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Agoura Pony Baseball

APB Training and Development Program

APB Training and Development Program

Published:  December 10, 2021

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Agoura Pony Baseball, Inc. (APB) proudly supports the new Agoura Pony Baseball Training and Development Program.  This new program is unique to APB and the first of its kind for a Pony Baseball league in the area.  As part of this program APB has hired 2 professional coaches to provide training to APB coaches and players. APB has budgeted $10K in league funds to this program for the 2022 year.  These professional coaches (in addition to some experienced league volunteers) will be running such clinics and activities for:

  • Spring and Fall New Player Clinics (PINTO TO PONY) - for players new to baseball; to occur before the players first practice with their team
  • Spring and Fall Coaches / Player Clinics for the following skill areas (SHETLAND TO PONY) - focused on teaching the coaches to teach these skills as appropriate for a the specific division:
    • Fielding
    • Pitching / Throwing
    • Playing Catcher
    • Situational Fielding
  • Spring Team Practice Professional Coaching (PINTO TO PONY) - professional coaches run 1 to 2 practices (instead of the manager) per team during the season.
  • Mandatory Pre-Season Coaches Clinics for divisions with more new / younger players (SHETLAND AND PINTO) - will include rules review, on field instruction, etc.
  • Resistance and Arm Health Training Clinic (BRONCO / PONY) - run by professional coaches for older players to provide training to improve arm strength and reduce injuries.
  • High School Prep Clinics (PONY)* - run by professional coaches with high school experience to prepare players for high school tryouts and the high school process.
  • Sanctioned All Star Teams Professional Coaching (SHETLAND TO PONY)* - professional coaches run 2 to 3 practices (instead of the manager) per team during the all star season.


*Paid for by the participants in the program and not by the league.

A player must register to play or be playing in APB for the season that the training / clinics are being provided in order to attend the clinics.


Below are the professional coaches that APB has hired to provide instruction under the APB Training and Development Program.  They are also available for individual lessons.

CHRIS WHITMER
Agoura Pony Baseball Clinic and Trainer
[email protected]
818-497-8857

Chris played baseball at the college level at Cal Lutheran University from 2013 to 2015.  He was the Asst. Manager of the varsity team and lead player development and training coach at Agoura High School from 2017 to 2022.  He focuses on the overall athlete with emphasis on proper development, strength and conditioning for a longer sustained athletic career. Coach Whitmer has been teaching proper, fielding, pitching, catcher training and hitting since 2016.  

JONATHAN MEYER
Agoura Pony Baseball Clinic and Trainer
[email protected]
747-474-5276

Jonathan graduated from Simi Valley High School and was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2009 draft by the Houston Astros played professionally as an infielder and catcher for seven years reaching the AAA level (2009-2016).  He has been a professional coach for over six years (2016-2021) with the Padres organization on all areas of baseball with an emphasis as a defensive coach and infield coordinator.  He recently left the Padres organization to return to his roots and provide private instruction in the Conejo Valley area.

APB TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DETAILS

Player Eligibility for Clinics/Training
A player must register to play or be playing in the season that the training / clinics are being provided in order to attend the clinics.  Players cannot attend a clinic of the same subject more than once a year (Catching, Pitching, etc.) as the subject matter will be repeated and we want to allow the opportunity for others to attend.  

Any player that is a no show for a clinic is ineligible to attend a clinic for the current year.

Spring and Fall New Player Clinics (Pinto to Pony)
These clinics are new players to baseball to get introduced to the basic concepts of baseball before their first team practices (Fielding, Hitting, Throwing, Situational Fielding). These clinics will be run by league volunteers (mostly board members and experienced coaches).  These will be run in 3 groups as there are different expectations and subjects per age:
  • Pinto (7 to 8)
  • Mustang (9 to 10)
  • Bronco (11 to 12) and Pony (13 to 14)

The Clinics will cover the below subjects (and potentially others in the future):
  • Fielding
  • Hitting
  • Pitching / Throwing
  • Playing Catcher
  • Situational Fielding


Spring and Fall Coaches/Player Clinics (Shetland to Pony)
These are Sunday clinics (Fielding, Hitting, Pitching/Throwing, Playing Catcher, Situational Fielding) to be run by professional coaches from mid-January to mid-March during the Spring and Saturdays during the fall. These clinics would be paid by the league.  These will be run in 2 parts:

  • Professional coaches provide instruction of a small group of players with league coaches shadowing to learn from the professional coaches so they can teach the same skills to their players
  • The league coaches teaching players with professional coaches providing assistance and mentoring


Spring Team Practice Professional Coaching (Pinto to Pony)
During the spring we will have professional coaches run 1 to 2 practices per team from the Pinto to Pony teams of both the National and American level.  These will be to teach the players skills and also to provide instruction to the coaches and managers on how to provide instruction to the players.   This would be paid by the league.

Mandatory Pre-Season Coaches Clinics for Divisions with younger players (Shetland and Pinto)

Before each Spring and Fall season we will have a mandatory Manager’s Clinic for all Shetland Pinto managers (optional for assistant coaches).  This is required as many of the managers are new to managing baseball or to this level of baseball.  These clinics will occur on the fields and will include a review of rules, training on how to run efficient practices, how to run games, how to communicate with players of a specific age, etc.  These clinics will be run by league volunteers (mostly board members and experienced coaches).  We started this at a basic level in 2021 and will be expanding this.

Resistance and Arm Health Training (Bronco and Pony)
As players mature it becomes even more important that they learn about arm health.  The league will be holding at least one clinic for Resistance and Arm Health Training run by a professional coach on a Saturday in early spring.  This would be paid by the league.

High School Prep Clinics (Pony)
These clinics would be taught by Chris Whitmer, from Agoura High School.  These would be intrasquad scrimmages for incoming 9th grade high school players (may supplement with a few 7th graders) preparing them for high school including field size, bat size, attitude, preparation and on field instruction in a simulated game situation.    This is paid by the parents of the players that participate.

Sanctioned All Star Teams Practices (Shetland to Pony)
Our professional coaches will assist with running about 2 to 3 practices per sanctioned all star team (6U to 14U) but will not be coaching the teams in games.    This is paid by the parents of the players that participate in sanctioned all stars as part of the All Star Fee.

League Contacts
The league contacts for the program are:

  • Todd Stuart, VP of Training and Development
  • Cary Silvera, Training and Development Director
  • Ryan Speelman, Training and Development Director
  • Chris Bole, League President



Field Status

Open Open

Lupin Hill Elementary School (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Forest Cove Park (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Sumac Elementary School (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Willow Elementary School (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Grape Arbor Park (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Indian Springs Park (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Old Agoura Park (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)

Open Open

Chumash Park (09:08 PM | 03/08/24)