Player 2.7.18
Welcome to the 2018 Potomac State Baseball player diary homepage. This season, Sophomore's Mitchell Henshaw (Brockport High School / Brockport, NY), and Jeff Wong (George Washington High School / Charleston, WV) will take the lead on the Potomac State Baseball Player Diary.
What's going on Catamount fans, hope everyone is enjoying their work so far. I know us players, and Mountaineer fans are. A bunch of the guys were together Monday night to watch WVU basketball win a huge Big XII Conference game against Oklahoma! That was a nice way to get the week going. For this week's edition, I sat down with sophomore pitcher Tyler Shorter (Morgantown, WV/Morgantown) and sophomore outfielder Joseph Dodrill (Bridgeport, WV/Bridgeport) to talk about this upcoming season.
Describe your off-season training, and how you have prepared for the upcoming 2018 season?
Joseph Dodrill: "I lift every three days, and then I take a day off. I go to hit in our cages every other day. I focus on taking quality swings off the tee, with front toss, and live pitching. Over winter break I went to hit with Alan Robins at his own hitting facility in Clarksburg, WV. I would also go throw with my good friend Hunter Fain, who is a catcher at Morehead State in Kentucky, a couple times a week to keep my arm in good shape."
Tyler Shorter: "This off-season I went into a rebuilding phase to try to make myself a better athlete overall by doing a lot of strength training, anaerobic conditioning, and tried to rebuild my mechanics to be more efficient. I trained at Pro Performance which is a facility in Morgantown, WV. I was fortunate enough to train with Chris Carpenter who has been a great mentor for me. He is currently a pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization."
What is the mood in the locker room with the guys since the season starts in 11 days?
Joseph Dodrill: "I think the guys are pretty excited, very high energy. I can see thefreshman are getting very anxious to get their college careers underway."
Tyler Shorter: "There is a lot of enthusiasm for this upcoming season. I think everyone is pumped up to get the season underway. Returning guys are ready for their second time through, now that they know their way around college baseball. I think the freshman are ready to see what college baseball is truly all about."
Take us through your pre-game routine.
Tyler Shorter: "For my pre-game, I like to do a lot of dynamic stretching to make sure my muscles are ready, and that I can perform at my best. I almost try to get myself into an aggressive/angry mindset. When I step onto the mound, I want to have a killer mindset. This is when I seem to perform at my best."
Joseph Dodrill: "While going to the field, I like listening to some music to pump me up, especially the Smashing Pumpkins. When I get to the field, I stay quit to get myself in the right state of mind. I want to be calm, and at the same time I visualize success. I like to hit off the tee, and preferably the tee only. I like to focus on mechanics before the game and keep it simple."
What MLB player has had the biggest impact on your playing career?
Joseph Dodrill: "No doubt that mine would be Dustin Pedroia. It is kind of cliché, but when I was younger I was always told I was too small to keep playing this game. Dustin Pedroia is someone who was always told the same thing and look where he got. He is one of the best players in the MLB. I always liked watching him play because every game he gives it max effort. He is always running hard, taking big swings, and never letting anything get in his way. That is what I like the most about him."
Tyler Shorter: "Marcus Stroman. He is a pitcher that is short but shows that you do not have to be tall to make it to the bigs. He just goes out there with a love for the game that very few do. He is always working as hard as can on mound, and in the off-season. I admire his work, and what he has done for the game of baseball."
This week's weekly interview is with freshman Cole Miller (Myerstown, PA/East Lebanon County). Cole is a character and brings a good energy to the team. Please check out this video.
That will be it for this week's edition, stay tuned next week for more videos of current Catamounts. Feel free to follow the team on Twitter @PotomacStateBB and Instagram
@potomacstatebaseball. You can also follow me on Twitter @mhenshaw4 for some exclusive coverage of the team. If you have any questions or comments about the player diaries you can email me at mjh0025@mix.wvu.edu. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it.
Hello Catamount fans! This week of the Potomac State Player Diary, we are featuring sophomore right-handed pitcher Joakim Svedhem in Part 1 of a 2-part diary on our two players that were born across the pond in Europe! Joakim was born in Uccle, Belgium, a close suburb of Brussels. His parents Henrik and Romy made the move from Uccle to Waterloo, Belgium with their two sons, Jesper and Joakim (Joakim being the youngest), where they still live today. Joakim grew up in a very cultured environment, learning to communicate in 4 different languages, being fluent in 3 of them: English, Dutch, and French.
Joakim started playing baseball at the young age of 4 in Uccle, for a Belgian youth league. As he got a little older, he played for his school, St. John’s International School, and English-speaking institute, in Waterloo. Aside from high school ball, Joakim also played travel or club ball in the off season for the Borgerhout Squirrels. St. John’s international School consisted of about 800 kids. As Joakim became of age to start looking for places to play at the next level, he turned to the United States for an opportunity to play college baseball. Researching the top Junior College Program’s in the country, Joakim came across Potomac State College. His research found that Potomac State had a rich history of winning and competing in the Junior College World Series. Joakim contacted Head Coach Doug Little in hopes of getting a shot to play for him and the Catamounts.
Making the decision to come overseas to the United Sates, according to Joakim, was “Easy” he said. “I had come here to the US several times on vacation with my family, so I was already familiar with the people and the culture,” Joakim told me. He had also attended a baseball skill show case in West Lake, Georgia.
“I knew I wanted to come to the United States for college a while ago. So it was a no-brainer.” Joakim said when asked if it was a hard decision to leave his home country for Keyser, West Virginia.
“My favorite thing about living in West Virginia is the outdoors,” he answered when asked what he loved about West Virginia.
Joakim was welcomed by the team right away; making little to no effort to make friends both on and off the field. His education at St. John’s International School prepared him for wide horizons and encounters with people from all walks of life and ethnicities.
“There is a big difference in the level of competition,” he said when I asked him what the difference was in European baseball and baseball in the United States.
He said “The game moves a lot faster over here (the United States). Players are much more competitive and better all around.” Joakim has acclimated himself with the faster style of play. He has worked his tail off on the field, working on pitching, and in the weight room, strengthening his body to throw harder and more consistently.
Joakim is a Sport Management major in his sophomore year here at Potomac State. He hopes to get his Bachelor’s degree in Sports management while continuing his baseball career at a 4 year university. After baseball, Joakim wants to go into the marketing side of the Sports Business. He would ideally be employed by a professional sports team.
Potomac State Baseball has players from many parts of the United States, and the recruiting reach even extends over seas. Joakim is a valuable part of the Catamount team and more importantly the Catamount family.
Thank you for reading! Next week’s Potomac State Player Diary will be Part 2 of our 2 Part Diary featuring Tobias Holmelund.