9U “The Show” - A new Seed from a Championship Tradition

TravelBallSelect continues its series of feature stories on the top 9U teams across theUSA. As of this writing date, the 9U San Diego SHOW is ranked #6 nationally. Thisteam is a new seed from the San Diego Show ELITE Travel Baseball organization.This is the first year that this organization has fielded a 9U team expanding theircomplement from 9U to 18U.

This organization has a proven record for developing and assisting players to reachtheir peak playing potential. Over the last 10 years, they have established areputation for attracting the TOP Players in Southern California with the expectationof playing with the best at the highest levels. In doing so, the SHOW has become aRegional and National POWERHOUSE producing such top national athletes as BryceHarper (featured on cover of Sports Illustrated) and Steven Strasburg (a Pitchertaken as #1 in the 2009 MLB draft) - among others.

The San Diego Show’s goal for their youngerage group teams is not necessarily to have thebest team in America, but to develop theirathletes so that they can become the best bythe time they reach their early teens. A uniquecomponent of the Show’s development process,is to continuously expose their young athletesto the college baseball scene as they work withthem on fundamentals from 9U on up to theyreach baseball maturity. In any given practicethe Show will have college and pro players onthe field working with each athlete.

The 9U Show is coached by professional coaches. The head coach, Ramon Orozco(pictured above), is a D1 collegiate pitching coach at the University of San Diego(USB). Ramon is assisted by two current pros athletes. Sean Nicols, who plays inthe Washington Nationals Organization, coaches the Shortstops and the infield. MattCouch, who played at USD, coaches their pitchers. Also, from time to time, the 9UShow benefits from the help of other collegiate and professional consultants as partof their development process. The 9U Show is managed by Tony Hall, who bringsboth managerial and organizational skills coupled with enthusiasm and knowledge ofthe game, having also played baseball at the collegiate level.

And this plan is working. The 9U Show’s tournament record now stands at 28-3when facing other 9U teams, 30-4 overall when factoring in their tournament recordagainst 10U teams. Thus far in their 2010 season, the 9U Show has now been in 7tournaments and has won 5 while finishing as runner up in 2. Last week, the 9UShow played in the championship game of the 10U San Diego Blues Classic. Whilethey lost to a very good Chula Vista Bombers Majors team that had won 4 or 5majors tournaments, their performance was impressive.

Good teams have great players. Following is a brief look at the 2010 edition of the9U San Diego Show – starting from A to Z.

David Ayala (SS·P·OF) is an 8U who is playing up this year. David is a quick and fast kid whobrings a very sure glove to any position he plays. He is a very smart infield player who plays thegame beyond his age. When at bat, this young athlete makes solid contact with the ball,

Dylan Bell (C-IF) is a very fundamentally sound ballplayer. He is a very aggressive hitter whohits for both average and power. Dylan is also an excellent catcher who can block the ballexceptionally well.

Derek Diamond (SS·C·P, pictured right) is simply an outstanding allaround player who is a work horse for his team. He brings speedcombined with a laser arm on the mound, as well as, in the infield at

shortstop. In addition, Derek is also a solid catcherwith an outstanding release. He hits with power, yetdelivers a very high on base percentage. He isclearly one of the top players in the nation.

Grant Holman (P-3B·1B-OF, pictured above left) is described as a “Horse- A man among boys”. He is very athletic and has a “Cannon” arm thatenables him to dominate innings on the mound. He is also a very solid hitter.In fact, Grant has established a season batting average well above the .500level.

Anthony Hall (1B·P·OF) is a lefty pitcher with an extremely strong arm and a solid glove at firstbase, as well as, in the outfield. He is a kid with both size and height who is very athletic andvery fast. With these skills - you guessed it - he hits with power and distance.

Brian Leonhardt (1B·P·OF) is a big and strong lefty who hits the ball veryhard. He leads his team in both batting average at .587, as well as, RBIproduction. In addition, he is solid at 1

stbase and also as an outfielder.

Chris Paruleski (2B·P·3B, pictured left) is a very dependable, versatileplayer, and a solid pitcher who has excellent command on control of the

strike zone. He is a consistent hitter who has a knack for getting hits in the crunch. On the team,Chris is known as “Mr. Consistent”.

Josh Poston (SS·3B·P-OF) is an all around player with an excellent arm, a solid glove who cando many things to help his team win. He is also an excellent hitter.

Trevor Reh (3B-C) has an older brother plays on 12U Show. Trevor is a big kid who is also anoutstanding hitter. He has a very strong arm. This allows him to excel both as a catcher and asan outfield.

Jase Russell (CF, All positions, pictured left) is a multi-talented athlete who is the lead off hitter for the Show. Heseems to always find a way to get on base. At 9U, he has avery high baseball IQ. He is a fantastic base runner, fantasticfielder - a truly gifted athlete who stands out in big gamesituations. This young player is not only a team leader, butalso a game changer.

Nicholas Trimble (3B-OF-2B) is an 8U athlete who has proven that the has the skills to play upwith this year’s 9U team. He is developing into a great player. He brings a solid bat, and hasgreat fundamentals, Nicholas is getting the benefit of a lot of experience this year. He will be theanchor player on next year’s 2011 9U Show.

Kaleb Tedokon (SS-P-C, pictured left) is a phenomenal player who is “a goto guy”. He is a phenomenal hitter with power and high average. Kaleb canmake any play from anywhere.

Griffin Zamora (3B-OF-P, pictured left) is also an 8U athlete who is playingup with the 9U’s. He is developing into a great player as he has alreadyshown that he can play up with the big boys. He is a very good fielder whohas good speed. He uses this speed as an excellent base runner. Thisseason, Griffin is getting lots of great experience and will be anchoring the2011 9U team.

With their win in the North California Super NIT, The Show has already qualified for the Elite 32that will be played at the Florida Disney Wide World of Sports in July. Clearly, they have thetalent to be a contender to take home this national title crown.