Baseball Team Takes on 'Judgment Day'
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Over the past weekend, the Merrimack
College baseball team took part in ‘Judgment Day,’ a
two-day, team-building camp that requires teams to complete
physically-demanding tasks, while coping with mental
exhaustion.
The baseball team is the fourth team at Merrimack this
year—following men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse
and men’s basketball—to undergo the Judgment Day
experience.
Erik Kapitulik of The Program Athletics conducted the mini camps
with the baseball team on a snow-lined Volpe Field at Merrimack
College on Saturday and at the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club
swimming pool on Sunday.
The Program’s Judgment Day is a “mentally and
physically challenging, team-building and leadership development
training,” Kapitulik said. “Integrity, discipline and
confidence are what we hope to instill in each of our student
athletes.”
The Judgment Day initiative, spearheaded by Strength and
Conditioning Coach Mike Kamal,
has been embraced by the Athletics Department at Merrimack College
and will continue to enable varsity clubs to partake in the
team-building sessions throughout the academic year.
“It’s amazing after just one weekend how different
these teams are,” Kamal said of the fourth team to experience
the Judgment Day experience. “Erik provides one of the most
unique and effective methods for promoting accountability and
team-building, which can serve all types of teams.”
Coaches and players alike have quickly become believers in the
process and appreciate what Judgment Day has done for their teams
in terms of responsibility, teamwork and leadership.
“"The [Judgment Day] program is an intense team-building
exercise that requires the participants to center their attention
on their teammate to the left and right of them,” said
Merrimack baseball head coach Joe Sarno. “It
taught our guys that it is about the collective effort and showed
us how taking care of your teammates will ultimately lead to
success.”
Sarno went on to say, “I am extremely happy that our players
completed the program. There were many positive signs that we hope
will continue to show up throughout the season and I believe the
values learned this weekend must be continuously reinforced by our
leaders.”
Left-handed pitcher Ryan
O’Rourke (Worcester, MA) makes
up one-seventh of the senior leadership on this year’s squad,
but the senior understands the importance of the entire team taking
accountability for the team’s success.
“The two days we spent together as a team undoubtedly
enhanced our team’s ability to work together,”
O’Rourke said. “I believe it showed our guys that
everyone has a hand in the team’s success this year.
It’s not just the seniors’ and captains’
responsibility to assume a leadership role, but rather the team as
a whole.”
Amid the disorder of treading water in a pool fully clothed during
one mission, the baseball team learned firsthand the importance of
having a teammate nearby.
“The chaos that came about in the pool showed us how vital
communication is, especially during difficult times,”
O’Rourke added. “When we are down a few runs in a game
this season, it will take a combination of communication,
leadership and passion—all the things we learned during
Judgment Day—to help us win.”
The Warriors are hoping the lessons of Judgment Day will translate
to wins on the diamond this spring when they embark on the 13-game
road trip to start the season on February 27. Merrimack will kick
the season off against Mercy College at the Diamond Nation
Invitational at 12:00pm in Flemington, New Jersey.
