Bullpen Testimonials

Testimonials

December 16, 2009

We would like to thank Fred Sabatine for everything he has done for Matthew since he has been coming to the Bullpen. Matt started weekly pitching and batting clinics in 2005, with this being his 5th year at the Bullpen. Fred is extremely professional and reliable and his concern is always with the well-being of the player. Fred’s level of skill and knowledge is unsurpassable and his dedication and love of baseball shows through in his teaching. Fred has taught Matt a variety of pitches, pitching strategies and consistent mechanics that will follow him through the years. Matt now has a very strong confidence on the mound and his level of performance has improved year-by-year. Fred starts each practice with the basics – proper warm-up and drills, fitness techniques specific to baseball, good mechanics, and different pitching styles.

Matt has played baseball with Ridge Meadows since he was 5 years old and we are proud to say this year, at age 14, he has been selected to play for the Langley Blaze Junior Premier team. Matt has had different batting coaches throughout the years at the Bullpen and has learned something from each one of them. Fred has been Matt’s pitching coach from the beginning and we know Matt would not be playing at the level he is now if Fred had not been there for him. Fred has been an outstanding mentor for Matt and a good friend to the whole family!

We highly recommend Fred and the Bullpen to anyone who wants to improve their baseball skills and have some fun! Thanks very much Fred!

Mike, Deb & Matt Strother

Thanks Fred and the team at the Bullpen for your solid coaching, support and guidance for the last 8 years. Many opportunities such being chosen to play for BC in both National and Western Canada championships, have come my way because of the coaching I have received at the Bullpen. I would recommend it highly to anyone that wants to excel in the game of baseball. I am looking forward to my next opportunity, playing with the Langley Blaze organization for the next 3 years, which I feel completely prepared for..... again due to the team at the Bullpen.

Jon Bauer

RHP, Langley Jr. Blaze

Joshua has been attending the Bullpen for six years. The last three have been year round, weekly hitting and pitching lessons with Fred.
There is absolutely no doubt that his consistent training with Fred has had a major impact on Josh's skill development and success thus far.

In addition, Fred has been a friend and mentor for Josh and I over the years .

I have no hesitation recommending Fred and his instructors at The Bullpen, to aspiring ballplayers desiring to improve and take their game to the next level.”

Sincerely,

Tony Wray
Burnaby BC

Fred,
As you know our son Chris worked with your instructors this past fall/winter. I just wanted to say thanks for the wonderful program that you run.

Chris is having an amazing season. His pitching is phenomenal and his batting is a very close second. We have played in two out of district tournaments this year. In both of these tournaments, Chris has been given an entire game to pitch. The first game, he only allowed 3 hits but no runs and the game was stopped when the score reached 15-0 at the end of the 5th inning. In the second this past weekend in Vancouver, he again pitched an entire game (6 complete innings) with a total pitch count of 79. He only allowed 1 run in that game with a final score of 11-1. One of the innings had a total of 6 pitches! This particular team had a previous tournament run differential of +33, so they were a tough team.

Chris has never received MVP awards in any of his previous seasons. This year, he has received MVP honours in every tournament with a double MVP award in the Mission tournament. Your programme along with Richard and Parker have played a big part in this. Thank you again and please let your instructors know how well Chris is doing.

Regards,
Tannice Bailey

Fred, I am happy to provide a testimonial for the Bullpen:

Three years ago, the new Board of the Lynn Valley Little League was keenly interested in offering a skills development program for its players, as the fundamentals seemed to be lacking with many of its younger players. After considering several options, we initiated a relationship with the Bullpen Baseball School, which has grown and developed since then.

In the first season, the Bullpen assisted by providing Coaching Clinics and a series of Skill Development Clinics for the kids during the season. Since that time, we have increased our program with the Bullpen so that we now offer Preseason Clinics, Coaching Clinics, Team Clinics for teams in the 6-8 and 8-11 year old age groups, and Skill Specific Clinics such as pitching, catching, and hitting clinics for the 9-12 year old Majors teams.

Fred has been professional and always a pleasure to work with in developing effective programs for our League. The instructors involved in our clinics have a wide array of baseball experience and knowledge and have been great working with the kids. Fred has some great ideas and the Bullpen has been creative and flexible in allowing our League to develop programs that meet our needs.

If your League is looking to develop programs to develop its coaches and players, I would recommend talking to Fred and using the resources at the Bullpen Baseball School.

Bob Hodgins
Lynn Valley Little League Director of League Development

The Bullpen Testimonial – September 30, 2007

Jaimie came to the Bullpen two years ago to learn how to throw all the different styles of pitches in Fastpitch Softball. Debbie Tidy taught her just that and more. Debbie also taught her the exercises and the drills required to help Jaimie build up speed and power in her pitches. Tim and Jordan helped Jaimie regain her confidence in batting after having been ball-shy following a painful experience when she was younger. Most importantly, The Bullpen doesn’t just teach the mechanics of softball/baseball, The Bullpen instructors mentor, supports, challenges, and encourages their students. After all, this game is as intellectual as it is physical.

Thanks, Bullpen!
Ian and Eleanor McCorkindale

Thanks for all the help over the last four years. I have mainly received help with pitching and over the years I have become far more confident on the mound. When I started, my mechanics needed work, and my accuracy was inconsistent. Both of these areas are now greatly improved. I have also learned how to throw faster and harder. At Bullpen, I learned how to throw a variety of pitches. I also learned pitching strategies in relation to the count on the batter and a variety of pick off moves. Last year was the first year I received instruction for batting. Afterwards I was able to hit the ball harder, further and more consistently.

I enjoyed my time at the Bullpen whether it's to learn something new or for fine tuning. The staff were both encouraging and friendly. My visits at the Bullpen have always been a valuable learning experience.

Sincere thanks,
Curtis Taylor

June 10, 2002

Hello Fred,

I wanted to tell you that the work you and your staff did during the two month office season program has paid dividends already for Ben this season. If nothing else he was well prepared and his pitching and hitting mechanics were in place going into this baseball season. However he is hitting the ball much harder then ever and his confidence on the mound is solid. Pass on the good word and thanks to Steve and the guys at the Bullpen.

Dave Ronald.

Re: The Bullpen

It is my great pleasure to recommend the Bullpen program to any parent who wishes to give their child/teenager the opportunity to "get to the next level". My son Andre has been part of the program for about one full year and has raised his level of play from being a good player to now competing for all-star playing time. Andre was also able to win the home run derby at the Hyack peewee Tournament this year.

Tom Kudaba

Bullpen Baseball School;

This is my second year of coming to the Bullpen for instruction, when I first started I realized that my mechanics where all wrong and it was very discouraging because things were not going very well. After a while things started to come together and by the time the season came around my hitting had improved a lot.
After my second season at the Bullpen I have continued to improve beyond what I thought was possible. None of this would have happened if I did not come to the Bullpen, in fact I do not know if I would still be playing . Some of my friends have quit playing because they where having trouble hitting, just like me before I took batting lessons. The first year I stopped taking lessons when the season started and found after a bit I started to struggle and couldn't figure out why.
This year I have come through the whole season and have seen my hitting continue to improve all year.

GRANT MASON (help from mom)

I have been going to the Bullpen for about six months now. Right from the start, I have noticed changes in my performance. I was having problems hitting certain pitches which the Bullpen helped me correct with their once a week program. The drills and teaching methods made a huge improvement with my hitting.
I would recommend the Bullpen to any player, every lesson you are learning something new about the game.

Kiel Aarsted (Ridge Meadows)

The Bullpen
Re: Julian Avelino

My son Julian is 10 years of age and in his second year of coming to the
Bullpen. He is now in his second year of playing for Coquitlam Little League and I have received a lot of comments from Julian's coaches about how nice his swing and stance are. Not only did the Bullpen give Julian help with his stance and swing but also helped in the area of confidence.
The Bullpen is the main attribute to Julian's success, however his dedication and love of the sport where also big factors to my son's success. I highly recommend that all kids learn from professionals (like the Bullpen instructors) with respect to hitting and pitching.

Julian and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Fred Sabatine and the rest of his instructors for there patience and dedication to the kids who have a heart for this game.

Jorge Avelino

Re: The Bullpen

Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball has been using the services of The Bullpen Baseball School on a small scale for many years. In the past two years we have stepped up Bullpen clinics to include Coaches Clinics for our new coaches, Catchers clinics for 9 to 14 year olds, pitching clinics for 9 to 17 year olds, and team style clinics for 7 and 8 year olds.

Fred Sabatine and his team have proven to be very professional in aiding us to implement a comprehensive clinic schedule that met our needs. Their reliability and flexibility in meeting our scheduling demands has been second to none.

The most important aspect, the clinics, have all been very well received by the over 250 players and coaches that attended the various Bullpen Clinics annually. The level of skill and knowledge the Bullpen is able to pass on to kids is a credit to our Association. I would recommend The Bullpen to anyone looking to improve the skill level of young ball players.

Sincerely,

Roger Gendron
President, Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association 2002-2003