IP Academy Director Morgan Reiter interviewed
by Saskatoon Student Nate Soubolsky

Why do you think that young athletes put their time and effort into off-season training?  I believe that young athletes all have a dream to be better and star at some level of play whether that is at the local or professional level.  I think others train for the pure enjoyment of the program.

How long have you been directing the development of these athletes through Inside Pitch Baseball Academy? 10+ years

What do you wish to see happen with Saskatchewan's athletically-talented youth?  One of the reason I brought IPBA to Saskatchewan is I saw a need to give youth here a chance to develop and gain opportunities to play baseball at the post secondary level.  I noticed most kids in Saskatchewan went to schools in cold weather climates south of the border and I wanted to help get these youth to better programs in warmer climates where they could have the best post secondary experience possible.

How do you feel the sport of baseball has done in past years in terms of growth in Saskatchewan?  I think the sport of baseball is growing in Saskatchewan.  I have more and more clients that chose to quit Hockey and concentrate on training Baseball in the off-season.  I believe this is due to the growing number of Saskatchewan players and in general Canadians that are gaining opportunities to continue baseball in the U.S. at the college and professional level.

What kind of effort did you put in to developing your own athleticism as a youth?  As a youth athlete and baseball player I was fortunate enough to have supportive parents that sent me to various camps and clinics in Canada and the U.S. to gain the needed skills to compete.  In turn my father and I would practice pretty much every day in the summer months.  Our workouts were structured with "skill development" being the key ingredient and were often 1- 2 hrs in length.  My father taught me that the goal was to "get better" every day and every year.  We lived by a saying that I had above my bed... "For every second you are not practicing there is someone, somewhere who is, and when he meets you he will beat you."  I only wish that there was a program like IPBA around for me to train in the winter at that time!

What direction do you see Inside Pitch and the development of baseball players taking in the near future? As the Director of Player Development at Inside Pitch I can say we are committed to staying at the forefront of player development in all aspects of the game.  We will keep our close relationships with the NPA and RDRBI and seek knowledge and education to continue to develop our science-based programs in PItching / Hitting / and Functional Fitness.  We also consider ourselves to be strong mentors for youth and hope to continue to have a positive impact off the field.  When kids come to Inside Pitch we want them to leave as better, more confident individuals that will go on to strive for any goals they may have in life.  In closing, on the business side we are looking to continue our expansion in B.C., Alberta and someday soon into Southern California.