. For Infield we worked on 4 corner flips, and ground balls with throws. For hitting, we worked in 3 stations- 2 stick (over and over) drill from front toss, regular front toss, and machine hitting (fastballs.) Our oldest 3 groups started with a moving warm up. We then moved into Core work. Then, we played catch with long toss. We then did our defensive position work. The Pitchers worked on their stretch, windup, and some towel drills. The Catchers worked on blocking and throwing. The Outfielders worked on crow hops off ground balls and fly balls, and also changing direction with drop steps. The Infielders worked on the 4 corners (full throws and flips), and ground balls off of fungoes. We finished with hitting in 5 stations- heavy bag work, fungoes, reverse top hand drill off front toss, regular front toss, and machine hitting (curveballs.) See you next week!

WEEK 17- The 7-9U players started with a moving warm-up. We then played catch with long toss. Then, we played a live game to work on all of our skills. The 10-12U & 13-14U players started with the moving warm-up and then did core work. We then played catch with long toss. We then worked on receiving throws off the machine, groundball form progression, outfield groundballs with crow hops and throws, and took live ground balls- left and right reaction. We finished with hitting in 5 stations- fungo hitting, heavy bag hitting, 2 stick (over and over) front toss, regular front toss, and curveballs off the machine. The 15+ players started with the moving warm-up and core work. We then played catch with long toss. We then worked on hitting in 5 stations- heavy bag hitting, fungo hitting, 2 stick (over and over) front toss drill, regular front toss, and curveballs off the machine. We finished with playing the game- Over the Line. Have a great week!

WEEK 18- The youngest group started with our moving warm up and then we played catch. We then worked on hitting in 6 stations- Back knee on the ground hitting drill, 2 stick (over and over) hitting drill, regular front toss. We then played a front toss point game. Finally, we worked on fielding- ground balls off the machine with long toss, and fly balls (all directions) with long toss. The older 3 groups started with their moving warm up. We then played catch with long toss. We did a 4 corner drill to work on our long throws and flips. We then moved to hitting in 4 stations- fungo hitting drill, machine hitting (curve balls), and regular front toss. We then took over hand batting practice. We finished with the over the line game. We had a great time working with you all over the winter and wish you the best for your upcoming seasons. We look forward to working with you again in the future! ~ Dan Palmer and the Hit Dawg Staff