THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080542
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRED KIRSCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940608 LENGTH: Long
``Move, move, move,'' yells Melvin, slapping a hot one down the first base line. ``Get over and cover the bag. You've got to move faster than that. Let's try that again.''
{REST} When you're 13 and a Tidewater Blaster, you better come to play.
And play. And play.
Which is what guys like Greg Forbes and Paul Vizcaino and Bryan Schuler live for. Hey, you're not going to get to the bigs without putting in a few thousand hours on the field.
This slick-fielding, stick-wielding band is just one of five age-group Tidewater Blaster teams taking the state's AAU baseball program by storm this spring.
The Blaster 13s will be playing this weekend in the Virginia State Games. Next week, they'll attempt to qualify for the AAU national championships in Iowa later this summer. As will the Blasters' 15-year-old team.
In case you're wondering why they're called the Blasters, check out these stats:
The 10-, 11- and 12-year-old teams have all captured state championships and qualified for the national championships.
In winning the state tournament, the Blasters' 11-year-old team hit a collective .508 while scoring 60 runs in four games. The top four hitters batted .702 with Chris McKee going 9-for-9.
The 10-year-old team scored 38 runs in their three-game march to the state championship as Mark Reynolds pounded the ball at a .750 clip.
While AAU basketball has been around for a long time, it's only 2 years old in Virginia and this is the first year it's being played locally.
``It's for the good player who wants to get better,'' says Towny Townsend, Lake Taylor High coach, who is the eastern regional director of AAU baseball and coach of the Blasters' U-15 team.
``What happens to most good players in the summer is they get selected for an All-Star team, play until they lose and that was it for the summer. There really wasn't a program for the `upper level' kid who really loves the game. You know the kind.''
The kind who chew sunflower seeds, play on about three different teams and are throwing the ball around in the backyard until, as Blaster third baseman Josh Melvin says, ``Your mom comes out and tells you, `Enough.' ''
The Blaster 13s, like the other Blaster editions, are comprised of some of the best players in the area. Four of them come from North Carolina, some are from Great Bridge, from Deep Creek, Chesapeake and Norfolk. Most of them them are the best players on their Pony or Babe Ruth team.
``We get recommendations from coaches of players they think are ready for this level,'' says Townsend, ``and then we go out and look at them. We're not always looking for the best kid ability-wise. We look at attitude, coachability, desire. The whole package of the total kid.''
Pitcher Aron Harrison has a near 70 mile an hour heater. Forbes, a catcher, is hitting at ``something like .700, I think'' for his Great Bridge team. And Chris Perry, a lefthanded pitcher-outfielder from North Carolina is coming off a pretty good week for his junior high team. He went 10-for-10.
``One of the best things about playing on the AAU level,'' says Blaster 13 head coach Dennis Chalk, ``is they play with kids just as good.
``Most of them are used to being the star of their team. And here they are just one player. I think it gives them a good perspective about life.
``These kids would play 24 hours a day if we asked. But there is more to this program than just playing baseball.''
For shortstop Paul Vizcaino, the Blasters is just one of three teams he plays on.
``What's the hardest thing about playing on all these teams?'' he says, repeating a question. ``Remembering the signals of each team. Sometimes that can get confusing. Like what's the bunt sign?
``But this is great because we get to play the best competition around. And if you want to be the best, you have to play the best.''
The Blasters will play some of the best 13-year-olds at the State Games in a seven-team double elimination format. Chalk's team will play its first game Friday at Virginia Wesleyan at 4:30 p.m. and then move to Old Dominion for the rest of the tournament.
For the rest of the summer, Chalk hopes to pit his Blasters against area all-star teams and ``play as many games as we can. That's what we're here for. We aren't necessarily trying to turn out major leaguers, but to help them be the best player they can.''
Just ask the kids where they think it's all going to end and they know.
``The big leagues, I hope,'' says Greg Forbes, who is strapping on his catcher's gear, ready to go out on the field one more time.
``Yeah,'' chant about a dozen voices.
by CNB