• Hitting Fundamentals
• Fielding Basics, Back Hands, Forehands
• Pitchers and Catchers practice
• Team-building, Encouragement
• Individual Growth

June 21-25; July 12-16; August 9-12

• Hitting, Bunting, Base Running
• Fielding, Backhands, Forehands
• Double Plays, Throwing
• Pitching and Catching

Summer camp will take place July 12-14, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM each day, at Snow Creek Park (Pony Division Home Field of Walnut and it only costs $95! PONY located at 20633 Snow Creek Drive, Walnut), and it only costs $95.

Please choose the appropriate item below.

The Deflector Glove™ – Regular (Standard)
Cost: $67.99 Shipping/Handling: $16.99 per item Total Cost: $82.99

The Deflector Glove™ – Left-Handed (Worn on the Right Hand)
Cost: $67.99 Shipping/Handling: $16.99 per item Total Cost: $82.99

Local kids learn from Mr. Baseball

On April 27th, 23 local youth baseball players joined Mr. Baseball Joe Magno, for a four hour clinic.

Arriving from Long Beach, Magno and his crew took the players through warm-up exercices and refreshment on basic skills.

Kids ranged from 7 to 15 years old, and all those in attenance said they enjoyed the clinic. Magno hopes to add Big Bear as a future clinic and camp site. This offers local kids the chance to participate in the clinics and visitors to enjoy all Big Bear has to offer.

Mr. Baseball is not a one sport kind of guy. He also does softball, soccer, football, and Lacrosse camps.

Visit the site www.misterbaseball.com for more information. Anyone interested in future camps can contact Magno via the Web site or Tiffany Brannock in Big Bear at 909-547-0095.

On Monday, August 16, [1999], 68 baseball enthusiasts gathered at Avalon Schools ball field to participate in The AABA. The academy was formed 15 years ago by Joe Magno and Dave Snow in St. Petersburg, Florida. The AABA expanded to Long Beach, CA three years ago and is recognized as the best baseball academy in Southern California.

“Even though the program is an advanced program, it works for the kids” said Joe Magno. It focuses on developing those fast twitch muscles (quickness) and hand vision through the use of advance training equipment such as lightning sticks, bat racks, vision rings and paddle gloves. Coach Joe Magno, Director of AABA, actually was the inventor of 7 different Baseball Training devices which are being used in the clinic. A donation of these devices will be made to Avalon High School to help develop the high school player’s skills. Joe will also donate his time to the Little League program in Avalon with a coaches seminar in January 2000.

With a week long program in Avalon, the kids will learn a lot after attending the clinic. With the basic fundamentals of hitting, fielding, pitching, catching, agility and strength training, young players will to fine tune their baseball skills. The day begins at 9:00 a.m. and continues until 2:00 p.m. If you have a chance to see this high tech training program, stop by the ball field.

With this being the second year for this program the interest is certainly growing. Thirty-four local kids participated this year versus last year’s 18. And the mainland kids jumped from 14 to 34 participants. The mainland kids are camping at the schools ball field, which makes it convenient for the kids.

Eight coaches: Steve Doherty, former Diamond Back player; Joe Magno, former Cincinnati Reds Association Scout; Jason Minicci, former Indians player; Jason Foote, Long Beach State Trainer; Chris Vierra, Assistant Director of All American Baseball League; and Tim McCarthy, a former Diamond Back, were on hand to coach the baseball enthusiasts. Dave Snow who coached two Olympic teams was unable to attend this year’s clinic.

Next year this will be two clinics held in Avalon sometime in July and August [August 2000].

Here are a couple of pointers for starting your own business:

First, choose something you love to do, since you’re probably going to be doing a lot of it. Most successful entrepreneurs aren’t strangers to round-the-clock hours.
Second, it helps if you sneeze—hard enough to temporarily paralyze yourself from the waist down.

Well, on second thought, that’s extreme perhaps, but it worked for Joe Magno, founder of one of Southern California’s most popular baseball programs, the AABA in Long Beach.

A former college baseball player, Magno spent about a dozen years coaching in various situations—camps, colleges and private lessons—while holding down a full-time job as a vice president of marketing. Then, one day something tickled his nose and the big achoo changed his life.

“I was paralyzed from the waist down on my left side,” recalls Magno. “As I was lying in the hospital bed, I was thinking, ‘I don’t really want to be sitting behind a desk anymore.’ Then I went to sleep and dreamt about putting on a cowboy hat and boots, climbing into my ‘Jimmy,’ moving out to California and starting a baseball school.”

Once Magno had recovered, that’s precisely what he did. Having been put into a compromised situation by stress and dissatisfaction with the way his life was going, he decided that it was time to follow his passion—before something more serious happened to him.

Virtually penniless when he arrived in The Golden State, Magno picked up some advertising consulting work and then began to pitch his idea for a baseball school. “I had this great thirty-page business plan with all these marketing ideas. But, I realized that without money and a local presence it would be pretty much impossible for me to start this on my own. So, I talked to the coaches at a couple of different colleges. Some of them did what we call ‘Big League’ me. They told me, ‘Hey, you just showed us how to do it, so we’ll do it without you.’ The funny thing is none of their baseball schools succeeded.”

Undaunted, Magno approached the coach of the U.S. Olympic team, Dave Snow, who worked at Long Beach State. Snow was impressed by the plan but hesitant because he didn’t know Magno. After checking out Magno’s teaching references, Snow agreed to give it a shot—and the AABA was on its way.

“With Dave Snow’s reputation, the school really started to take off,” says Magno. “We put together a great staff of coaches who really know how to teach and who love kids. My guys know how to touch a kid’s heart, which opens up their minds to our teaching techniques.”

Magno takes a creative approach to training kids in the art of baseball, utilizing novel devices such as the “Lightning Stick.” Magno explains, “I actually dreamt of that, too, back when I was laid up in the hospital. It’s a tool that teaches a batter how to change his muscle memory to improve his speed and learn how to be palm up, palm down at contact. It may look difficult, but after fifteen minutes of using the stick, a five-year-old kid can hit the ball palm up, palm down in ninety percent of the cases.” Magno now markets the Lightning Stick nationally, to everyone from Little Leaguers to pro teams. His invention is currently being reviewed for manufacture by bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger.

Another key to Magno’s training techniques is that sessions are specifically structured to keep the kids focused. He says, “Some folks call it ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), but I just think these kids are extremely creative. I know, myself, when I was kid I couldn’t concentrate on one thing for more than fifteen minutes. That’s why we rotate every fifteen minutes, use strange training tools and create a game atmosphere so the kids feel like they’re competing against themselves.”

But what really has made the business a success is Magno’s drive. He points out, “You have to have a passion for what you’re doing. I eat, sleep and drink AABA. If you don’t, I believe your business, no matter what it is, will fail. You have to be willing to work nights and weekends. I spend the days doing office work and promotion. Then, at night, it’s community relations—going out to Little League fields, shaking hands and showing the kids stuff, saying, ‘Hey, try this.’ We also hold free clinics for coaches. A lot of kids have gone from baseball to soccer, and I think a big reason is that the typical soccer coach is trained by the AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) in how to run a practice and make it fun. So, we’re trying to do the same for baseball.”

From the original center at Long Beach State, the AABA has expanded to locations at Huntington Beach, Brea and Palos Verdes, California. Along with day camps held during summer, and Christmas and Easter breaks, the Academy offers year-round private lessons, as well as a sleep-away camp at Catalina Island. Magno envisions his academies eventually being throughout the country. Meanwhile, he continues to staff his growing enterprise. He adds, “I’m always looking for good baseball coaches who love kids.”

Do You Ever Get Frustrated When You See Your Son, Daughter, or Players:

• Often Struggle when fielding grounders?
• Make errors during games?
• Unable to turn double plays often?
• Not fast enough to throw runners out?
• Bobble balls at the wrong times during games?
• Get intimidated of hard hit grounders?
• Let grounders go between their legs?
• Drop fly balls?
• Lack fielding skills to play well?

The Results of Such Bad Habits?

• More Mistakes/Errors Made!
• More Base Runners Advancing!
• More Runs Scored!
• More Games Lost For Your Child’s Team!
• Lower Confidence in Your Child’s Playing Ability!
• And Less Enjoyment of The Game

The 5 Common Mistakes That Occur When Your Child Doesn’t Use Their 2 Hands Properly And Has a Habit of Relying on Their Glove’s Webbing When Fielding Balls:

1. They don’t keep their back parallel to the ground and use their quadriceps to get low enough when fielding grounders – making themselves vulnerable to balls going under their legs.
2. They get ‘lackadaisical’ (lazy) at times and use one hand when fielding – increasing the chance of the ball hitting off of the heel of glove to bounce away since other hand is not there or for the ball to go under their glove – resulting in an error made.
3. They retract (pull back) their hands when fielding grounders – which will cause them to lose sight of the ball which can either go through their legs and/or give the ball more hops resulting in a bad hop and/or an error made.
4. They take MORE time to get the ball out to make double plays or hit the cut-off or relay – due to the fact that the glove’s webbing envelopes (closes) over the ball making it slower to come out. This results in slower hands causing slower ball transfer!
5. They have a habit of bending and reaching for the ball with one hand which opens them up to making lots of mistakes and errors instead of fielding the ball properly. Again, by relying on the gloves webbing, they don’t get low enough to the ground.

The Strategy That Eliminates Poor Fielding:

2 Hand Deflection Techniques Like Major League Players Use!

You see, professional players DON’T close their glove when fielding balls. What major league players do is they allow the ball to DEFLECT from the PALM of their glove (not the webbing) to their BARE HAND when fielding balls by making a quick exchange. This is called a “re-direct.” This is done instantaneously to give them a quick transfer.

That’s how these players are able to turn double plays, hit the cut – offs, and throw runners out quickly at this level. When they field balls this way, it keeps their body low to the ground and they’re able to see the ball much better besides use correct fielding mechanics perfectly. That’s why their professionals!

If professional players rely on their glove’s webbing to field balls, too much time would elapse since they would have to reach in with their throwing hand to get the ball OUT OF THE WEBBING to throw runners out. This would also prevent them from using proper fielding mechanics, making them vulnerable to errors.

The only time professional players USE their glove’s webbing when fielding grounders is when they try to get at a ball hit out of their range by diving, reaching, or jumping up for it. That’s the only time they use it, and it should be the only time a player should use their glove’s webbing when fielding balls.

THE BAD NEWS:

A Regular Glove Won’t Teach Your Child Proper 2 Hand Deflection Techniques With Proper Fielding Mechanics!

Why Is This? Simple. Because A Regular Glove Can Easily Close And Has a Web Which Envelopes Around The Ball.

• Since This Is The Case, Most Players – Especially Young Kids Will Still Have a Habit of Using One Hand and Rely On Their Glove’s Webbing To Field Balls.
• This Will Always Happen, Regardless of How Many Different Drills They Practice Because It’s So Easy For Them To Get Lackadaisical.
• This Will Continually Make Them Vulnerable To Making Errors Since It Prevents Them From Using Proper Body Position And Proper Fielding Mechanics As Explained Above.
• Unfortunately, Many Youth Coaches and Instructors DON’T Know This And/or DON’T Know How To Properly Fix This Problem Regardless of How Many Different Types of Drills They Practice.
• Unless He or She Changes Their Habit of Relying on Their Glove’s Webbing To Field Balls, They Will Continue To Make More Mistakes/Errors During Games.

THE GOOD NEWS:

Here’s The #1 Method Tested and Tried By Major League Players, Coaches, and Instructors That Trains Your Child To Use 2 Hand Deflection Techniques Exactly Like a Major Leaguer To Help Them Become All Star Players Overnight!

It was over 10 years ago that I tested and tried something that had GUARANTEED RESULTS when it came to helping any youth baseball or softball player regardless of age or ability to become a GREAT FIELDER on their team.

My students were introduced to this training tool several years ago and the results were instantaneous. Their fielding abilities improved TEN FOLD. I saw 1 out of 10 succeeding as consistent fielders with few or no errors to eventually seeing 100% of all my students committing virtually no fielding errors during games.

This training tool not only produced tremendous results in my players’ fielding and catching abilities, but it also INCREASED THEIR SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL AND SELF ESTEEM WHICH BECAME EVIDENT BY THEIR PLAY ON THE FIELD! That’s when I knew I had developed a great training tool for fielding.

Click on the images below

Watch the video to see The Deflector Glove in Action!

Here’s what people are saying about The Deflector Glove:

“It’s a GREAT training tool!”
Mike Brumley – Texas Rangers Infield Coach

“This is one of the BEST training tools I’ve seen in a long time. It’s really great and really softens up the hands and the wrists.”
Dale Murphy – Former All Star MVP – Atlanta Braves

“THE most innovative inventions of the year!”
High School and College Baseball Coaches Convention Committee – January 2007 – Orlando, Florida

To find out more about this awesome product, or to make a purchase please visit our Deflector Glove Website.