South Jersey Young Guns - Carolina - 14u
record: 34-14-4
The 2025 Spring/Summer season of baseball was memorable to say the least. This has been the most successful team I've ever coached. Winning 34 games helped to keep things light and enjoyable. It also reassured our training and practice style was working. The 5 tournament championship titles were icing on the cake.
A lot of people I train will ask how my team is doing and I'm always very excited to talk about them. Out of the 350 players that train at the Regimen, it's true I treat my team a little differently. All athletes are important to me, but I've known these young teenagers for such a long time that they hold a special place in my heart. I went to Cooperstown with some of them, and coached others all the way back to 9u. The players know I would do anything for them. I provide them every tool and program possible to be successful. We have to rewind and remember where we started. The team was well below .500 for multiple seasons. When they hit age 12 we really started training hard. WITH WEIGHTS! After 3 years of weight training the results started to show.
A huge help this year was assistant coach Mark Tuzi. Mark was a 4 sport varsity letter winner in high school. With 14 position players and 2 POs, it’s safe to say I needed his help. A few times I made sure to cup and rehab his arm after large amounts of BP thrown. Mark was a short stop which is ENORMOUS for me, I was a lefty pitcher…I can’t really help the infielders at a high level. So we were a great team and it showed in the team’s performance. Having multiple sets of eyes in the weight room and on the field was crucial. Mark did an excellent job of keeping them in line. To be honest I need to do a better job with relationships among the players. Mark always checked in with each player to see how they’re doing. Corrected bad behavior and provided positivity to players when they went through a rough spot on or off the field. He would work outside all day, and then come to help me with practice. I hope these players know how lucky they are to have 2 fully committed coaches that want to see them take the game farther than we did. I’m very grateful for my assistant coach Tuzi!
This past Winter was game changing for training. We lifted late at night in the cold. We often drove home behind snow plows in a mild blizzard. Coach Tuzi has a big work truck. He would create a path in the snow for me to follow him safely in my little Honda Civic. Thank you to the parents for getting them there. I probably should’ve cancelled practice a few more times 😅. But the parents have goals similar to ours at the Young Guns. Our goal is to get each of these kids into a college to play their favorite game. We make it clear from the beginning this is a serious program. If varsity baseball and college baseball aren’t goals for your son, we will recommend a different program.
Ages 13-14 are prime hormonal years and are a great time to put on size. As I said before we lift heavy. Our team’s compound lift numbers went through the roof. At first I thought it would help them control their emotions and hormones…I was mistaken. Hormones were amplified. They were getting addicted to getting stronger and the endorphins that come with training. One memory stood out where Coach Tuzi and I were watching half of the team trap bar deadlift 300. Players yelling getting all hyped up. Coach Tuzi and I looked at each other and thought “What have we done!?”
Keep an eye on this group. I’m confident we will have multiple D3, D2, D1 players and a few draft picks. We track their metrics and make sure their numbers are where they need to be to play at the next level. Here are a few metrics from the season.
Team metrics range this year
Throwing velo: 74-79
Hitting velo: 75-82
Trap Bar Deadlift: 265 - 315
Reverse Lunge: 165 - 205
Bench press: 105 - 155
Need to add a 60 yard dash!