About the ProGrip Inventor Eugene J. Bleecker II has been a student of the game of baseball his entire life. From the time Eugene was 7 until he was 17 he spent the duration of every summer at New York Tech Baseball Academy learning everything he could about the game.

He was selected as an All-American his senior year of high school in addition to receiving many other accolades throughout his high school years. He also received baseball scholarships to each school he attended during his collegiate career. Eugene played his first two years for the NAIA perennial powerhouse Bellevue University Bruins in Omaha, Nebraska where he had the opportunity to play in the NAIA College World Series. He then went on to play at Southwestern Community College in San Diego, California for one season. Eugene played two summers in the highly respected Jayhawk summer baseball league for the El Dorado Broncos where he had some of the best baseball experiences of his life playing in two NBC World Series finishing fourth and sixth, as well as being fortunate enough to play with some of the up and coming stars of Major League Baseball. Eugene finished up his collegiate career at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas where he unfortunately suffered an injury two weeks before his last season began. Since then he’s been giving private baseball instruction covering all aspects of the game including hitting, pitching, fielding and catching.

ProGrip, Inc. is a company that I originally started to sell the batting grip I invented to teach athletes hands the proper way to hold a baseball bat. After moving to Southern California to pursue my own playing career, while giving lessons, I noticed how many of these baseball players were holding the bat improperly and how much they were HURTING their own swing. I had taught lessons since I was 17 but never so many at once doing between 25-35 a week and this problem was EVERYWHERE! At all age levels and players of all different ability levels, not playing up to their potential because of an impropriety in their swing they didn’t know they had, and didn’t know how to fix.

This is when I began thinking of how I could fix this problem. After a whole lot of tireless work ProGrip is here. So many young athletes all over the world enjoy playing the game of baseball and usually begin between the ages of 5-10. All of these future baseball players should be provided with the best possible experience and opportunity to not only see success, but to learn the many valuable life lessons that the game of baseball has to teach. Without proper instruction, especially in the sport specific training era we live in today, kids get left behind. Not because they do not have the potential or ability, but because without proper instruction they will not see the success they desire and most people won’t enjoy something when they feel they are not good at it. Baseball is a fundamental game with fundamental principles that can all be learned, no matter how talented a natural athlete you are. The bottom line is the harder you work, the more results you will see. Private baseball instruction and academies can get expensive and for many it’s just not an option. Due to the lack of instruction at the lower levels from little league all the way through high school, young athletes are not given the tools they need to succeed. They develop bad habits and in turn do not see success in baseball they desire, especially in the hitting department. When a young man comes to me for lessons at 14, 15 and 16 years old, it becomes my job to break these bad habits they have naturally picked up. If they have been doing the same thing wrong for the last 8-10 years of their baseball life, not only is it difficult to break these habits, it is uncomfortable because these simple actions such as holding the bat improperly are ingrained into their memory. Holding a baseball bat properly, although one small action, sets you up for either success or failure at the plate. If you think about it, holding the bat is your only actual connection to hitting the ball and how you hold the bat affects your swing tremendously. Many young baseball players when picking up the bat not only hold it too deep into their hands but they hold the bat way too tight as well. All of the strength, flexibility and dexterity in your hands lies in your fingers and ANYTIME a baseball instructor teaches a player how to hold the bat they tell them to lay it down in their fingers and then pick it up continuing to hold it in their fingers. Also, it is extremely important to hold the bat loosely. When holding the bat tight our muscles are contracted. For our fast twitch muscles to fire properly our muscles must be loose so you see how this prevents the hitter from swinging as fast as they can. I invite you to watch a boxing match or martial arts match. You will never see a boxer tense while fighting because his muscles must be loose to be quick and the quickness of the punch translates into power. The baseball swing is the same exact thing. Quickness equals power and you must be loose to be quick.

At ProGrip Baseball we are dedicated to teaching athletes how to become COMPLETE baseball players. A complete baseball player is a three dimensional athlete who knows and understands the fundamental, physical and mental aspects of the game of baseball. We teach our athletes how to execute all the tasks that are asked of them on as well as off the baseball field. We believe in setting goals and doing everything in our power to accomplish them. We instruct our athletes that success lies in the preparation you take towards your goals and that every great athlete was not born great, but became great through hard work and dedication. We hope that the ideas we are presenting will become a part of your thinking and everyday baseball routine.

We developed and preach the 3 C’s of success to our Athletes

CCC’s: COMMITMENT to becoming a COMPLETE PLAYER = CONFIDENCE in your abilities

Commitment:
In life no matter what you are trying to accomplish, it is important to commit yourself to achieving that goal. In Baseball the road to success is no different. You must WANT to be the best and you must be WILLING to do everything in your power to achieve that. You must understand that there is always someone working harder than you and there is always someone better than you are. Often, players with good physical tools get passed by in high school, college and professional sports because someone who wasn’t as good worked harder. What a shame it must be to have such good athleticism and talent but because you didn’t work hard enough you lost your spot. At the same time what a great feeling it is when you know because of your hard work that you earned your spot.

There are only two things you can control in this game:

1. How professional your approach to the game is.
2. How hard you work to achieve your goal.

1. To approach the game in a professional manner encompasses many different things. You must respect the game, your coach and your teammates. You must be willing to do whatever is asked to help your team succeed. You must hustle on as well as off the field and commit yourself to learning all of the intricacies to the game of baseball. You must pick up your teammates when they need it as well as respect and guide them towards success and victory. You must crave knowledge in the game and never act above the game. All of these things are vital to becoming the best player you can be.

2. How hard you work for something plays a pivotal role in whether you succeed or fail. The harder you work, the more of an opportunity you are giving yourself to achieve your goal. If you put in a little time, you will see a little success. The more time you put in, the better you will get and the more successful you will be. Putting in time every day is the only way to be the absolute best you can be. This is true for everything in life. Don’t ever be satisfied with just being good, because it’s about becoming great! No matter how hard you work there is no guarantee you will make the Major Leagues, but if you don’t work as hard as you can, you will never know how far you could have made it.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky

Complete Player:
A complete player is someone who can do everything that is asked of them when they step on the field. A complete player is always working hard and looking to get better. This player has worked hard to get their knowledge and knows they can handle any situation on the field because they have prepared. This player has worked extensively to understand the finer points of the game such as situational fielding, hitting and running and takes pride in the fact they have this knowledge. This player will always succeed on the field because of this knowledge they have. This player does not rely on ability alone, but understands how difficult the game of baseball is and that it is necessary to work hard and prepare in order to truly succeed. This is the kind of player every coach wants on their team and every team is happy to have. Becoming this player takes Time, Energy, Perspiration, Preparation and Perseverance. Finally, to ultimately become this player one must have DESIRE AND DETERMINATION.

CONFIDENCE:
Confidence on the field is necessary to becoming the absolute best player you can be. The only way to get this confidence is through seeing success in the game. Not just success physically, but success mentally. This kind of success is only achieved through “dedication to preparation” both physically and mentally. Knowing that you played two steps to your right because someone is a pull hitter and you were able to get to a ball you never would have gotten to without making that move. Knowing that you were looking for a 2-2 inside fastball because the pitcher did it to three other guys, and because of that you were able to drive in the game winning run. Knowing that you worked hard to get faster and stronger for next season and you did. This will lead to knowing that every time you step on the field, you have prepared physically by working hard on the field, working hard on the fundamentals and working hard in the weight room. This will lead to knowing that in any given situation you know what to do with the ball and you WANT the ball. This will lead to knowing that every time you step on the field, you will succeed because you are prepared to do so. This will lead to a strut and confidence that will be so visible in you, that everyone on the field KNOWS that YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!