American Baseball Coaches Association

American Baseball Coaches Association
Formation 1945
Headquarters Greensboro, North Carolina
Executive Director
 Craig Keilitz
Website http://www.abca.org

The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is a baseball coaching organization. It was originally founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches.[1][2][3][4] Now, the ABCA comprises baseball coaches from all levels of amateur baseball, including youth, high school, travel ball, NAIA, JUCO and NCAA Divisions I, II and III, among others.[5]

History

The organization was originally named the American Association of College Baseball Coaches.[1] Presidents have come from NCAA Divisions I, II & III, NAIA, junior college, and high school.[1][2][3] The Association was behind the start of the creation of the College World Series, which now is conducted by the NCAA.[1]

Membership

As of 2015, the Association has approximately 6,600 members with members from over 20 different countries, and includes coaches from all ranks of amateur baseball. Membership year for the ABCA runs from September 1 through August 31.[5]

National Convention

The ABCA hosts the world's largest baseball convention every January.[5] The convention features meetings, clinics, trade show as well as several awards presentations and honors.[6] Approximately 4,000 coaches attend the convention, which lasts for four days.[7]

The 2016 Convention, which is the 72nd annual event, is scheduled in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland from January 7–10. The convention is on a rotating schedule with the 2017 convention scheduled for Anaheim, California, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana and the 2019 convention in Dallas, Texas.

A major draw are the nearly 30 clinic speakers each year. These include some of the most knowledgeable baseball coaches and minds in the world and are on-hand to share their experiences and expertise with fellow coaches. The 2015 line-up includes names such as 2014 National Champion coach Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt, legendary Florida State Head Coach Mike Martin, as well as the "Father of Modern Pitching Mechanics" Tom House.[8]

At the ABCA Trade Show, over 325 companies fill up over 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and are on hand to display state-of-the-art equipment and products, including coaching aids, apparel, field equipment, pitching machines and software. Many products are displayed for the first time and some items are even raffled off as prizes.

Hall of Fame

Induction to the ABCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the ABCA organization. The ABCA Hall of Fame was established in 1966 with the inaugural 18 member class. The Hall of Fame Class of 2016 consists of four new members, Bob Babb (Johns Hopkins University), Augie Garrido (University of Texas), Sam Riggleman (Spring Arbor University), Ray Tanner (University of South Carolina). This year's class will be inducted on Friday, January 8, 2016 during the Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet at the annual ABCA Convention. This year's convention is being held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet tickets are $15.

Awards

The ABCA has selected All-American Teams in each division of the ABCA, as well as an All-American/Coach of the Year Committee, as well as All-Region Teams.[1] Each division also selects a National Player of the Year, as well as All-Region Coaches of the Year and National Coaches of the Year.[1] Each year, over 1,700 All-Region Players and 336 All-American Players are selected.[1]

Instructional Videos

In 2014, the ABCA launched ABCAvideos.org, which sells both Videos On Demand (VOD) and DVDs of detailed training and instruction from past clinic speakers. The ABCAvideos.org library features nearly 200 videos that range from 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. Topics of discussion include player development and positional play as well as coaching development. All coaches that attend the annual ABCA Convention receive that year's set of clinic videos free of charge. Current ABCA members also receive 30% off all ABCAvideos.org purchases.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "This is the ABCA". ABCA. June 29, 1945. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Baseball in Florida – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Alexander Joins ABCA All-America Committee". CSTV.com. September 19, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  4. ↑ "The Leader – Serving the communities of Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Mayport and Ponte Vedra Beach". Beachesleader.com. February 20, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 "ABCA Membership Benefits". ABCA. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2015 ABCA Convention". ABCA. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ http://abca.org/information/about/about_the_abca
  8. ↑ http://abca.org/convention/clinic_speakers
  9. ↑ Coaches of the Year
  10. ↑ Assistant Coaches of the Year
  11. ↑ Players of the Year
  12. ↑ ABCA All-Americans
  13. ↑ ABCA Gold Gloves
  14. ↑ All-Region Teams

External links

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