Twelve-year-old Tommy Whalen stepped to the plate with the bases loaded on Opening Day of the Austin Prep Fall IQ League, primed for first-inning heroics.
The Chelmsford, Mass., native crushed a pull-side grand slam to left field, only to be met with indifference from coaches and teammates. The grand slam would not be scored, as that week’s point of emphasis was hitting to the opposite field. An infield groundout would have earned one point, an opposite-field single three. A grand slam to left field? Zero points.
“It’s all about execution,” said Austin Prep coach Jonathan Pollard (JP), who runs the league for fifth- and sixth-graders. “It’s almost like we’re doing a psychological study to see if we can change the mentality of what matters. You’ll see traditional runs scored in our games, and you can hear a pin drop. Then we’ll have dads going crazy over a sacrifice bunt.”
This fall marked the inaugural season of the Austin Prep IQ League. Pollard and his staff launched the eight-week developmental league for fifth- and sixth-graders to counter a trend of youth athletes playing more games and focusing more on metrics like exit velocity and launch angle.
