Collegiate baseball players find rhythm across country
From the News-Leader
In search of confidence on the baseball field this summer, University of Central Florida’s Kam Gellinger chose to head 1,000 miles north to a town in Virginia.
He wasn’t exactly running away.
Hundreds more like him are in the same position every year, lining up roster spots in collegiate wooden bat leagues across the country. The goal is pretty clear: to develop as players, work on weaknesses and impress scouts.
The best leagues, like Cape Cod and the Alaskan League, are big on name recognition, though outposts like the Valley Baseball League and the Coastal Plain League in North Carolina often see just as much talent circle through.
Gellinger was fresh off a forgettable sophomore season with the Knights. A shoulder injury the previous summer had prevented him from signing with a summer baseball league in 2014.
So his coach, UCF’s Terry Rooney, suggested he play with the Staunton Braves, three-time VBL champs. Rooney had developed a relationship with the Braves over the years, fueling a pipeline that often fielded several players on the team every summer.
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