A Tribute to Jim Spooner

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

It has been a sad week here at Baseball Factory as we mourn the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Jim Spooner. Jim passed away on Saturday after a long battle with leukemia.

Jim had an amazing baseball mind and was one of the most successful coaches in college baseball history. During his tenure as the Head Coach of the University of West Florida, he amassed 688 victories, which is good for 3rd all time at the NCAA Division II level. He was inducted into the Pensacola Sports Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and earlier this summer the University of West Florida dedicated their baseball field in his name. He has touched the lives of hundreds of players, coaches, and their families.

Jim became involved with Baseball Factory back in 2005 in a variety of roles. He assisted many of our Underclass Exclusive Program players with the college recruiting process, he coached a number of our Under Armour National Tournament Teams, and he served as an instructor at our Team One Showcases. He also was a regular in our booth at the ABCA convention each January.

The thing I will miss most about Jim is his friendship and his remarkable amount of positive energy. I am not sure if I have ever met a person with a more positive attitude and a more enthusiastic approach to how he lived his life. Jim would always give you 100% of his attention and he was genuinely concerned with each and every person he came in contact with. He always made you feel important and would give you an endless amount of time to catch up and learn what was going on in your life. He truly was a remarkable person and a role model for us all.

I will be in attendance at his funeral on Friday with a couple other people from Baseball Factory and I am sure his life will be celebrated by the many, many people he has touched over the years. He will be dearly missed by us all.


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

Learning How to Learn

Andy Ferguson: Another Day, Another Double Play

I have overheard many times statements such as: “Any little league coach knows that,” or, “That’s nothing new,” or, “I could teach him that myself.“ I somewhat agree...but what I have watched and witnessed over my time around baseball says that what people say is simple, apparently is not. Why do players in general have such bad throwing mechanics? Why is base running so abysmal at the high school level? These are just two examples, but if anyone can teach it, or it’s nothing new, or you could do it yourself, why isn’t it better?

The answer, in my opinion, is that many players (and parents too) think that simply showing up at a camp or clinic or practice is going to be enough. While they all certainly help, I doubt anyone that runs any of these events would claim that they could completely cure any shortcoming while at that particular event. The goal should be to gather information and learn drills that will help you learn how to develop your skills. As such, “player development” is an ongoing process, and one that must continue as long as a player plays the game.

With that in mind, the player development responsibility falls on the shoulders of the player – either he is willing to regularly work and get better or he is not. All the coaching in the world is worthless without an honest and ongoing effort from the player. This is all too often overlooked. Mom and dad often care more than the player does, which is very disappointing for us as coaches – and I am sure even more disappointing for parents, who work hard to provide the opportunity for the player. One of the first things I learned, and it still rings true, is that you cannot teach someone who doesn’t want to learn.

The key concept here is aptitude. It is very important in determining the potential for a player to get better. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, aptitude is, “a tendency, capacity, or inclination to learn or understand.”

It should make perfect sense why this is important. In order to improve a skill, first the correct technique and/or fundamentals must be taught. Then they must be drilled and worked on, with repetition being the most important thing. The player with “a tendency, capacity, or inclination to learn or understand,” is certainly more likely to pick up the correct techniques and/or fundamentals – therefore making it far more likely that he will be able to take the drills and repetitions and use them to actually develop and improve. In other words, a player with aptitude has the potential to learn how to learn – which sets him on the ideal player development path.

Andy Ferguson is currently the Senior Director of Baseball Operations with the Baseball Factory. Ferguson joined the North Carolina State baseball team as a walk-on, and went on to solidify his role on a team that participated in four consecutive NCAA Regionals. He later coached with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then served as an Associate Scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres.

Yost Fired with 12 Games to Play

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

When taking a closer look at the playoff race, there were a lot of factors that I considered. Opponents down the stretch, momentum, home vs. away games, and even the Republican National Convention. But this late in the season, I never thought to consider a coaching change for a contender. On Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced the firing of manager Ned Yost. The Brewers currently have an 83-67 record, putting them in second place in the National League Central and tied for the NL wild-card lead.

So what’s the problem? Well, the Brewers have lost 11 of their past 14 games including a four-game sweep at the hand of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Brewers came into the month of September with a 5 ½ game lead in the wild card and entered the series in Philly with a four game lead. But the bats have gone quiet and the young Brewers team is stuck in a tailspin.

So what’s the answer? Firing your manager with 12 games left in the season? Really?

Don’t the players play the game? Is this move really going to make Ryan Braun immediately bounce out of a 2-30 slump? I can’t imagine that he shows up to the ballpark tomorrow and takes a different approach at the plate because Yost is no longer in the dugout.

Was it Yost’s poor management that caused Ben Sheets to put 12 Phillies’ runners on base in six innings pitched, allowing five of them to score? Does Sheets look in the mirror tomorrow and think, “Wow, they fired Ned, I really better start trying harder. They mean business.”

Come on! This is such a desperate move by a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1982. What a classic knee-jerk reaction. I understand that Yost might be getting a bit tight as the playoff race heats up, but wouldn’t you? I’d be a bit more nervous and stressed out too if my team started choking.

The owners are so quick to blame the manager when a team goes in a slump.But hey, maybe I’m not getting all the facts. Maybe Yost wasn’t giving good motivational speeches. Maybe he didn’t hold enough closed door meetings to stress the importance of the playoff race. Maybe he forgot to remind the team that when they lost, it actually hurt their chances of making the playoffs.Give me a break!

If they wanted to change the players’ current losing ways, they would have been better suited changing the playlist on the stereo, not the manager in the dugout. They need to adjust the mindset of the players, and just because firing the manager is the “extreme” decision, doesn’t make it the right one, regardless of the outcome.

Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

When Do We Start Marketing Ourselves to Colleges?

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

The title of this blog is a common question I am asked by parents when I am attending a Baseball Factory Player Development event. To start, there are a lot of factors to consider, but the main ones to focus on are the player’s academic achievement to date, his current baseball aptitude, and his physical maturity. Assuming that all three of these items are not considered to be a limiting factor in any way, then my best advice is for players to start marketing themselves to colleges as a rising sophomore in high school.

Now some parents may say that is way too young. I have heard comments like, “he just got through his first year of high school and college is almost three plus years away. Our son is focused on just making his high school team and we can’t even think about college yet.” While it may be a few years away, the reality is that the time flies by very quickly. Plus, most parents that I speak with in our program that elect to start this process when their son is a rising senior say “gosh, I wish we would have known this information sooner and started marketing him to college a few years ago.” So, with time on your side, it pays to start getting active early in this process.

In my mind, the main benefits are the following:

1. Education – starting the marketing process at this point in his career will get your son (and you as parents) familiar with the college search process and different baseball programs earlier in the timeline, which will be valuable downstream.
2. Exposure – college coaches will begin a file on your son and can track his development over the next three years.
3. Communication – your family will begin to discuss what is important to your son in the college selection process and that will foster communication amongst your family which will create good dialogue and points to consider.

To effectively market yourself to a college, you need three things:

1. An edited video of your son performing. 2. An unbiased evaluation of his baseball skills. 3. A well written cover letter.

At Baseball Factory, we provide a video and evaluation within a personal player webpage for each participant so they can email a link to the webpage and a nice cover letter directly to the coach. This will serve as a good introduction to the coaching staff.

Starting the marketing process this early will give you a leg up on your competition in the long run. However, as you start this journey, remember to keep your expectations intact. A sophomore will not get the same recruiting attention from college coaches as a rising senior. However, since college coaches are now starting their recruiting process earlier and earlier to gain an edge, it pays for your son to get his name out there!


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

The Modern Day Athlete...How to Build Them

Dana Cavalea: Performance Training for Baseball

The Modern Day Athlete must compete at an incredibly high level, one that is very difficult to achieve based in strictly talent.

It is imperative that athletes work each day to be the best, enhancing both their physical strength and speed, while at the same time prepping their mind to deal with the ups and downs of sport.

When we build training programs, it is imperative that we train with a purpose, and that purpose should be based on the athletes individual needs, not just strictly based on COOL exercises, lots of them, high volume, and exercises/ intensities used to make athletes sweat.

But, there is a fine line between creating a perfect training program, which could be to SOFT, and lacks the mental componenet, or mental push that is needed to get through a set. We must teach athletes how to push their bodies to their limits, while maintaining proper form/ positioning / alignment, in order to still stay on pace with our number 1 goal of injury prevention and long-term health.

The bottom line is this, TRAIN WITH A PURPOSE, have a goal in mind, and while working to achieve this goal, pay close attention to form and body position, but also don't be affraid to push your limits with high intensity intervals/ conditioning to increase your mental strength.


For more from Dana please check out his blog.


Dana Cavalea and Major League Strength serve as baseball performance strength and conditioning consultants for all Baseball Factory events. Dana currently serves as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the New York Yankees. He has also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. Dana founded Major League Strength, a company that works to provide athletes with first class professional training and a dynamic program designed to elicit positive results in all aspects of Human Movement and Sports Performance. Dana is certified by the CSCS, NASM-PES and the USAW.

Understanding Baseball Scholarships

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

Undoubtedly, financial aid is one of the most confusing pieces of the college search process. Balancing college visits, letter writing, and applications can be a difficult task on its own, but trying to add the scholarship component without a full understanding of the process can be downright frustrating. There is no cookie-cutter system with differences among divisions, conferences and individual schools. I’d like to take this entry to address some common misconceptions and give you a coach’s perspective on the distribution of athletic scholarships.

Unlike football and basketball, which are allotted 85 and 12 full scholarships, respectively, Division I baseball only has a maximum of 11.7 scholarships at a time for the entire team. Rather than giving each player a “full ride,” baseball coaches are given the responsibility of dividing the total scholarships among their players, deciding how much and to whom. This makes baseball an “equivalency sport.” Given a roster cap of 35 players, a maximum of 27 players can be on scholarship, with the minimum athletic scholarship level at 25%. Typically, positions in the middle of the field get the most attention first: pitchers, catchers, middle infielders and center fielders with speed. These positions comprise 65-80% of a program’s scholarship budget.

One glaring misconception I need to point out is that not all Division I programs have the full 11.7 scholarships. In reality, only half are considered to be fully funded. This makes the concept of a full ride to play college baseball everything but a myth: baseball has the second-lowest average scholarship award at $5,806, leading only men’s riflery! Furthermore, there is no such thing as a guaranteed four-year scholarship. Coaches will evaluate the player’s performance on the field and in the classroom, along with their scholarship on an annual basis. In most cases, the scholarships will only go up, but I have seen and heard of player’s scholarships being reduced and/or taken away completely.

Parents, you need to be prepared to significantly fund your son’s college education. All coaches understand the financial burden families face to send their children to college. However, you cannot get caught up in the value of a scholarship--it is not a translation of your son's worth, nor does it dictate playing time! All coaches have the task of putting together the best team possible, many with limited funding, and have to address both priorities and depth. To put this in another perspective, a 30% or more athletic scholarship is considered a major commitment on behalf of the institution.

A while ago, I wrote a blog entry about how I put together teams at the University of Maryland and what I looked for in prospective players. In addition to the “Three Aces” that I mentioned, there is one critical “4th Ace” that I left out: affordability. In addition to finding ACC-caliber players that had the grades to be admitted to the University of Maryland, I also had to recruit players that had the financial means to attend! Not only was it extremely challenging to find players that matched all three criteria, but I considered myself fortunate to get two of three.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of other options out there for financial aid, including FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), academic scholarships, and grants. The key to securing these different packages is to be proactive and do your research. You’ll never know until you’ve applied, and you can’t afford to wait around!

As a wrap-up, here is the breakdown of each division’s scholarship allotment:

NCAA Division I: 11.7
NCAA Division II: 9.0
Junior College: DI and DII: 24 DIII: 0
NCAA Division III: 0
NAIA: 12


Kelly Kulina is the Senior Vice President of College Recruiting at Baseball Factory. Kulina is a former Associate Head Coach and recruiting coordinator with the University of Maryland. As a former recruiting coordinator for ten years in the ACC, Kulina has vast contacts and is widely respected throughout the nation. From 1989 to 2000, Kulina coached 46 players who were selected in the MLB draft.

Down the Stretch They Come

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

With a little over 20 games remaining in the Major League Baseball season, let's take a look at the races, especially those that are heating up:

American League East
After losing two of three against the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays are only 3.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. While they are looking very good to make the playoffs, a division title could be a huge difference maker when the playoffs start. While the division winner will draw either the White Sox or the Twins, the Wild Card team is going to have to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still have a tough time not calling them just Anaheim). I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have to face Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez than John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders.

The Yankees are 11 back of the Rays in the division and 7.5 games back of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. Stranger things have happened (see last year’s run by the Clint Hurdle and the Rockies), but let’s just think about it this way: If the Red Sox finished the season losing 15 of their final 23 games, the Yankees would need to go 16-6 down the stretch to make the playoffs. If the Red Sox go 11-12, the Yankees would have to go 19-3.

American League Central
I’ll be interested to see how many Twins fans vote for Senator John McCain this fall in the presidential election, if they end up missing out on the playoffs. McCain (image below and to the left) was seen waiving good bye to the Twins' playoff chances. I jest, but the Twins were sent packing on a 14-game road trip because of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. They finished 5-9 on the road trip and may have lost the momentum needed to overtake the White Sox, who have a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central. The Twins schedule down the stretch looks promising with home series against Detroit, Kansas City (six games) and the White Sox in late September. They do however have to hit the road again including a three game series in Cleveland (18-7 over their last 25 games) and a four game series in Tampa Bay.

The White Sox host the Angels, Toronto, Detroit and Cleveland, while making trips to New York, Kansas City, and Minnesota. Neither team seems to have an edge, and with only 1.5 games separating the teams, that late series in Minnesota could determine the division title.

American League West
The Angels had this locked up in May. Seriously, I’m not kidding. At this point they hold a slim, 17 game lead over the Rangers.

American League Wild Card
We talked about what the Yankees would need to do to catch the Red Sox, but what about the Twins. They have a bit better chance, but again, with a 5.5 game lead over the Twins the Sox would basically need to collapse. It could happen, but don’t count on it.

National League East
Things are eerily similar to last year. The Mets have a lead and are growing it, but injuries to Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Billy Wagner are definitely a cause for concern. Can the Mets hold on? They’ve won four in a row and seven of their last 10, but the Phillies are very much alive only three games out of the lead. This weekend will be key as the Phillies make their last ever visit to Shea Stadium. This is the last time the Mets and Phillies will square off during the season, so this could determine the winner of the division.

National League Central
The Cubs have lost five in a row, but still have a five game lead in the NL Central. It definitely helps that the Brewers have lost four in a row. With Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden both missing starts, Cubs fans are a bit on edge, but they should make the playoffs. The Cubs and Brewers will face off six times down the stretch, including the final series of the regular season in Milwaukee, giving the Brewers a chance at overtaking the division title.

National League West
Arizona holds a 1.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers going into their three game weekend series that starts tonight in LA. This is the last time the Diamondbacks and Dodgers will face off this season and it will likely provide one team with momentum for the remainder of September. However, the Rockies are still lurking, only six games back of Arizona. They have nine games left against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers and considering the run they made in 2007, nothing is out of the question.

National League Wild Card
Milwaukee is currently sitting four games up on Philly, five on St. Louis and six on Houston. The Brewers will head to Philadelphia in a week for a four game series. If they are still only up by four, this could get interesting. St. Louis has put together a magical season and they will need some of that magic in order to get into the playoffs. Houston was written off for dead earlier this summer but they have gone 20-7 over their past 27 games and have put themselves back in the Wild Card Race. Jumping over three teams during the final three weeks of the season will be a challenge, but 16 of their final 22 games are against teams with losing records, so don’t count them out.

Since I love to make predictions:

AL East – Boston Red Sox
AL Central – Chicago White Sox
AL West – Anaheim
AL Wild Card – Tampa Bay Rays

NL East – Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central – Chicago Cubs
NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card – Milwaukee Brewers


Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

Back to School

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

September is back to school month here in MD. The start of a new academic year is a chance for each student to recommit himself in the classroom. It is also a chance to set some academic goals and strive for strong performance.

As parents, it is a really good time to sit down and develop an academic game-plan with your son. List your child’s classes on a piece of paper and have him write down the grade he thinks he can get if he gives it a 100% effort. At the end of the semester/marking period, pull out the goals and see how he performed. Try to hold him to this high standard of excellence he has set for himself.

Here are a few key points to consider as you are building an academic game-plan and considering NCAA eligibility rules:

1. Core Courses – NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses as of Aug 1, 2008. NCAA Division II requires 14 core courses as of Aug 1, 2008. Division II will require 16 core courses as of Aug 1, 2013.

For Division I you will need 4 years of English, 3 years of math (Algebra I or higher), 2 years of natural science/physical science (one must be a lab science), 1 year of additional English, Math, or Science, 2 years of social studies, 4 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy)

For Division II you will need 3 years of English, 2 years of math (Algebra I or higher), 2 years of natural science/physical science (one must be a lab science), 2 year of additional English, Math, or Science, 2 years of social studies, 3 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy)

Please note that electives do not count towards your NCAA GPA eligibility!

2. Test Scores:

Division I has a sliding scale for test score and grade-point average. The higher the SAT/ACT score, the lower the GPA can be.

Division II has a minimum SAT score requirement of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

The SAT score used for NCAA purposes includes only the critical reading and math sections. The writing section of the SAT is not used.

The ACT score used for NCAA purposes is a sum of the four sections on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading and science.

All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center by the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the Eligibility Center code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported to the Eligibility Center.

3. Grade-Point Average:
As stated above, only core courses are used in the calculation of the grade-point average.

Be sure to look at your high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses on the Eligibility Center's Web site to make certain that courses being taken have been approved as core courses. The Web site is http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/.

Division I grade-point-average requirements start as low as 2.0 but require SAT scores as high as 1010 (Math/Critical Reading).

The Division II grade-point-average requirement is a minimum of 2.000.

For more info on these topics, visit http://www.ncaa.org/

Good luck to all the students starting a fresh academic year. Remember, college coaches are recruiting Students First and Athletes Second. It is never too late for students to commit themselves in the classroom!

Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.