More Top Picks Best Affordable Watches Under 200
player ready...Jack Ryan was working on his game at Fastball USA, a baseball training academy in Schaumburg, at the end of June when he received the news that he was one of 113 players chosen to participate in the USA Baseball 12U National Open.
“[My dad] told me [the news] during one of the breaks and I couldn’t believe it,” said Ryan, a 12-year-old resident of Harwood Heights. “I actually thought he was lying to me or something and it took a while for me to believe it. I was so excited that I couldn’t talk. It was awesome.”
He added: “I’m proud and I’m glad because all my hard work has been paying off. Being one of the best has really made me happy, so other people can recognize how hard I’ve worked and how it’s been paying off for me.”
Ryan received more big news on Saturday, July 18: He survived two rounds of cuts and is part of the 18-player 12U National Team that will compete at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan. The event runs from Friday, July 24-Sunday, August 2.
Ryan’s father, Mike Ryan, has been the owner and director of baseball training at Fastball USA since 2001 and has spent almost 20 years as a professional baseball instructor. Hundreds of Mike Ryan’s students have gone on to play college baseball and seven have been drafted into professional baseball, according to www.fastballusa.com. Jack Ryan has benefited from spending time around college and professional players at Fastball USA throughout his childhood.
In addition, Jack Ryan plays up on Fastball USA’s 13U travel team, so he has experience against older competition. Jack Ryan is a shortstop, pitcher, center fielder and catcher for Fastball USA.
“Because I own Fastball USA, he has grown up around great athletes his entire life, so he’s been around guys who are playing college and pro ball,” Mike Ryan said. “He’s been around the older kids his whole life in the academy. He’s been really training since he was 4 or 5 years old and it’s a huge advantage to be around players who are as good as the players that come into Fastball. He’s really learned by watching, imitating and emulating some of those guys that come in the academy.”
Steve Vandenbranden, the head pitching instructor at Fastball USA, was formerly the baseball coach at North Park University in Chicago. Vandenbranden believes Jack Ryan’s work ethic is what separates him from other 12-year-olds.
“I think Jack stands out just because of his work ethic,” Vandenbranden said. “I remember times when he was 8 and 9 years old and he was training right alongside high school and college players, so his mind-set is totally different than most 12-year-olds you’ll come across. He’s just a very focused and mature kid for 12. He’s been around ballplayers his whole life and doing baseball-related workouts hitting and throwing. He’ll hit more than any kid I know and he’ll swing a bat and doesn’t stop.”
Mike Ryan is not only proud of his son’s talent and work ethic, but also how he conducts himself.
“First of all we’re really proud of him because anybody that knows him knows how hard he works,” Mike Ryan said. “Jack is at Fastball USA putting in several hours a week training at the academy with me. Not only are we proud of his ability and his talent, but his attitude and the sportsmanship he shows on the field and his hustle really stands out. He works about as hard as any 12-year-old you’re ever going to see and his attitude and sportsmanship and how well he works with teammates really, as a parent to me, is at the top of being the most important. Because it’s one thing to be good, but it’s a whole nother thing to have a good attitude and be a good teammate.”
Mike Ryan is happy that his son had the opportunity to see how he stacked up against other top 12-year-old baseball players in the country from Monday, July 13-Saturday, July 18, in Compton, Calif.
Jack Ryan and 100 other players qualified for the National Open after trying out at the 12U National Team Open Development Camps held across the country in the spring. The remaining 12 players were nominated by the MLB Urban Youth Academy. Jack Ryan, who will be a seventh-grader at Giles School in Norridge in the fall, was one of two players from Illinois to be selected. Lockport’s Vytas Valincius was the other.
The 113 players at the Open were whittled down to 15 players, who trained and competed against 12 players from the National Team Identification Series and six players from the 2015 Futures Invitational for a spot on the national team.
“It is obviously a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience and it’s been a lot of fun competing and seeing players from all over the country, and it’s also a great measuring stick for him as a baseball player as a 12-year-old to see exactly where he’s at with players in his age group,” Mike Ryan said.
Todd Marver is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.