EMERSON,
Ga. – The FTB Pride are very eager to get their summer baseball
season underway. They got a late start compared to some other 17u
teams, this being their first tournament of the summer, but that
doesn’t mean that they aren’t eyeing the 2015 17u PG/East Cobb
Invitational championship trophy.
The
players that comprise the FTB Pride roster didn’t even get their
first practice together until a couple of days ago. Although, they
haven’t spent much time together, the past has proven that practice
time does not factor into tournament wins. Just ask the Georgia
Legends, who two weeks ago won the 2015 WWBA Memorial Day at
LakePoint championship with only one practice together.
It
could be luck, it could be the adrenaline flowing through the veins
of the energetic young prospects. One cannot deny that the FTB group
is talented, but it will be up to them to live up their potential
this weekend. Either way, this FTB Pride team is definitely going to
be one to follow throughout the remainder of the tournament.
It
may have been the pre-tournament jitters, or possibly some of them
were knocking off a little rust from the time off between their high
school season and right now, but the FTB Pride were unable to start
off this weekend with a win. There were positives and negatives as an
equally talented Team Elite squad beat FTB 5-2, and the Pride look to
learn from their mistakes during the rest of their tournaments.
And
they did just that in their second game of the day, turning around
and beating 643 Jaugars Davis 17u 7-3, pounding out 13 base hits in
the process.
Regardless
of the loss in their first game on Friday, the FTB Pride are not the
least bit worried about their ability to win ball games moving
forward. Coach Phil Hurst is confident in his players’ ability to
bounce back and hit the ground running in their game later on today.
“(We)
didn’t have a great start to our summer right there, but I know
that we will rebound,” said Coach Hurst. “We’ve got a good
group of kids. Everybody on our team is committed to a big school,
and we’re looking forward to a good summer.”
Although
as mentioned before the FTB Pride had only one practice to prepare
for the summer, that does not mean that some of these guys don’t
already know each other. Some of these kids have been playing
together since they were 11-years old. What is now FTB Pride was
formerly known as MBA Pride, and as a younger group, the Pride
experienced a lot of success in other Perfect Game events.
“This
group has been together since they were 11,” added Hurst. “We won
the 13u BCS Championship a few years back and we’ve just kept going
ever since. This year is our first year with FTB, and we’re ready
to continue our winning tradition with them.”
This
FTB team is not simply comprised of those former MBA players alone;
they also have a little help from their friends across the waterways.
FTB pride is carrying a number of extremely talented players from the
Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico in hopes of adding
extra depth to the team, as well as helping players to be seen by
colleges and scouts that don’t travel to their home country.
It
is truly a life changing opportunity for some of these players from
Puerto Rico, as one noticeable performance could land them a
scholarship to a university that they never could have dreamed of
attending.
“FTB
also has a team in Puerto Rico as well, so some of those guys have
come in for the weekend to help us and also help themselves out in
the midst of their recruiting process,” said Hurst. “The
academies, such as the Carlos Beltran Academy, have done a great job
in lending us their players in order to get some looks that they
normally would not get over there.”
Coach
Hurst speaks very highly of his kids, as he has known most of them
for almost five years, and he believes that this is a special group.
Most good teams have a relaxed attitude when it comes to these
tournaments, and that attitude is not missing from this particular
team. Their pure confidence in their ability to get the job done can
be felt from a mile away.
Even
though most of the kids are already committed to their respective
schools, they plan to play with the hunger of someone scratching and
clawing for a scholarship. Considering the impressive amount of
talent at this weekend’s 2015 PG/East Cobb Invitational, especially
in the 17u age group, that mentality will serve them well if they
want to accomplish the challenging feat of winning the championship.
After
the game it was clear that several of the players were disappointed
in their performance in the first game, however, they were not
dwelling on it. In fact, a couple of the players were joking around
and poking fun at each other over the last game; displaying the
looseness and brotherhood like atmosphere that comes along with being
a part of this team.
Brotherhood
is probably a good word to describe this team, as many of them tease
and talk to each other as if they were actually brothers. Even the
newcomers from Puerto Rico are starting to feel at home.
“We
don’t mind giving each other a hard time because it’s all in good
fun,” said lefthanded pitcher and Alabama State commit Logan Allen.
“The fact that so many of us are so comfortable with each other
allows us to push one another. Ya know, light a fire under someone
butt if they are in a slump or something.”
FTB
Pride certainly likes to have fun out of the dugout, but what about
inside the dugout? The dugout atmosphere is just as loose as the
postgame or pregame atmosphere. They like to get loud from time to
time and keep the energy up, especially if the opposing team gives
them a reason to get loud.
“We
aren’t ones to talk a lot of trash, but if a team starts with us,
we definitely have the noise to match,” said shortstop Jose
Ciccarello, a University of Florida commit.
Among
the top prospects on this team, the most highly touted is young
righthander Altoon Coleman, who has already made his college
commitment with Florida State. Coleman is already throwing in the
low-90s with his fastball, and is one of the top five 2017 prospects
in the country. He will be looking to add to his impressive resume in
his start this weekend.
Will
the absurd amount of talent that this team has carry them to the
championship? Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but this team
certainly has the chemistry part down. Many of the FTB players feel
that this weekend’s PG/East Cobb Invitational is the start to
fulfilling the potential that they believe their team has. They know
they are capable of playing spectacular baseball, and hope to start
doing just that against their next opponent here in Emerson at the
LakePoint complex.