If your child is playing or even planning to play baseball or softball at any level — youth, travel, high school, etc. — consider RockStar Performance Baseball & Softball.
RockStar owner and coach Ryan Pryor, who currently is the assistant varsity baseball coach for Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High in nearby Spring Hill, oversees the pitching and hitting operations for RockStar, and now is planning to bring his first “baseball ranch” to the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area.
Pryor is well-known in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. He was the assistant varsity coach last year at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) in Wesley Chapel and he also has helped coach varsity softball at New Tampa’s Paul R. Wharton High and has been a volunteer coach with the New Tampa Little League (NTLL). At WRH last year, Coach Pryor was instrumental in helping the Bulls finish with the school’s best-ever record in baseball (20-9), which included a State semifinal appearance. He says the season highlight was taking down nationally ranked Steinbrenner High in the second round of the State playoffs.
Coach Pryor had the opportunity in college — at Fresno State University in California — to play with such names as former New York Mets pitcher Bobby Jones, former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder (IF) Tommy Goodwin, former Toronto Blue Jays IF Ed Zosky and Matt Williams, a five-time Major League Baseball All-Star 3B for the San Francisco Giants who is now the manager of the Washington Nationals. Pryor even turned some double plays with Matt.
Coach Pryor’s father played and coached in the professional and college ranks, keeping him around baseball his entire life. His father even played on a State championship team with MLB Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, a family friend throughout the years, at Fresno City College.
After college, Ryan began coaching at the high school level in Tucson, AZ, where he racked up an impressive record, but soon moved to England, where he became the Assistant British National Coach. He says of his stint in England, “It was a great experience. I had the opportunity to coach against a number of internationally ranked teams throughout Europe. “
He moved to Tampa in 2005, but did not pursue baseball full time, although he did help coach varsity softball at Wharton and volunteered with the NTLL. Coach Pryor was actually working as a personal trainer at the time and met with a client who had a son playing baseball in the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association Pony League program. Coach Pryor was soon working with his client’s son on his baseball skills and fundamentals. Noticing the improvements, the client asked if Pryor would also help the son’s WCAA team. Coach Pryor helped with the 7-8 year old programs and was invited to coach the All- Star team, despite not having a child in the program.
While working with so many young players, Coach Pryor noticed a huge void in baseball education and good training systems within the league and the teams themselves and former RockStar Baseball & Softball in 2011.
The company has been operating for three years at local fields in the Land O’Lakes area and within Coach Pryor’s three-car garage in his New Tampa home, which is equipped with AstroTurf, batting cages, portable pitching mounds and all of the equipment needed to train players.
“We have had a lot of success with players hitting grand slams, home runs, making the All-Star team for the first time, and basically enjoying the game much more by improving their performance and getting positive results each time on the field,” he says. Coach Pryor also was asked to manage the Wesley Chapel Age 8 & Under (8U) travel ball team, a one-year commitment, again despite the fact Pryor did not have a son playing baseball. He led the team to a winning season, culminating with a 5-0 record in the District Championship tournament. “It was a great experience to learn about travel ball at a higher level and understand the needs of the parents and young players,” he says.
After working in the youth baseball arena at both the recreational ball and travel ball levels, along with numerous clients, camps and clinics for ages 5-18, Coach Pryor decided it was time to bring his systems and training to a “baseball ranch” to exercise and execute those systems to more parents, coaches, and players throughout the area.
“All of us at RockStar believe that every kid has the potential to be a good, if not great, baseball player!,” he says “Most kids simply don’t receive the training and coaching needed to help them realize their full potential. They get lost in the shuffle and if they don’t do well on their own, they lose interest and eventually stop playing altogether!”
He adds that recreational baseball, “relies upon volunteers who willingly give up their time to support the local community, teams, and the league, although many of the volunteer coaches don’t have to time or even the experience needed to run proper practices or drills to maximize each player’s potential and abilities.”
He adds that in youth baseball, especially, there are always new kids coming in, kids aging and moving on, and the issues of league attrition due to league “hoppers” (players who jump from one team to another, in search of the best team or a favorite coach), loss of interest, lack of skill development and other coaching issues. Leagues like NTLL and WCAA, therefore, benefit from having a system in place to develop and retain players. “Even youth coaches need proven systems and support from the league,” he says. “But, putting together all of the necessary resources is a big commitment.”
Coach Pryor also says that, “Understanding this problem and the need for better education and systems that can support each youth coach and parent became a focal point for RockStar Performance Baseball & Softball. We’ve established a training system that would give each child all the tools and skills they need to develop into a competitive standout. Kids are naturally ambitious and the older they get the more they realize where they stand in the rankings.”
Therefore, he adds, the ability to increase a child’s confidence by giving them the skills they need to compete and succeed has, “proven not only to provide a better youth baseball experience but a greater opportunity in life.”
RockStar Performance Baseball & Softball has identified and addressed the major issues for young players and has engineered a training program to maximize each player’s strengths and significantly improve his or her respective weaknesses, thus allowing them to perform at a higher level in a minimal amount of time. The RockStar approach to training delivers leading-edge baseball techniques and philosophies for youth baseball and softball.
Parents can feel confident because their children experience the same training as current MLB players. RockStar’s goal is to provide a facility that can support and harness each young player’s abilities so they can have the best youth experience possible and the best possible chance to achieve their goals or dreams.
So, Where Is The Ranch?
Pryor has looked into a number of land opportunities within the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area and is still working on securing various sites for RockStar’s Baseball Ranch & Travel Baseball Academy. For now, the RockStar Ranch will operate out of Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High in Spring Hill, beginning this summer. The facilities will include three fields, five batting cages, batting tee and soft toss station areas, fitness area, running track, concessions, and all the training aids and pitching machines needed to facilitate the RockStar way!
The Ranch will offer a number of camps, clinics, private instruction and team practices for the new RockStar Rebels Travel Ball Academy. RockStar will offer travel ball teams for all age groups (based on the number of players in each group) from 8U-16U, and all of the teams will maintain the same standardized training system. RockStar has secured managers for each age group and Pryor currently is assembling the coaching staff for each group. Coach Pryor wants all Academy players to learn how to play the game with the proper fundamentals, work ethic, concentration and attitude towards the game.
Although Pryor says the coaches will support each player with the same fundamental training, they want the players to have fun and learn life lessons throughout the program. The teams will train together on the same days and times so Coach Pryor can oversee the operations and make sure that the training being delivered is in accordance with RockStar’s training and skills matrix.
Each Rebels team also will have standardized practice plans and course syllabuses for their respective age groups, so that players will have the appropriate foundation year after year as they progress through the Academy to prepare for high school and/or college baseball. All players will be issued practice uniforms, as the operations at the RockStar Ranch will run much like MLB spring training practices with instruction, drills, specials, mass fungos, CRTs, 3-man PFPs, situational games like 100s, 21 outs, and much more from the strength and conditioning coach.
Coach Pryor’s own personal training background can help make sure the strength and conditioning coach employs the best possible specific exercise training program geared for baseball players. In addition, RockStar has partnered with Dr. Tom Hansen, who has been a sports psychologist for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. Dr. Hansen provides a unique approach to the mental game of baseball at all levels and will help RockStar Baseball Ranch players learn the proper mental approach to the game as well.
If you’re interested in any RockStar Performance Baseball & Softball program, please contact Coach Pryor at 992-1030 or register your interest at Rockstar-Baseball.com. The first tryout for all RockStar Rebels age levels will be on Sunday, April 27, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. There is a $20 per-player fee for the tryout, since RockStar will be providing instruction with evaluations of each player. And, all players registering by Saturday, April 14, will receive a free RockStar Baseball Ranch T-shirt! Start playing like a RockStar!
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