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Royals Profile #2

12/10/2015

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​By Ramsey Abushahla 
​
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” While this quote is grossly overused especially in the sports world, one can’t help but notice how well it fits with Royals coach and Cal Lutheran outfielder Sinjin Todd.
 
While Todd is listed at 5 feet 5 inches and 145 pounds, his work ethic and resilience make up for what may be missing in size.
 
“I’ve always been overlooked my entire life because of my size. I’ve always felt like an underdog,” Todd said. “I always get that feeling that I’m lesser and weaker than everyone else just because I’m smaller, and I think I just have this drive to be as big and strong as everyone else even though I’m not as big in stature.”
 
Todd worked his way into the lineup and was a valuable asset both as a starter and a role player off the bench in 2015 for the Kingsmen.
 
He finished the 2015 campaign with a .354 batting average to go along with one homerun and 19 RBIs in 29 games played. His biggest game came against Drew University, where he went 3-for-3 with a grand slam, six RBIs and three runs scored.
 
Todd’s success in a Kingsmen uniform is 100 percent due to his work ethic. He is undoubtedly the hardest worker on the Cal Lutheran baseball team. After working out with the team at 6 a.m., he often can be found in the gym later in the day on his own, all of this while being a full-time student at Cal Lutheran.
 
 “Being small I really had to focus on the fundamentals and everything else just a little bit more because I’m not as gifted. I’ve got to work harder, get stronger, and work harder than everyone else,” Todd said.
 
Todd has taken his hard-nosed approach to the game and has tried to instill it as a coach with the Conejo Royals Baseball Club.
 
 “[A great player is] someone who works hard and hustles all the time. You don’t have to be big, you don’t have to be a great athlete, you just have to know the game and play hard,” Todd said.
 
Todd said hopes he can inspire other players who may not have the desired size of a baseball player.
 
“If you really love the game and you really want to keep playing, just learn all the little things and learn how to play small ball, play smart, and play hard. If you out-hustle the other team you are going to do well.”
 
Ethan Kearney & Colton Arnett
 
Ethan Kearney is entering his third year as a Conejo Royal, and his veteran leadership has been key to the Royals this season. The lefty pitcher/outfielder/first baseman plays the game the way it is meant to be played.
 
“He works really hard. He’s a really good listener. In practice and in the cages he’s always focused and it’s really nice. He’s definitely an advanced athlete for his age,” Todd said.
 
A Chicago native, Ethan is an avid Cubs fan and lists his favorite players as Kris Bryant and former Cub Alfonso Soriano. His favorite moment as a Royal came after winning the Las Vegas tournament last year, and he hopes to go to Cooperstown and win even more tournaments this year.
 
Joining Ethan in this edition of Royal Profiles is fellow lefty Colton Arnett.
 
“He’s just a gifted athlete. He’s really big for his age, has a cannon of an arm, and he can rake. The kid can hit,” Todd said about Colton.
 
In addition to his physical stature, Todd also praised Colton’s work ethic.
 
“He also works really hard. He always tells me how he goes out with his dad and takes extra fly balls and extra swings in his off time, which I think is really cool. He really loves the game,” Todd said.
 
Colton said his favorite part of playing baseball is hitting, and it shows. He has proven himself to be one of the best hitters in his age group and only hopes to improve.
 
When he’s not playing baseball, Colton stays active, either playing golf or riding his bike in his free time. Like Ethan, Colton has fond memories of playing in Las Vegas.
 
Both of these Royals players play the game the right way and hope to lead their teams to success in the upcoming tournaments.




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Royals Profiles

10/20/2015

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​The Conejo Royals blog is happy to present a series of profiles of Royals coaches and players. The first edition of Royal Profiles details 10u Head Coach Landry Kiyabu. Kiyabu served as the CLU baseball team’s closer in 2015 and has been a Royals coach for three years. Also being profiled is Andrew Jensen, who plays for the 10u Royals team. Andrew has grown tremendously as a player and has emerged as an up and coming catcher in the Ventura County area.
 
Landry Kiyabu
           
            When you see fifth-year senior Landry Kiyabu off a baseball field, you see a smart, quiet-natured, reserved personality inside an imposing 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pound figure. That is an accurate description of Kiyabu, who was a Third-Team All West Region selection for the California Lutheran University baseball team in 2015 as their closer.
            What you don’t see is Kiyabu’s competitive streak. It was this fierce drive for success that allowed him to lead the Kingsmen in strikeouts-per-nine innings while racking up five saves along with a 2.16 ERA.
            The road to success was not a straight line for Kiyabu, who missed the entire 2013 season and the beginning of the 2014 season with an elbow injury. During his first game back in 2014, he gave up four runs on five hits, including a home run, in just one inning pitched.
            “Just the idea of the injury in the back of your head constantly, you have to watch what you do, be a little more conservative in everything you do. It’s hard not to push a program and rush your comeback,” Kiyabu said.
            Kiyabu rebounded after a rough start and became the Kingsmen’s setup man in 2014, highlighted with a four-inning, five-strikeout performance in the Kingmen’s regional game against Wisconsin-Stevens Point in McMinville, Oregon. His injury allowed him to become more mentally sound on the mound in clutch situations.
            “I think mentally [the injury] had the biggest effect, just because you know what it is like to lose a whole year of eligibility. Your tolerance goes up, you’re able to deal with a little more, and the biggest thing is getting through those mental blocks,” Kiyabu said.
            His mental toughness carried over to the 2015 season, his breakout season in a Kingsmen uniform. His five saves ranks him seventh all-time, and Kiyabu barely seemed to break a sweat all season no matter how important the game was.
            “It’s funny because when you talk about closers in the Major Leagues, you see all of these high energy and enthusiastic closers. I feel like I’m the complete opposite, level headed, I’d prefer to stay that way. It gives me an edge, because as a hitter I’m pretty sure it’s frustrating if you don’t know if you’re getting to him. I just don’t want people to know what’s going on in my head,” Kiyabu said.
            Kiyabu’s control of his emotions led to control of his pitches, as his nearly 4:1 walk to strikeout ratio was the best on the team.
            Kiyabu has also been able to take his wisdom from his playing experience and pass it on to younger minds, as he has served as a coach with the Conejo Royals for the past three seasons.
            “I notice especially nowadays kids have grown up with this guidance of being told what to do and how to do it rather than letting them learn how to do things and why they do them on their own,” Kiyabu said. “It’s nice to see when it clicks in a kid’s head why we’re doing something and they understand the reason behind it.”
            Kiyabu said he sees a lot of potential for his current Royals team to go far, and with discipline and hard work they can be successful in the 2015 fall season.
 
Andrew Jensen
            Through hard work and plenty of mental toughness, Andrew Jensen has quickly become a budding star in the Royals program. Andrew cherishes the coaches he has from CLU, and listed it as one of his favorite parts about being on the Royals.
            Jensen has the athleticism to play multiple positions, but he has stood out as a catcher. Catching at a young age is no easy feat, and many young players lack the physicality and grit to excel behind the dish. Andrew is not like these players. His work ethic and athletic ability give him the tools necessary to be a defensive stalwart at the catcher position.  Catching requires a lot of discipline , attention and pride- all attributes Andrew has displayed this fall. 
            Andrew was born to be a Dodger fan, and bleeds Dodger blue. The young, exciting talent the Dodgers have such as Joc Pederson and Corey Seager give Andrew hope for the Dodgers future after a tough 2015 NLDS loss to the New York Mets.
            In his free time, Andrew enjoys playing basketball, Tae Kwon Do, fishing, and spending time at the beach wake boarding and boogie boarding.  He has a twin sister and lives in Camarillo. 
            Andrew has a bright future ahead of him, and with the right guidance he can do great things in his baseball career.  We hope he can continue to exude confidence and success as a member of the Royals Club. 
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9/16/2015

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Tips for Aspiring Baseball Players- Making the Jump to HIgh School

Ramsey Abushahla 





Making the jump from little league to high school can seem like a daunting task at first glance. Out with the days of daddy-ball with your best friends and in with running poles for wearing the wrong practice jersey or forgetting your belt. However, with the right attitude, high school baseball can be one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of your young life. Here are seven tips to make your experience a positive one.

 

·      You’re not the best player anymore

            If you are an aspiring high school player, you were probably one of the better players in your youth league or club team. Not anymore. The kids you will be playing with and against will be older, stronger, more developed and more experienced than you. Don’t let that discourage you. Let it motivate you. Work hard and let your play do the talking for you. Remember, no one likes a cocky freshman. Your play and effort on the field will gain the respect of not only your coaches, but also the older players on the team.

            Chances are you won’t play varsity as a freshman. If you’re talented enough to be on the varsity squad, don’t get complacent. There are always ways to get better. If you’re like most incoming freshmen, you will be on either the JV or freshman team. JV is a great starting place to be as a freshman. It can be a little intimidating, especially playing against older players, but it is the perfect level to get experience and grow as a player. If you don’t make the JV team you shouldn’t be discouraged either. Many players (including myself) mature later in their high school careers. As long as you’re practicing and playing hard, improvement will come.

            No matter what level you are as a freshman, it is important to work hard, trust yourself, and respect your coaches. That brings us to our next tip.

·      Respect your coaches

            With some exceptions, the coaches you had before high school were usually a parent of a player on the team. They usually try to get everyone in the game and their main concern is for everyone to have fun. This is not the case for most high school coaches. The high school coach is a hardened, tough individual. He cares about one thing, and one thing only: Winning. Sure, a good coach wants all of his players to develop and mature into college-ready ballplayers, but at the top of each high school coach’s docket is winning baseball games. Winning gets them credibility, credibility gets them respect, and respect is something coveted by coaches at every level, not just high school.

            That being said, your coach may not be your best friend at times. He will make decisions that you don’t agree with. However, he is your coach, and while he may not be the second coming of Joe Torre or Augie Garrido, there’s nothing you can do about it. He will make you run when he feels like it, chew you out after a bad at bat, but you can’t let that get to you. A coach disciplining you is his way of showing he cares. If a coach ignores you when you make a mistake or show up late, that’s when you should be worried. If you respect your coaches and work hard, they will respect you back. Don’t give your coach a reason to dislike you. Hustle on and off the field, don’t talk back, and most importantly, show up on time. Which brings us to our next tip.

·      Show up on time

            Part of respecting your coaches and teammates includes showing up on time. Being late to a game or practice is a surefire way for you to get benched. There’s a saying, “If you’re not five minutes early, you’re late.” Live by this. Being punctual is about respect toward your teammates and coaches. If you constantly show up late it says that you couldn’t care less about everyone else’s time.

·      Academics

            Your parents harp on you non-stop about your grades. Listen to them. Balancing baseball and school is tough, especially when you miss class for games during the week, but do your best to stay caught up and get at tutor if necessary. What does you GPA have to do with your performance on the field you ask? Nothing. You can be the best baseball player in the area with a 2.0 GPA and you’ll still be eligible to play. However, if you want any shot at making it to the next level, your grades are almost as important as your talent. A high GPA will open more doors for you when it comes to playing in college. I have witnessed so many talented baseball players that were not taken seriously by college recruiters because of their low GPAs. Don’t be that guy.

 

·      Start working out/take care of your body

 

            Every coach’s favorite response to the question, “What can I do to improve?” is, “Get bigger, faster, and stronger.” There are many conflicting views about lifting weights at a young age, but I believe a freshman in high school is old enough to start learning proper technique and start doing some light lifting. Technique is extremely important, especially in lifts such as squats, and the younger you get the proper technique instilled in your muscles, the safer your body will be. A strength and conditioning coach is ideal for teaching proper lifting technique, and if your high school program doesn’t have one, perhaps search for a baseball-specific weight coach in your area.

            Along with working out comes taking care of your body. Invest in a foam roller. Those things are lifesavers. Stretch and warm up properly, especially when it comes to your arm. The increasing number of arm injuries has a lot to do with lack of arm care. Pitchers should always ice after they pitch, whether it be in a game or bullpen. Position players should ice regularly too, not just when their arms are sore. Taking care of your body also means eating right. While an occasional fast-food binge is ok, try not to make it a habit. Drink plenty of water every day and make sure to have well-rounded meals. Avoid excess dairy and grains as they have been proven to promote inflammation.

 

·      Have an overall goal/avoid distractions

            While it may sound simple, having an overall goal will help you stay on track to achieve what you want. What do you want out of high school baseball? Ask yourself this regularly. Whether you want to play at the next level or simply just improve your skills, do everything you can to achieve your goal.

            As you get older, many other distractions will get in your way of baseball. When faced with these distractions, ask yourself if they identify with your overall goal. If they don’t, ignore them and continue to work towards your goal.

·      Stick with it/Don’t forget to have fun

            Sticking with baseball won’t be easy at times. Early mornings lifting sessions and late practices will leave you feeling drained. Stick with it. I’ve played with so many guys who regret quitting and wish they could go back and stay. Playing high school baseball will give you friends and memories you will have your entire life. The hard work you put in makes the end result that much more rewarding.

            Make sure you remember to have fun. It sounds corny, but baseball gets really serious and hectic. If you let it, it can overcome you. Remember, you’re a kid playing a game in a field with your best friends. It doesn’t get better than that. 

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