NASHUA BASEBALL ACADEMY, NASHUA NEW HAMPSHIRE nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net NASHUA BASEBALL ACADEMY 19 CHARRON AVE, NASHUA NH 603-886-1212 nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net The Nashua Baseball Academy is a private indoor baseball training facility located on 19 Charron Avenue in Nashua NH. The Nashua Baseball Academy offers group lessons open to the public, private lessons by appointment, and is the home of the Nashua Knights AAU U13, U14 and U15 Baseball Club and the New Hampshire Diamond Devils U12 Cooperstown Travel Team(All ages are determined on May 1st 2009). Group lessons are open to the public and highly recommended for young athletes that want to improve their skills. They are supervised workouts in a team setting with constant coaching and pointers to improve athletes fundamentals. Classes meet twice a week in an intense yet relaxed group practice setting. Goals of the Nashua Baseball Academy To help each athlete improve their skills and understanding of the game in order to better prepare them for their spring and summer seasons. Hitting, pitching, catching, base running, outfield, and infield play will be taught. Proper throwing techniques, ready positions and athletic positions will be focused on. Special attention will be placed on playing relaxed, enjoying the sport and enjoying athleticism. The Staff • Rich Loftus Rich has coached Youth baseball for 20 seasons. He is experienced on the Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth, Senior Babe Ruth, and AAU levels. Rich is the manager of the U13 Nashua Knights. Rich is a Babe Ruth certified umpire, an IAABO certified Basketball Referee and is the Manager of the Nashua Baseball Academy. Rich will teach all classes. • Corey Burgess Corey was previously the Manager of the Nashua Senior Babe Ruth Chiefs, is currently a coach with the Coffey Post Legion and is a varsity coach at Bishop Guertin High School. Corey is a New Hampshire Federation certified umpire and attended the Major League Umpire School in January 2005. •Duane Erickson Duane is the Manager of the Nashua Catholic Wildcats and the Manager of the Nashua Babe Ruth Yankees. Duane was formerly the Manager of The Nashua Senior Babe Ruth Chiefs and is the Director of the Nashua Parks and Recreation Summer Baseball Camp. Duane is the baseball advisor to the Nashua Baseball Academy and will consult on special baseball events. Group Lessons are offered in 3 sessions…the fall session, the winter session and the spring session and are open to the public. 2 age groups are offered…13 and under and 14 and older. Classes meet twice a week. Class sizes are small, usually 6 to 8 in size. Class Times 13 and under class meets Thursdays 5:30 to 7:00 pm and Sundays 9:00am to 10:30am 14 and older class meets Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30 pm and Sundays 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. The 2008 Fall Session begins Thursday November 13th. Tuition is due November 1st. Email Coach Loftus to reserve a spot... nashuabaseballacdaemy@comcast.net Private Lessons Private lessons are also offered. Work on the skill sets you desire 1 on 1 with the coach. Lessons are by appointment and times are flexible. E-mail Coach Loftus for details and times. NASHUA KNIGHTS U13, U14, U15 BASEBALL CLUBS The Nashua Baseball Academy is the Home of the Nashua Knights AAU Baseball Club. The Nashua Knights are a year round program that offers winter training, a Spring and Summer AAU season, a travel tournament to Duquette Sports Academy and a fall program. Tryouts are in September at Daniel Webster College. Visit our teams website for more details... WWW.LEAGUELINEUP.COM/NASHUAKNIGHTS NEW HAMPSHIRE DIAMOND DEVILS U12 BASEBALL CLUB The New Hampshire Diamond Devils are a U12 travel team that offers winter workouts, local games and each year in August the Diamond Devils travel to Cooperstown Dreams Park, Cooperstown, New York, where they compete againt 96 teams from around the world for a national championship. Tryouts are in September and are by appointment. Email coach Loftus at nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net to schedule your tryout. The Diamond Devils encourage participation on your local teams in the spring and do not conflict with district all stars as most of their schedule is in the winter, late July and August. **NEWS FLASH** DIAMOND DEVILS FINISH STRONG IN COOPERSTOWN by Joe LaPlante When New Hampshire Diamond Devils manager Rich Loftus addressed his team last Wednesday night, it was almost midnight, and they had just played their third game of the day, defeating the Las Vegas Barracudas in the "round of 32" in the tourament playoffs at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, NY. "When we came here last Friday, there were 99 teams in the park," Loftus said. "There are only 16 teams still playing baseball, and you're one of them." Their road to the Sweet 16 wasn't easy. In the seven-game preliminary round, the Diamond Devils, a team comprised of 12 year-olds from the Nashua (North, West, South, and Northwest) and Brookline Cal Ripken leagues, had lost two of their first three games. They went on to win won four straight games, defeating teams from Pennsylvania, Massachussetts, Maine, and New Jersey. Finishing the preliminary round at 5-2, they earned a ranking of 18th in the field of 99 teams (by virtue of both their record and "runs against" average). In their 13-7 win over the Manalapan (NJ) Blaze, the New Jersey squad put the Devils back on their heels in the third inning with three consecutive homers. Tim Moreau entered the game in the fourth in relief, pitching three scoreless innings to secure the win. Catcher Evan Richardson scored four runs, including a solo home run. Shortstop CJ Boykin and third baseman Nick Penkala also homered and scored two and three runs, respectively. Center fielder Brendan Robbins, infielder Brad DeLuca and Moreau had two hits each, while right fielder Johnny Vidal, second baseman Marcel Laplante and outfielder Chas DeWitt also had hits in the contest. The Diamond Devils next faced the Wellesley (Ma) Raiders , earning a 3-2 win behind the pitching of starter Moreau and reliever Penkala. Richardson was the hero, sending the game into extra innings with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Laplante hammered a line drive off the left field wall, but was stranded at third base. Penkala reached base in the eighth, and was driven home by DeLuca's game-winning single. Moreau and outfielders Joe Crowley and Spencer Madden had the only other hits in the game. In the final game of the preliminary round, the Devils earned a "mercy rule" 12-0 win over the Wilbraham (Ma) Falcons. Vidal handled the pitching duties, helping his own effort with a home run. Boykin and Richardson also homered. Crowley, DeLuca and Robbins had two hits apiece, and Madden picked up a sacrifice RBI. Seeded 18th out of 99 based on their preliminary round showing, the Devils earned byes in the first two rounds of the tournament playoffs and entered the contest in the "round of 64,." Their first playoff victory was a 3-2 win over the Westchester (NY) Rangers on a gutsy complete-game pitching performance by Penkala, who gave up a lead-off homer to start the game, but hung tough to earn the win. Boykin lead off for the Devils with a single in the bottom of the first, then stole second, third, and home to tie the score at 1-1. Outfielders Zach Powers, Robbins, Crowley, and Madden shut down Westchester's long ball hitters. Although DeLuca, Penkala, and Laplante hit safely in the early innings, the Devils didn't pull ahead until Richardson's game-winning single brought Vidal and Laplante home for two tie-breaking runs in the sixth. In the "round of 32," the New Hampshire squad faced the Las Vegas (Nv) Barracudas, with DeLuca on the mound and Powers catching. Robbins, Penkala, and Laplante recorded hits, but it was the speedy Madden, pinch running and stealing bases after a Richardson single, who scored the Devils' only run for the 1-0 victory. Boykin was errorless at shortstop, making several put-outs. The Diamond Devils wrapped up the tourney with a loss to the Connecticut Cannons. Catcher DeWitt worked with nearly the entire Devils pitching staff, but New Hampshire couldn't keep pace with an impressive offensive onslaught from the boys from the Nutmeg State. Manager Loftus was assisted by coaches Duane Erickson and Duane Grandi.