Extreme Line Baseball Offers A Fall Home For Teamless Players

To stay competitive in today’s game of baseball, it is important to play it year round.

For so many young athletes across the county, the options just aren’t there. Most high school programs are struggling to provide the basics as budgets are tight and in many cases, the support systems are straying.

Enter Extreme Line Baseball School Camps, a program that has emerged to help provide support for these stray high school players. Operating out of Tequesta Park in Weston, the program provides the first action for kids to play baseball in the fall. The club helps to support feeder programs for county baseball teams, with players from Cypress Bay, Cooper City, Everglades and Cooper City Christian Academy. It is founded by longtime area coach Joel Bradley and Florida Marlins Head of Scouting Fred Ferrera.

High school baseball is losing its grip in Broward County, according to Bradley.

“When you work in high schools, your hands are tied a lot of the times,” said Bradley, who most recently coached at Northeast High this past season. “Some schools may not have a junior varsity program, and other kids may not make the fall jv teams. Extreme Line Baseball gives these kids a chance to play.”

Bradley has been coaching in the county since 2001, also serving as the pitching coach at Broward College. He’s seen the fruits of his labors manifested in the success of his players, including Major League success for guys such as Mickey Storey with the Houston Astros, Anthony Rizzo with the San Diego Padres and Michael Fiers with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“It’s always gratifying to see these guys in the pros,” Bradley said. “I’m blessed working with committed kids who work hard. I try to use baseball as a conduit to create a better community overall.”

The core of Extreme Line Baseball is a love for baseball in Broward County, and Ferrera’s roots go back even further then Bradley’s. Ferrera was the first coach for Fort Lauderdale College, which is now Lynn University. He also started what is now the Bucky Dent Baseball Academy in Delray Beach. But he is best known for his work as the Head of International Scouting for the New York Yankees, where he is credited with discovering beloved former Yankee Bernie Williams.

The search for the next Bernie Williams begins with Extreme Line Baseball’s 17 players on their first team this year. This group consists of mostly high schoolers, with a few eighth-graders and even a couple of international players, including 16-year-old Venezuelan phenom Sergio Llamos.

‘These kids are good; they can play with anyone,” Bradley claimed. “It’s a good opportunity for the international players to learn the culture, they all get the extra exposure and extra playing time, and they prove that they are exceptional and special kids who can compete at this level.”

The wealth of experience the players receive helps to show them a foundation for what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. The coaching staff also includes Ozzie Duran, Frances Beltran, Steve Carp and Gustavo Vincent.

“We have fun practices. It’s challenging but rewarding,” said Juan Rosa Jr., a right-handed sophomore pitcher for the Extreme Line. “The coaches mix in learning in a way that we enjoy while we learn. It also helps us get in habit of playing at this level.’

The teammates have developed a good chemistry and the kids are all enjoying being a part of the team, according to Rosa. He points out that they are all just happy to have the team, which faces the fall jv teams from high schools the players hope to be a part of in the spring. Without Extreme Line Baseball, each player would be training alone during the fall.

But beyond just providing the means for continual play, Juan Rosa Sr. points out that the main draw for him as a parent to involve his son was seeing the high level of training they are getting.

“They are teaching my son activities relating to basics, also developing him for the next level of play,” said Rosa Sr. “The expectations are the same, but they enjoy the practices, too.”

The west side of Broward County has been a recent hot-bed for national recognition thanks to the success of programs such as Flanagan and Archbishop McCarthy, but for every great player out there, there is another player lacking a support system to prove they have the same stuff.

Extreme Line Baseball hopes to help these players shine.

“When I look back, remembering the people I have worked with is much more gratifying than wins and losses,” Bradley said. “It’s unlimited what you get back from it.”

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