Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh baseball launches new clinic series
11/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The first round of the Lehigh University Baseball Clinics took place Sunday November 9, with assistant coach Brian Hirschberg as director of the clinic. With 23 baseball players showing up for each session, Hirschberg said the clinic was a success for everyone. Lehigh coaches primarily focused on hitting skills, while parents and youth coaches were invited to stay and listen to the information being taught.
“It went really well and I attributed that to the energy our players brought,” Hirschberg said. “There was a lot of information that we were teaching and it’s good for those younger guys to learn it.”
Entering his first season at Lehigh, Hirschberg specializes as the hitting coach for the Mountain Hawks this season, in addition to his recruiting efforts for the team.
Four of Lehigh’s own players assisted the coaches in running the clinic. These Mountain Hawks were put in charge setting up and closing everything down, as well as running all the different drills throughout the clinic. The players also ran agility drills which the kids can practice as well.
Hirschberg stated one of the main reasons for starting a clinic like this was because there was such a high request to have this from parents and players around the community.
“It was really by popular demand that we started it,” Hirschberg said. “We really did have a great attendance considering we only advertised it a month before the actual clinic took place.”
Even though NCAA regulations don’t allow the coaches to talk about Lehigh and the baseball program, this clinic gives Lehigh coaches another opportunity to evaluate more high school players. Hirschberg explained how those who come to the clinic not only get to be seen by the coaches, but they are able to see what Lehigh’s campus is like, meet the coaches themselves and mingle with the players.
Looking toward the future, Hirschberg is expecting there to be more varied information sessions like this to come. He emphasized how parents and coaches who brought kids to this event were inquiring about additional clinics they could get their kids to come back to.
“We actually plan to not only have these annually, but add a lot more developmental stuff to the program, such as some video work and more specialized instruction,” said Hirschberg.
The second round of the clinics will be held on November 23. The all skills clinic (ages 7-13) starts the day off from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., followed by the high school pitching and catching clinic (ages 14-18) from 1-3 p.m.
