PCDL Pitcher of the Year, Tommy Ray:
Tommy Ray went to Quincy Notre Dame High School in Quincy, IL.
Then went to John A Logan his freshman and sophomore year of college.
Then transferred to University of Louisiana-Lafayette for his junior and senior year. This coming year He will be grad transferring to Saint Louis University. We asked Tommy a few things about this experience this summer training at Premier Pitching and Performance and playing in the PCDL.
Question 1): How did playing in the PCDL help you this summer?
Tommy: “The PCDL helped me in a variety ways. It gave me an opportunity to compete and face some live hitters which is what I looking to do this summer coming off of the spring I had previously had. After facing some live hitters and seeing some success I had, I got my confidence and swagger back which is I was lacking a little bit this past year”
Question 2.) How did the coaches help you with your game this summer?
Tommy: “The coaches at PPP have helped me tremendously. Juni has been my guy from the start helping me with some things mechanically. After looking at my MoCap I realized that I was hunched over going down the mound which led go some trouble getting my FB to my glove side, but after working with him I was able to clean up my posture which led to me getting my heater to my glove side a lot easier. Jason has helped me out a little bit as well. He talked to me about my thumb positioning on my FB which had led to some increased vert on my heater. Finally, Josh has been the man with the plan when it comes to the S&C side of things. He has put a tremendous program together for me which has helped me get bigger, faster, and stronger this summer. Since the start of the summer I have gained 8lbs and I can’t thank Josh enough for what he’s done for me.
Question 3.) What was the biggest thing you learned this summer?
Tommy: “The biggest thing I’ve learned this summer is to trust the guys around you that are in your corner and know that they have your best interest. All the coaches at PPP want to see you succeed and they’ll do anything for you whether that be playing catch you with you on a recovery day or helping you out with a workout. I can’t express how much of a 180° turn I’ve made since the end of my spring season to where I’m at now. I highly recommend any high school/college athlete that is invested in taking your game to the next level to get in touch with the guys at PPP so you can be the best version of yourself.”
PCDL Player of the Year Frank Kelly:
Right before Franks’ junior year of high school, he moved from New York to South Carolina to attend P27 Academy for his last two years of high school. The transition wasn’t easy but it definitely changed him as a player in a physical aspect of lifting everyday and playing against the top competition at the high school level. It also matured him a lot with how he goes about everything on and off the field because he started learning what it really takes to become the player he wanted to be. Frank’s extremely thankful for everything that he’s learned from all the coaches and teammates at P27, as it got him as prepared as possible for his next step at High Point University this upcoming fall. Frank chose to come to the PCDL as an incoming college freshman to continue to put himself in a competitive environment and compete against college competition before he ever steps foot on campus this fall.
Question 1): How did playing in the PCDL help you this summer?
Frank: "The development focused league really helped me work on a lot of smaller details in my game like base running that is hard to focus on and mess around with during a spring season. The biggest part about this summer was probably the training aspect at PPP. The personalized lifting program from PPP really helped me improve my overall strength while improving the way my body moves through a lot of mobility correctives. Usually during the summer it’s hard for me to maintain all the gains I’ve made over the off season as I’m running around playing all these games. When I was here though, it set me up perfectly in a way that allowed me to end up gaining 5-10lbs after the 7 weeks."
Question 2.) How did the coaches help you with your game this summer?
Frank: "All the coaches here really helped me improve different parts of my game. Coach Boomer worked with me a lot with my swing and really got me feeling myself getting in my legs more and cleaned up my timing to make my movements more efficient and not so rushed. Coach Funk helped me everyday with infield and made me practice every different fielding pattern that I might have to use just so once somethings hit in game, I have all these different solutions to get the out. Lastly, Coach Huss reminded me to just be an athlete out on the field when I’m doing anything and he would always make the game more fun."
Question 3.) What was the biggest thing you learned this summer?
Frank: "My biggest takeaway from this summer is some stuff that I’ve learned from Brett Graves when he spent time with me and really broke down the approaches that guys had in pro ball when he was playing. He taught me to first find out what my strengths are as a hitter and then just play to my strengths the best I can whenever I’m in the box. I started seeing a lot more success when I would just focus more on eliminating certain pitches and sticking to my strengths and then making adjustments off of that, instead of always trying to over analyze what the pitcher was trying to throw."