Today I stopped by CatcherMTRX clinic in Ronkonkoma to check it out. The clinic has been around since Tom Downey created it in 2010 and has quite a track record of success. Consider some of the alum from the program._x000D_
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Kyle Brennan – SUNY Buffalo_x000D_
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T.J. Riccio – New Haven_x000D_
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Chris Russo – Dowling_x000D_
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Vito Friscia – Hofstra_x000D_
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PJ Contreras – New Haven_x000D_
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Straton Podaras – Radford_x000D_
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Kyle Strovink – Limestone_x000D_
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Ryan Kuskowski – Franklin Pierce_x000D_
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Sean Rausch – Hofstra_x000D_
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Jack Ryan – Adelphi_x000D_
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Trevor Fagan – Sacred Heart_x000D_
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Dan Codispoti – Queens_x000D_
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Josh Lester – New Haven_x000D_
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Logan O’Hoppe – PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES_x000D_
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Nick Ungar – Oswego_x000D_
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Alec Maag – Eastern Connecticut _x000D_
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Matt Tempone – Rhode Island_x000D_
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Matt Yipp – UNC Wilmington _x000D_
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But the great thing about the program is that many of the alumni come back as instructors. O’Hoppe is a regular instructor, as is Kyle Brennan. It doesn’t get much more high-end than that. Brennan is currently a coach in the Houston Astros minor league system and is held in high-regard when it comes to teaching young catchers. He was on the Johnny Bench Award watch list while playing at SUNY Buffalo, so he had quite a collegiate career as well. O’Hoppe is currently in the Phillies minor league system and if you have been a reader of Axcess Baseball for any period of time, you are probably familiar with the name. In my opinion, Logan has a long future in professional baseball – even as a coach after his career is complete._x000D_
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I’ve also seen Patrick Cantwell as an instructor as well as Matt Reistetter in the past – two local ballplayers that combined for close to two decades of pro baseball._x000D_
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It’s a great thing for me to attend because I can get a look at players at a premium position from the time they are in middle school. Sometimes players blossom and become superstars such as O’Hoppe did. Plus defenders behind the dish are valuable so the scout in me is curious the top players are._x000D_
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Lastly, in November and December content is hard to come by. It fills a gap in the calendar which is important for me. So hanging out with good baseball people and getting content for Axcess when there’s no games going on? I’ll take that any day of the week.