WHO IS GBG-NORTHEAST HAWKS BASEBALL CLUB?

The GBG Northeast Hawks Baseball Club is owned and operated by RBI Baseball Academy in Foxboro, MA in close partnership with the Garciaparra Baseball Group out of Southern California.  RBI Baseball Academy was founded in 2004 and has trained many of Southern New England’s most talented baseball players.  In 2010 RBI founded the RBI Hawks and the Hawks quickly became one of New England’s premier baseball programs.  In 2015, the RBI Hawks partnered with the Garciaparra Baseball Group to form the GBG Hawks.  By partnering with GBG and its founder Michael Garciaparra, (A Major League Baseball 1st Round draft pick as well a brother of former Boston Red Sox great Nomar Garciaparra) RBI and GBG have created a program that can compete on the field both regionally and nationally.  In addition to a highly competitive on-field program, the GBG Hawks PRIMARY focus remains to be the most DEVELOPMENTAL program in New England.  The Hawks take significant pride in the development their players have seen over the years whether it be preparing to be a successful high school athlete, collegiate athlete, or professional athlete.   For a list of some of our athletes that have gone on to compete at the collegiate level or professional level visit our alumni page here http://www.gbghawks.com/alumni.

The GBG Hawks are a member of the New England Elite Baseball League which is the most competitive and highly organized league in the region.  In 2018, the GBG Hawks fielded 19 teams between the ages of 11-19.  The Hawks field a minimum of one team at the Division 1 level at each age group and field teams in many other divisions within the league’s highly demanding and competitive divisions.  Our 15U-18U teams play a combination of local league play and local, regional, and national tournament competition including: 

- World Wood Bat Associations (WWBA) National Championships at Lake Point Sports Complex in Cartersville, Georgia.

- Continental Amateur Baseball Association's (CABA) World Series in Charleston, South Carolina.

- Perfect Game Super 25 National Championships at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, Florida.

- Triple Crown Sports National Championships in Richmond, Virginia

- Diamond Nation in Flemington, New Jersey

- Baseball Heaven in Long Island, New York

- New England Baseball Complex in Northboro, Massachusetts

The GBG Hawks look to continue our program's development each and every season and this season is no different!

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to provide the most organized, structured, and competitive baseball development program in the northeast region.  We accomplish this by:

·  Recruiting and rostering the most high-quality, high-character athletes and families.

·  Creating and harvesting a network of positive, dynamic and knowledgeable coaches and training staff.

·  Developing the player’s skills through a structured, progressive off-season and in-season training curriculum.

·  Challenging each player and team with a highly competitive schedule featuring league play within the New England Elite Baseball League, as well as local, regional, and national tournaments.

·  Consistently communicating with all players, families, and coaches to present a clear path to achieving the program’s goals and objectives.

While winning is great, our goal is to build "winners".  Our teams strive to win ever game we play, but we teach that our results on the field are a culmination of our daily physical and mental preparations.  Our program teaches the skills that create on-field success but have true application to the real world and life after athletics. 

PROGRAM PROGRESSION

The GBG-Northeast Hawks develop players from 11U-18U.  We accomplish this through a series of phases or "program progressions." 

**NEW 9U/10U OPTIONS IN 2019**

9U:  Beginning in 2019, we will be running a "9U Player Development Program".  This program will mirror what our older Hawks teams do in the winter as far as off-season training goes, but will focus more on on-field development, controlled game situations, and live game competition all as an in-house program.

10U:  This is the youngest "team" our program fields in the NEEBL.  This age division will focus on getting players acclimated to our winter training program as well as our competitive spring schedule.  We look to have our players end the season with a solid skill set, knowledge of the game, and enhance their passion for development.  

11U: This is the player's first introduction to the "transition" or "intermediate" sized 50' mound x 70' base paths field.  There is a LOT to learn in this stage of development.  Our program aims to combine fundamental skill development with teaching the rules of "real baseball" which includes leading, stealing, pitching from the stretch, and more. 

12U:  Our staff looks to continue the development of each player's fundamental skills with a focus on "skills that translate" to the 90' diamond.  Teams at this level will play a more intense schedule of league games, local and regional tournaments.  This is the player's final season before beginning their "big diamond baseball journey" and our Hawks will be put in a position to prepare for this transition better than anyone around.

13U: This is where real baseball begins.  Players are selected for this portion of our program based on how their skills translate to the 60' x 90' diamond, not by their success in Little League.  This is the player's first step towards separating themselves from others their age with an intensive off-season training program as well as a full 45-50+ game schedule from April-July including multiple weekly practices.  Players will learn and play multiple positions throughout the course of the season based on their current skill set.

14U:  Building off of the 13U season's adjustment to the big diamond, the 14U's are challenged by increasing the commitment and intensity of game and tournament schedule.  The 14U teams will also get introduced to more complex baseball situations and training methods to best prepare them for the transition to high school baseball.  Teams will play 50-60+ games from April-July.  While still playing multiple positions, many players will now begin to zone in on the position(s) they are projected to play at the high school level.

15U:  This is the player's first season in the program that sports a  summer-only game schedule.  Players/teams train all winter in preparation for their spring high school seasons before coming back together for a tournament-heavy June-August schedule.  The focus of the 15U season is to begin preparing the players for high-level/varsity baseball.  This is accomplished through a full summer of wood-bat games, local, regional, and potentially national tournament play.

16U:  At this age, players are coming off varsity-level seasons having just completed their sophomore or junior year.  The program shifts focus to entering the most competitive tournaments against top competition locally, regionally, and nationally.  This type of schedule puts our players in the best position for college exposure and recruiting.  Players at 16U will participate in an  everyday type of schedule from early June through early August.

17U:  Our 17U teams consist of players who have just completed a successful varsity baseball season as juniors in high school.  Similar to the 16U schedule, this is an every day commitment from early June to early August combining multiple weekly practices, weeknight games, weekend tournaments as well as a full slate of local, regional, and multiple national tournaments.  College exposure and recruiting is a focal point at this age as we look to put our players into the best possible situations to be evaluated by college coaches while never losing sight of player development.        

PROFESSIONAL STAFF

The GBG-Northeast program prides itself on it's quality of coaching staff.  Each team is staffed with 2-4 coaches depending on age and intensity of schedule.  Our staff consists of former professional and collegiate standouts, current and former collegiate and high school baseball coaches. The majority of coaches in the program are non-parent coaches while those who are parents are considered to be "coaches that also happen to be parents."  In 2016, our 4 parent coaches featured 2 former professional baseball players, a 500-win collegiate coach, and a former Division 1 collegiate player.   

All staff members are CORI/SORI background checked and attend our program's annual "Staff Development Clinic" to ensure all coaches are operating towards the same goals.

In 2017, the GBG-Northeast program's staff will feature 7 former professional baseball players, 19 former college baseball players, 10 current high school baseball coaches, 3 former college coaches and a 500-win collegiate Head Coach. 

TRYOUTS & PLAYER SELECTION

Every August, the GBG-Northeast Hawks hold 4-day tryouts for each individual age group from 11U-17U.  These evaluations feature 2 days of skills and drills followed by 2 days of live game action.  The combination of these atmospheres allows the GBG staff to evaluate a player's overall skill level at a variety of positions as well as how they perform when under pressure.  Players are evaluated with specific tools in mind based on the particular age group.

Each age group annually attracts anywhere from 60-120 players providing our evaluation staff with the tough task of choosing from some very talented, hard working players.  Our goal is to select high-quality, high-character players that exemplify what our program is all about.  We build each team not just with a focus on immediate team success but a long-term vision based on player's overall makeup and projectability.

The evaluation and directorial staff at GBG-Northeast understands that it's not just a player the program is selecting but their family as well.  We strive to involve supportive parents/families in the program as it takes a lot of sacrifice and commitment from both the players AND their families. 

OFF-SEASON/WINTER TRAINING PROGRAM

All GBG Hawks players participate in our 4-month off-season training program.  This program features a 2-day per week with a 3-day per week option from December-March.

Team Practices:  Each team has one weekly team practice (typically on Sundays) at RBI Baseball Academy/Mass Premier Courts.  Teams make use of the hitting cages and multi-purpose turf area at RBI as well as the full length basketball courts at Mass Premier to provide each team with the ability to simulate game situations indoors all winter long.  Team practices are focused on team-based activity including team defense, situational hitting, bunt coverages, 1st & 3rd plays, pick-off plays, and a variety of other game-like situations.  Team practices are done specifically with the players on your team with your team's coaching staff to build team chemistry and cohesiveness.

Skills Training:  As part of the Hawks tuition, each player is automatically registered for one of RBI Baseball Academy's Winter Skills Training Programs.  These are weekly 90-minute sessions with options including "All Skills", "Pitching", "Catching" or "Hitting".  Players and their families will have the ability to choose from 4-5 different days/time slots per week to allow for a more personalized schedule.  These progressive, curriculum-based sessions are run by RBI's full-time professional coaching staff, many of which are Head & Assistant GBG Hawks Coaches and Directors.

Optional Friday Hitting & Speed/Agility Sessions:  Another option included in the Hawks tuition is our optional Friday skill/workout sessions.  Every Friday from December-March, the RBI & Elite Sports Performance staff work with all Hawks players for a 2-hour period designated by age group.  The first hour is focused on increasing the player's weekly repetition with a focus on what the player worked on during their team practice and weekly skill session.  These are supervised by RBI staff.  The second hour is a speed/agility/conditioning workout run by the certified trainers at ESP.  Players will learn to develop balance, coordination, running technique, all while increasing the player's overall athleticism and conditioning.

Private Instruction:  While it is not included in the Hawks tuition, many players will supplement their small group and team training with individual instruction in hitting, defense, catching, and/or pitching with one of RBI/GBG's professional instructors.  Our staff is available 7 days/week from Nov-Mar and weeknights from April-June.

IN-SEASON PRACTICE/TRAINING

The GBG Hawks In-Season Practice & Training schedule varies greatly by age.  We pride ourselves in not being a program that just provides "extra games" but more of a complete player development program combining various training atmospheres with live, competitive game action.

The 11U & 12U players will have the option of attending one or two weeknight practices per week during the season held later at night to accommodate for kids playing for their town's youth league.  Each team keeps an identical playbook so that players can attend either of the two practice options.  Players MUST attend one of the nights but may attend both if their schedule allows for it.  These sessions will be used mostly to prepare the players for weekend game situations.  These practices run from the first week of April through the first week of June.

13U & 14U teams will have 3 practice opportunities throughout the week from April-July.  Each team will have 2 scheduled team practices, one outdoors and one indoors.  Players will also have the opportunity to attend our Friday optional hitting session to get players prepared for the weekend games ahead.

15U-17U teams vary greatly by team and by each team's particular schedule that week.  Our high school aged teams will have 1-2 team practices per week from the first week of June through the first week of August.  Many of our teams at this age group play weeknight games and also have tournaments that start before the weekend or last until after the weekend especially the regional and national tournaments.