Blue Jays have fun in the sun at Practice

Seven Blue Jays emerged after Saturday's storms and did a great job at practice Sunday, April 17 at Westbrook Elementary School. Ethan Yu, Sam Berman, Jeremy Robertson, Ava Curley, John Wyatt, George Roggie and Allen Tousi worked hard on the baseball field before they monkeyed around on the playground.

April 17 Practice Report

Ethan Yu was in fine form, demonstrating the proper "ready position" during the fly ball drill.

Ethan made several terrific plays during infield practice, stopping well hit ground balls and doing a great job covering 3rd base to get force-outs.

He also handled the bat extremely well, hitting the ball harder with each trip to the plate! Ethan smashed several ground balls through the middle of the infield.

Always an alert base runner, Ethan paid close attention to the batters and ran hard with each ground ball. Ethan had a super practice!

Ava Curley learned how to catch with her mitt up. Here, Ava demonstrates her outstanding technique. She also caught a fly ball during the pop-up drill. Way to go, Ava!

Ava covered lots of ground during fielding practice. She played a hybrid 2nd base/right shortstop position and did her job very well. She stopped some difficult ground balls and did a great job covering her base.

Check out Ava's hitting stance in the photo above. That's perfect! This was the best batting practice of her young baseball career. She made consistent contact, hitting the ball through the left side of the infield in each trip to the plate.

As always, Ava ran the bases extremely well with every opportunity. She had a great all-around practice!

We love this action photo of Sam Berman, who absolutely crushed the ball during batting practice! Sam hit the ball hard in each at-bat. Even better, he did it using a smooth, natural swing that was always under control. That's gorgeous!

Sam is always an alert and aggressive base runner. He lived up to his reputation in Sunday's practice.

Here, Sam slides - no small task on a grass field - and barely beats the hustling Jeremy Robertson to 2nd base. That was a great play by both Sam and Jeremy!

Sam also did some outstanding work at 1st base during infield practice. This guy gives maximum effort on every play!

Jeremy Robertson is focusing on fundamentals this season. Take a look at how he keeps his mitt up so that he can catch anything that comes his way. Jeremy put his skills to good use during the pop-up drill, contributing two big catches to the team's total. Well done, Jeremy!

In the photo above, Jeremy demonstrates how he covers 2nd base. Jeremy was outstanding with the glove in Sunday's practice, snagging several scorching grounders and identifying force-outs prior to each play. He really had his head in the game!

Here, Jeremy prepares to uncork a huge hit of his own! Another Blue Jay who enjoyed the best batting practice of his young career, Jeremy air mailed two fly balls over the third baseman's head. Those were impressive!

John Wyatt has been pounding the ball this season. He continued the trend in Sunday's practice. Take a look at the photo above. John's eyes get big when it's time to rake!

Once on base, John hustled around the base paths with ferocity. Fielders don't know whether they should tag him or get out of his way!

Another player who is working hard to catch the ball with his mitt up, John added two catches to the Blue Jays' total during the pop-fly drill. Good job, John!

We're very proud of John. He's put in lots of time and worked very hard to improve his game. The results speak for themselves. He's having an outstanding season!

Check out Allen Tousi's focused look during the pop-fly drill. Allen put his glove on the ball and worked hard to catch it with his mitt up.

Allen did a terrific job at shortstop during fielding practice. He demonstrated sound knowledge of the game, identifying force-outs prior to each play and knowing where he needed to throw the ball if it were to come to him. Nice job, Allen!

Allen's work at the plate was equally impressive. He required few pitches to put the ball in play, cracking hits through the left side of the infield in each plate appearance.

Allen ran the bases well, getting a good jump every time a teammate put the ball in play. Here, he keeps his eye on the batter and prepares to advance from 3rd base to home plate. Allen had a fantastic practice!

George Roggie enjoyed great success during the pop-fly drill, making multiple catches for his team. Above, George calls out the force plays for his teammates.

Here, George sizes up a pitch before blasting a grounder to right field! George made great contact throughout batting practice.

In the action photo above, George sprints to 1st base just ahead of a charging Sam Berman. Both players demonstrated great hustle on this play!

Above, George rounds 2nd and heads for third under the watchful eye of Tom Curley, who helped out in right field. Thanks for the help, Tom!

More Help

Thanks to Steve Berman for doing all of the catching for the Blue Jays. His work behind the plate was much appreciated.

Okay, we admit that this photo of Tom Yu was taken during last week's game. We include it here because we didn't get a picture of Tom helping out in left field at Sunday's practice. Tom helps the Blue Jays so often that we have file photos of him. Thanks, Tom!

Practice makes Perfect!

Great practice, Blue Jays!

Please remember that we will practice again next Saturday, April 23 at Westbrook Elementary at the normal 3:30 starting time.

We do not have a game next week. You can check out the remaining game and practice schedules here.

We can't wait to see everyone next week!

Go Blue Jays!

Coach Steve