Severna Park High School junior Alex Ramsay (right) will tryout for the under-16 Team USA Youth National Team (YNT) later this month. His father, Wayne, is on the left.
Severna Park High School junior catcher Alex Ramsay batted .411 with four home runs and 22 RBIs for the Falcons last spring.
(Md.) High School junior Alex Ramsay isn't a big Tom Cruise fan and wasn't even alive when the autobiographical Vietnam War movie, "Born on the Fourth of July" hit the theaters in 1989.
The emotional flick about war veteran-turned-peace-activist Ron Kovic is a story of innocence lost and courage found. For Ramsay, who turned 16 on July 4, joining the Marines is the farthest thing from his mind right now. He does want to represent his country, however, and will try to do it the best way he knows how: through baseball.
Ramsay was selected among the 36 finalists for the under-16 Team USA Baseball Youth National Team (YNT) in early July and will vie for a spot on the final 18-player roster during a week-long tryout in either Miami, Fl. or in Texas -- he hasn't been told where to report to yet -- on Aug. 23.
"The whole experience has been pretty cool," Ramsay said this week while standing outside the Severna Park baseball diamond. "Just to get the chance to play against the best players in the country is an honor."
If Ramsay is named to the squad, the next step for Team USA will be a trip to Vercruz, Mexico for the COPABE (Confederation of Pan America Baseball) "AA" under-16 Pan Am Youth Championships in early September. The best players from Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba will also be in attendance for the tournament, which is the continental qualifier for the 2009 "AA" under-16 IBAF World Championships.
Over the past two years, the under-16 National Team has compiled a perfect record of 15-0 while cruising through the 2006 COPABE "AA" Pan Am Youth Championships and the 2007 IBAF "AA" World Youth Championships in convincing fashion. Two years ago,
Maryland residents Tyler Hibbs (Tallahassee CC/Odenton) and
L.J. Hoes (Baltimore Orioles/Mitchellville) were members of the squad that brought home the gold medal.
Ramsay was the only Marylander invited to the under-16 National Team trials this time around but hopes to follow in the footsteps of players like Hibbs and Hoes.
He was noticed during the under-16 national championships in Jupiter, Fla. while playing for the Davidsonville-based club team Most Valuable Player. While playing catcher, he picked off several would-be base stealers, which showed his arm strength and impressed scouts in attendance. Ramsay and fellow MVPer, Giovanny Alfonzo (Port St. Lucie, FL), were among the 18 players chosen out of an incredible field of 72 teams. The other 18 finalists were selected from a similar tournament in Arizona.
"It was the best competition I've played against by far," said Ramsay, a rising junior, who was one of the leading hitters for the
Falcons this past season with a .411 batting average, four home runs and 22 RBIs.
"There were several teams from all over and we went up against guys that play all year round. I don't get the chance to play games all year round so it was a good experience."
When Severna Park High School coach Jim McCandless first saw Ramsay play, he knew the scrappy catcher was something special. So special, that McCandless put him on the varsity squad when he was just a freshman.
The early exposure to heightened talent has paid off and it's a formula Ramsay still uses today.
"This summer, I played with under-18 Maryland Monarchs and we actually went up against several under-22 teams," said the 6-foot, 180-pound Ramsay, who primarily plays catcher but also has experience at first base and in the outfield.
"There were lots of guys throwing harder than what I've seen in
Anne Arundel County. It was older kids and great competition, which raises my level of play. It helped me get ready for Florida."
Ramsay admitted that hitting is the key. He bats left-handed which will give him a leg up against the other three catchers invited to tryouts. In years past, Team USA has brought three catchers to the championships.
"I talked to Kyle Skipworth, who was on the team with Tyler and L.J. and said if you hit, you make the team," said Ramsay, who will not play football this fall so he can focus on baseball. "That's where the versatility comes in. If you can hit, they'll find a spot for you on the field. Hitting is what I've been working on most to get ready."
It wasn't a typical summer vacation for Ramsay. He described an intense workout schedule that included 7 a.m. visits to
Athletic Performance Inc. in Millersville and numerous trips to nearby Kinder Park to practice hitting with his father, Wayne.
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Interested in what Alex is doing? Do you want a chance to represent America in the next under-16 world championships?
Arundel High School coach Bernie Walter is holding tryouts for Team Maryland, a squad that will compete and be among the 72 teams at next year's under-16 national championships in Jupiter, FL. The tryout will be Sunday, Aug. 17 at
Northeast High School starting at 1 p.m.
"It's going to be a pro-day workout with a scrimmage at the end," said Bob Jones, one of the organizers for the event. "We'll be judging all different skills while college and professional scouts will be in attendance."
Only children born in 1993 will be considered. For more information, please email Jones at bjones@digitalsports.com.