VARSITY BLACK 2024 SEASON
The Inspiration Academy Lions Varsity team had an outstanding year of growth while
covering in depth, the more advanced concepts of baseball this year. Our focus was to feed
them a good base of fundamentals, challenge our players in all aspects of the game, and
allow them to experience some of what college baseball is going to be like, once they reach
that level.
We were very fortunate to be able to play over 35 games this season. This gave us
the freedom to dig deep into trying new things with the guys and see if they could handle
college level aspects of the game such as a new vaulting approach to base stealing, high
level independent communication without coaches' interference, advanced hitting
approaches that require observation and discipline before each pitch and external ques to
get them back on track, whether they were on the mound, in the field, or at the plate.
All in all, 28 players at our academy were asked to participate in Varsity Black
games. That is something new and a big part of how we were able to help develop these
young athletes at a higher rate through exposure to what they will need in the future.
Along with these challenges, we constantly repeated throughout the year the basic
fundamentals of the game from hitting, pitching, defense, base running, mental
performance, nutrition and team culture. Our boys were a very special group. They bonded
quickly and made it their mission to play together as a whole unit and compete while lifting
each other up when it was needed.
Our pitchers and defense focused on "preventing runs". Pitchers worked hard to
pitch low in the zone, get ahead early and to force weak contact. We had a team ERA of
3.63, WHIP 1.54, a .248 batting average against, 251 strikeouts in 241 innings and a 100%
save percentage. Our defense worked hard to be on time for every pitch, making sure to
never miss a pitch so they could be in the correct position to be "extraordinary at the
ordinary" plays.
Our offense focused on "scoring runs". They locked in on a solid on deck routine to
prepare to compete, regardless of the situation and score. They had a low line drive
approach that showed positive results even when they missed the mark. Resetting back to
an external que so they could refocus was very big with those players that bought into the
mental approach while competing. Our team batting average was just under .300, OPS was
.832, stolen base percentage was at 80% and we scored 216 runs in 36 games giving us an
average of 6 runs per game. We also had Ty Harvey record his 100 th varsity hit on a home
run to right center field.
The end of the season was a little bitter sweet. Our boys made it to the State
Championship again, but just fell short while battling to the very end. They came together
fundamentally at the right time and had an outstanding tournament. They showed great
sportsmanship, competed at a high level and represented the academy in the highest
regard, making the entire staff so proud of them.
Through the trials and tribulations of this past season, our coaches have come away
with a wealth of knowledge and many great ideas to hit the ground running as we enter the
fall season. So very proud of this group and looking forward to what is in store.
