At U.S. Baseball Academy, young players can enjoy a real Spring Training experience without leaving Missouri.

U.S. Baseball Academy, which operates a national network of affordable hitting, pitching and catchers camps for players in grades 1 through 12, is pleased to announce the addition of Avila University to its lineup for the coming winter and spring. Registration is now under way at www.USBaseballAcademy.com.

U.S. Baseball Academy's Spring Training 2010 is a unique concept that provides young players with advanced hitting, pitching and catching training programs, instruction by the area's top high school and college coaches, and fantastic indoor facilities. The training sessions include six weeks of instruction for as low as $99.

U.S. Baseball Academy's 2010 Spring Training program will be held at nearly 130 sites across the United States. The session in Kansas City runs January 3 to February 7 at Avila University. Avila Head Coach Ryan Howard will direct the program. Instructors will include a staff of the area's top high school and college coaches.

With a player-coach ratio of 6 to 1, each player gets plenty of individual attention in a small-group atmosphere. In addition to unbeatable instruction by the area's best high school and college coaches, players get a preseason tune-up that helps them enter team practice in mid-season form. With numerous age-specific sessions, instruction is specially tailored for each ability level. Overall, it's the type of intense, professional instruction young players just can't get in a summer league.

Since 1988, U.S. Baseball Academy has run hundreds of camps and clinics for thousands of players nationwide. Each week, hitters rotate through a series of supervised stations, including indoor batting cages, with each drill designed to teach a different aspect of hitting. Players enjoy participating in hitting games and unique stations used by top high school and college programs. The program is designed to improve pitch and strike zone recognition, timing, balance, power, situational hitting, bunting, and other aspects. Pitchers work under the supervision of coaches who can help with all aspects of pitching, from fundamentals and mechanics to more advanced concepts. Drills and repetition will improve a pitcher's speed and control. Our catcher's camp covers all aspects of being behind the plate. Players will get instruction on stance, signs, receiving, framing, blocking, throwing, fielding bunts, tags and the mental aspects of dealing with pitchers.

Registration deadlines are approximately six weeks before each session begins, but last year's camps sold out much earlier. Because of the low player-coach ratio, spots in each session are limited. Complete details and times for each site, as well as registration forms, are available online at www.USBaseballAcademy.com or by phoning toll free 866-622-4487.