“Spring Training” Winter Workouts

Baseball City – St. Petersburg, Florida

The home of High School Baseball Spring Training powered by Tampa Bay Spring Training

The Bulldogs/Aces are excited to announce our organization-wide “Spring Training” plans in Florida during February break. The camp is designed to give our players meaningful outdoor reps, prepare them for their school team tryouts and upcoming seasons at a time of year when they would typically be limited to indoor training, and provide a valuable team-building experience that brings our players and organization closer together.

Where: Baseball City, 7901 30th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL.

Baseball City, the former home of the Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training, is conveniently located 30 minutes from Tampa International Airport and approximately 15 minutes from both downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach.

The team will have access to a 60/90 grass field, outdoor cages and mounds, a half field (for infield drills) and indoor cages as needed if there is any inclement weather.

When: Monday February 15 to Friday February 19th. The plan is to run 2½ hour practices in the morning with some additional training opportunities for those who are interested.

Cost: Other than travel, lodging and meals, there is no cost for attending “Spring Training”.

Training

High School tryouts and practices start 2–3 weeks before Middle School and because of the weather last year, most tryouts were largely held inside or in cold weather / wet conditions. Our hope is that the boys can be as prepared as possible during their final buildup to the school baseball tryouts and season.

Outdoor practices will cover hitting, defense, pitching / arm care, baserunning and fitness while taking advantage of being outside and getting the boys out doing proper long toss work. Sessions will be run by Bulldogs/Aces/Cove instructors with guest trainers helping. Practices will run from 9am to 11:30am, leaving afternoons open for those who want to spend time at the beach, seeing the sights, attending MLB spring training or local college games, hitting museums, playing golf or whatever else. We have our field until 3pm, and may adjust schedule, if necessary, due to weather. We will run some optional hits after lunch for those who are interested in getting more reps.

Where to Stay

As noted, downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach are short drives. There are hotels even closer to the facility. These hotels are affiliated with Baseball City and are recommended by them: baseballcity.com/where-to-stay.

One of Florida’s best-known hotels, the Don CeSar, pictured below is in St. Pete Beach.

Tampa and Clearwater are other options, though further away. The Hilton Sirata, Tradewinds and RumFish are other popular St. Pete Beach options. The Vinoy, Hyatt Place and Hampton Inn are good choices for downtown St. Petersburg while the Holiday Inn, Courtyard and Hampton Inn Pinellas Park are the closest hotels to Baseball City. There are plenty of Airbnb rentals in the area as well.

What to Do

For those who enjoy the beach, St. Pete Beach is a great spot with a bunch of hotels and restaurants. The Pass-A-Grille and Corey Avenue sections are best for shopping and dining. For those interested in a small city setting, downtown St. Petersburg has no shortage of great places to eat, bars/breweries, hotels and museums such as the wonderful Dali Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. Spring training will have started for MLB teams including the Yankees and Pirates in nearby Tampa and Sarasota. Division II champs, University of Tampa and top 25 ranked Eckerd College will be in-season and are located close by. Busch Gardens (Tampa), the Ringling Circus and Art Museums (Sarasota), Adventure Island and the Florida Aquarium are popular family-friendly options. Some additional ideas here: tampabayspringtraining.com/things-to-do.

For golf, we have the following options. Some other further ones are probably better for the weekend: Seminole Lake Country Club (10 mins away), Bardmoor Golf (15 mins), East Bay Golf Club (20 mins), Mangrove Bay and Cypress Links (25 mins), Clearwater Country Club (30 mins), Dunedin Golf Club (35 mins), TPC Tampa Bay (50 mins) and Streamsong (90 mins). Lots of other closer courses, but these are among the more notable ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the RSVP deadline?

There is no hard deadline, as the facility is booked, but we are asking families to RSVP by November 30, so we can plan for the proper number of instructors, guest coaches and other logistics. If you decide you can go after that date, it is fine. Those who go will want to book flights and hotels sooner than later to get the best rates.

Which airport should we fly from / into?

Tampa International (TPA) is the most convenient option to fly into, with plenty of direct flights from the New York area. It is located roughly 30 minutes from Baseball City. Sarasota Airport (45 minutes away), Southwest Florida International (Fort Myers) and Orlando Airport (roughly 2 hours) are other options. Direct R/T flights from NYC airports to Tampa appear to range from $300 to $500+ currently.

Are practices mandatory?

While we hope everyone can attend as much as possible, families are free to do as they wish. We will set up a GameChanger for all events so coaches know who to expect for each session.

Who is responsible for the players outside of practice hours?

Players are the responsibility of the coaching staff exclusively during the 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. practice window (or later if staying for optional extra hitting on days offered). Once practice concludes, players are released to their parents or guardians for the rest of the day.

Do we have to stay at one of the recommended hotels?

No. Families are free to book Airbnbs, stay with local relatives, or any hotel they wish. The suggestions simply offer convenient locations near the facility or the beach.

Will there be any team activities?

While completely optional, the team will arrange a dinner or two for those who want to attend.

Will we play any games?

While Baseball City offered to schedule games with local teams, we believe it is too early to have our pitchers throw in competitive games and any scrimmaging will be coach or Hack Attack pitched.