If his three stints in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League haven't done anything else for Jason Selhorst, they've at least given him a story to tell.
I hit a game-winning home run off (former Ohio pitcher) Dan Utts
the senior catcher recalled from his first year of summer league action with the Southern Ohio Copperheads in 2005. I got some bragging rights. That was actually one of my best memories.
Of course, the offseason competition might have paid some other dividends as well.
Selhorst, like all but two returning Bobcats from last season, played in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) during the past offseason, taking a spot on the Lima Locos' roster. The summer competition has become a fixture for most Ohio players under coach Joe Carbone, who said he believes participation in the league has a direct effect on a player's performance the next year.
They've all come back improved with their abilities either physically or emotionally said Carbone, who knows a thing or two about the GLSCL from the other side. He served as the general manager for the Columbus All-Americans during the GLSCL's early years in the late '70s.
They're more mature. They understand the game a little bit more.
Don't forget the three months away from a Carbone-run baseball squad.
I'm sure it's a welcome break being away from me
he added.
The league, which plays a 42-game schedule from June to August, is partly sponsored by Major League Baseball and approved by the NCAA for student-athlete participation. Some players will have to live away from their homes for the summer, so the league stipulates that they must be allowed to perform some form of legitimate work for 15-20 hours per week to accommodate possible costs of living. Many of the players are using the extra time to go to summer school or take courses online, Carbone said.
No formal draft exists for the league, but Carbone said franchises will contact him or he will recommend players to the teams. He added that he will only recommend players he believes are ready to perform and play every day instead of trying to unload his whole roster for the summer. No more than four players are allowed on one GLSL team from any one university, meaning many teammates will square off against one another throughout the season.
Not all the freshmen are ready for a college summer league
Carbone said. They might be better served playing on their local team and getting to play.
Some coaches just try to get every one of their guys on these teams, but all of our guys aren't ready for that. They need more development.
Matt Stiffler
who has participated in the league for the past two summers with the Copperheads in Athens
said Carbone includes the players in discussions concerning where they will end up playing. Once they arrive there
some of the players will rent out apartments
while others will stay with a host family for free.
The experience gives the Bobcats a taste of what competition might be like after college
Stiffler said
from more than one angle.
You get to see how it's going to feel at the next level, he said
