Thanks for covering my son, Derek Schlecker, pitcher at Western Michigan University. After going through a rough three-week period in April, he was able to correct some pitching mechanics problems with help from Scott Nelson at Strikes in Broadview. After that, Derek turned things around and pitched well with five straight outings without allowing a run to be scored.
Derek is now preparing for the summer collegiate baseball season. He will be playing for the Columbus All-Americans (Ohio)http://www.all-americans.org/in the MLB-sanctioned Great Lakes Collegiate Summer Baseball League. This team will be playing their home games at Ohio State University’s baseball field in Columbus. Their first week’s games will be a road trip to the Cape Cod League to prepare for the summer games. Derek is a redshirt Junior who plans to return to WMU next fall unless he is drafted in June by a MLB team.
Thanks again for your coverage; it’s always great to read how former teammates and friends like Ruairi O’Connor and Caleb Fields are doing. I’ve know that younger kids and parents read this column, and they realize with hard work that the kids have a chance to play baseball in college and the pros. OPRF and Fenwick have a rich tradition of developing strong ballplayers, and it starts with T-ball.
Claude Schlecker
Submitted at WednesdayJournalOnline.com