White Sox pitching coach teams up with Sox Academy in Lisle
The Chicago Bulls/Chicago White Sox Training Academy will be hosting a Don Cooper Pitching & Mark Salas Catching Camp on Saturday, November 6, and Sunday, November 7, 2010 at its facilities, 6200 River Bend Drive in Lisle.
Chicago White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper and his staff will be instructing a two-day pitching and catching clinic. Coach Cooper will teach a variety of pitching mechanics including grip, balance, pitch selection and the mental aspect of pitching at a higher level.
Cooper also believes in the importance of great catching so “Coop” is bringing in Mark Salas from the White Sox coaching staff to work with the catchers. Salas will teach proper receiving, blocking, and throwing mechanics plus discuss how to handle a pitcher's mental approach to game situations.
The camp is open to players 7 to 14 years old and will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $99 per athlete.
Registration is limited to the first thirty-six pitchers and the first 18 catchers looking to learn from one of the best pitching minds in Major League Baseball. Every player will receive a written evaluation by Coach Cooper and a DVD of their performance.
Cooper is in his 23rd season in the White Sox organization and his eighth full season as pitching coach. Cooper was named pitching coach during the 2002 season after serving as the organization's Minor League pitching coordinator from 1997-2002. He pitched for Minnesota (1981-82), Toronto (1983) and the New York Yankees (1985) over four major-league seasons during his career.
Salas played Major League Baseball from 1984-1991 and spent the 1988 season with the White Sox. Salas is currently the Bullpen Catcher and works with the Sox pitching staff.
The Chicago Bulls/Sox Training Academy opened in 2001 in Lisle, Illinois and runs extensive training programs for boys and girls from beginner to professional. There are additional satellite White Sox Academies in Glen Ellyn, LaGrange, Tinley Park and Schererville, IN. For more information or to register for a camp, go to www.bullssoxacademy.com or call 630-324-8221.