We talked with Bagel Bombers Baseball Association president Jerry Windish (who also works in law enforcement) to find out his recommendations for youth ballplayers to stay engaged during this disappointing pause on play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what he had to share:
Tell us about your Bagel Bombers organization.
“Bagel Bombers Baseball Association is the largest and oldest travel ball organization in the state of Delaware. We have players who reside throughout Delaware and the Maryland area. We have 20 teams this year, from 7U up through 16U. We have two 16U teams. This past year, we partnered with US Elite Baseball to provide an exposure component for our older age groups, so US Elite Delaware is managed by the Bagel Bombers.”
US Elite Delaware 16U - Coach Jerry Windish and Assistant Coach Vinny Tallarico; Cole Windish, Vinny Tallarico, Amari Gordon, Zac Cole, Zach Lewis, Ocean Johnson, George Delgaudio, Quinn Buckaloo, Colton Benton, Hunter Wolfe, Gary Emory, Josh Townsend, Tristin McCray, Ethan Hazzard
Jerry coaches two teams this year, the 16U US Elite Delaware team and the Bagel Bombers 7U team. “I’m starting all over again with my youngest son in 7U machine pitch.” You’ll find the Bagel Bombers playing at Sports at the Beach in our HiCast Sports Network.
“None of our coaches are paid coaches. One of our organization’s aims is to keep travel baseball as affordable as possible for our families. We’re not here to make money off people. We’re here to allow kids to better their skills in a family-centered and competitive environment.”
What’s the story behind the Bagel Bombers name?
“The story goes back to the mid 2000’s. The name originated from a business owner who owns Surf Bagel. They did not have a travel ball organization in southern Delaware, so they started with one team. The owner of that business, Dave Vitella, partnered with Adam Gelof, another local resident formed a team and it was kind of a joke originally to call themselves the Bagel Bombers to play off Surf Bagel. The organization grew and it stuck.”
How are you and your team working through this challenging time?
“Everyone’s got to remember this is a challenge facing our whole country and there are a lot of aspects of everyone’s lives arguably more important than the sport of baseball – financially, economically… We want to make sure our families are okay and we’ve gotta keep in mind that the challenges facing our country now override some of the smaller things, even though baseball to our families and our players is an important thing in our lives.
We’re going to do what’s best for our families, what’s best for our communities, and we’re going to follow the recommendations and guidelines put down by the CDC and our respective state governors, in regards to public gatherings because we want our families to be safe. That being said, we want to keep our players engaged in the sport they love so we’re trying to provide different means and access to material to keep them engaged during the downtime we have.
Recently, we put an online training link on our website to post daily updates to material, whether that be video drills, work out competitions between the kids. Some of the kids, including our US Elite teams are using the Blast Baseball app to track their swings and record their workouts at home. Kids can post results and all their teammates can see what each other is doing and keep each other motivated and working.
One of the things that I think is really cool, is that we partnered with some of the colleges in the area that have assisted us with clinics. We’ve reached out to Widener University, Wesley College, Delaware State University and they are going to be providing content to us. Everyone can benefit from the communal input of ideas.”
Is it helpful for players to watch baseball games in this downtime while we’re at home?
“Absolutely. Any time you can go back and evaluate your performance, it’s a positive. You can do a lot of learning just by watching game situations, not only your own games, but other games. You can make mental notes of different positionings and assess decision-making to look back on your own mistakes and successes, or the mistakes and successes of others.”
Bagel Bombers shortstop Lukas Loring with a bare-handed play to end the inning on 7/2/19 in the Firecracker 4-Day Classic at Sports at the Beach
What else should athletes be doing?
“The term “Student Athlete” is key. Beyond just working out for baseball, they’ve gotta keep their mind sharp. Unfortunately, I think schools are going to be out for a while, so they need to continue to hit the books in some capacity. If your school district is not offering online classes, seek it out. Or do SAT practice online. Read. Seek out the stuff you are missing in the classroom, because at the end of the day, we’re students first, athletes second. And those who want to further their baseball career in college, you have to have the grades to do it. Even in these trying times, we need to try to continue to educate ourselves.”
Words of encouragement for ballplayers everywhere?
“It’s an old expression, but it’s very true… ‘This too shall pass.’ This crisis will eventually come to an end. When we get past it and we turn the corner, baseball is going to be there. You want to be ready when that time comes. You want to take advantage of this time to get stronger and keep yourself in good physical shape. Work on speed and agility drills. You can better your game during this layover. If you don’t do anything, there will be other players out there taking advantage of this time and you’ll be behind. You have the time. Put the work in and when this passes, you’ll be able to hit the field again and have the success you’re looking for.”
Coach Jerry Widish and Assistant Coaches Jason Pease, Mike Thompson, Blake Hershelman; players –Jake Windish, Ben Pease, Mason Thompson, Grant Hershelman, Lucca Fazio, Brody Fazio, Ryan Craig, Chase Sanchez, Lucas Skoncziecki, Trent Fry, Nolan Jones
Photos provided by Bagel Bombers Baseball Association