Tips From the Pros

With the studied look of a physics professor, Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Bill Russell eyed Juan Rojas, 9, as he hit baseball after baseball into the dew-coated turf.

Quietly stepping forward from beside the backstop, Russell whispered to Juan, who then examined his hands as if seeing them for the very first time.

At the next pitch, Juan kept the bat up as the Dodger manager had instructed and launched the ball into the depths of left field.

Mighty Casey would have been proud.

Juan sure was.

The Los Angeles youngster was one of nearly 80 youths who turned out at the Encino Little League fields on a chilly Thursday morning for the opening session of the Reggie Smith Baseball Academy.

The school, run by the former Dodger standout player and current batting and fielding coach, teaches the fundamentals of hitting, pitching and fielding, plus intangible lessons, said Demetri Pagalides, the camp’s director.

“We want them to develop goals and teach them how to achieve them to fulfill their dreams, whether it’s playing better in Little League or becoming a major leaguer,” he added.

Students get instruction from high school and college coaches as well as the Dodger coaches and former players who attend each session. Camp officials said the students are divided by ability into groups with three instructors each.

It’s that kind of personal attention that this week attracted youths from as far away as Japan. “I read about it in a baseball magazine,” said Yu Nakajima, a 16-year-old from Hygogo, a town near Osaka.

Yu, who joined more than two dozen other boys from throughout Japan, seemed impressed after just two hours of instruction from the likes of Russell and Smith as well as base-thief extraordinaire Maury Wills and “Sweet Lou” Johnson.

To the casual observer, the art of hitting is simply about stepping to the plate and trying to hit a baseball.

But as Smith demonstrated for the attentive youngsters, hitting is a four-step process that begins with choosing the right bat and ends with choosing the right pitch to hit.

Likewise, Wills said, good baserunning depends on subtle but important points such as noting where the outfielders are positioned, knowing the number of outs and “looking to the base beyond the one you have for sure.”

The five-day session, running Thursday through Monday, costs $219 per child. A second, four-day session Jan. 2-5 costs $179 per child. In addition to the winter sessions, Smith plans to start programs of three months to a year for students from elementary school through college.

“We don’t make any promises,” Smith said. “But we have some serious kids out here who are focusing on making the major leagues.”

Others such as Alexandra Wiley, 9, of Altadena, were focused on more modest aims.

“My mom says if I play Little League again, I’ll be able to play softball,” Alexandra said. “It’s hard being the only girl.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FYI

For more information about the Reggie Smith Baseball Academy, write to P.O. Box 17630, Encino 91416 or call (888) 448-7722.