Polson baseball player trains with elite program

Polson baseball player Logan Erickson is chasing his dreams.

A junior at Polson High School, Erickson is juggling school, work and training in the hopes of playing college baseball and beyond. With dreams of studying engineering and playing baseball for an NCAA Division I school, Erickson has been in contact with several schools, including Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash.

“It’s hard to get noticed because there is no high school baseball in Montana. We have fields that are not maintained year round. It can be hard to find good batting cages,” Erickson said. “There are not a lot of indoor facilities available for after the weather turns cold, so you take what you can get.”

A catcher for the Mission Valley Rockies last season, Erickson has spent his summers playing baseball since T-ball. Last year, Erickson’s dreams of playing big-time baseball got a boost when he was invited to try out for the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Team in Spokane.

“We got a letter from Baseball Factory saying they were doing a tryout in Spokane, for $99 you can come tryout. When we got there, they slapped a number on Logan’s back and he had to go out there and show them what he can do,” Logan’s mother Lee Ann Erickson said.

Several players from around the Polson area made the trip to Spokane for the tryout, but Logan was lucky enough to be picked for the team.

“It was very weird for me. I didn’t really know what to expect. It was the first time I had been in front of a lot of coaches like that and it was very intimidating. It was nerve-racking, but it was fun, though,” Logan said.

In joining the Baseball Factory family, Logan began a partnership with a program that has featured more than 400 players who have played or are currently playing in the MLB and more than 100,000 players have gone on to play at the collegiate level. According to one Baseball Factory official, the program has placed at least one player on 100 percent of all NCAA Division I and II baseball teams and 96 percent of the Division III teams.

Logan’s training with the Baseball Factory truly got underway in November of 2016, when he made the trip to Mesa, Ariz. for the company’s Select Training and Competition.

While there, Logan caught the eye of several coaches and trainers, and was invited back to Mesa for the Spring Training event in January.

Another strong showing earned Logan a trip to the California Select Training and Competition in La Verne, Calif. in July and he will be in action with the Baseball Factory again this December when he travels back to Mesa for the Under Armour Recruiting Classic.

“We have always been a fan of Logan’s defensive ability behind the dish, willingness to learn and try new things, and the effort he puts forth every time we have the opportunity to work with him on the field. Not only does he bring a lot of energy and passion to the field with us, but behind the scenes when no one is watching, Logan is one of the hardest working players I have personally seen come through the program at Baseball Factory,” Logan’s Player Coordinator with the Baseball Factory, Josh Hippensteel said. “Baseball players are evaluated on five tools, but there is a sixth tool that makes a high school baseball player really jump off the page. The sixth tool is character, work ethic, being able to look someone in the eye with a firm handshake, say “yes sir”, and look like a ballplayer. Logan defines the sixth tool.”

If Logan continues to work hard on the baseball field and in the classroom, he will control his own destiny with future baseball opportunities after his high school graduation.

At these camps, players begin their day before sunrise and train throughout the day and evening, sometimes as late at 10:30 p.m. and later.

“It is not a party at these camps. These are coaches that are looking to recruit kids that will be the face of their colleges in the future. It’s hard work and it is all business,” Logan’s father, Lonnie Erickson, said. “They are there to play and they are there to learn.”

While all of the training has led to a lot of travel for Logan and his family, Hippensteel and the Baseball Factory has been a driving force in helping the young player stay focused and keep his grades up in the hopes of making a college roster.

The community has also played a big support role in helping Logan chase his baseball dreams, helping the family raise the funds for travel and training.

“The community has been really great about helping Logan out with all of this. We started a GoFundMe page for the first camp back in November, and so many Lake County Businesses helped him out. He did a gun raffle in July, and that was also a big success. We are grateful for all of that support,” Lee Ann said.

While the family is hopeful that Logan will achieve his dreams of playing college baseball (and in the Under Armor All America Game), they also hope that other Montana players will see what Logan has been able to achieve with the Baseball Factory and consider the program as a training option.

“We want other kids to see that this program is out there and it can help them be better players. There is a lot of talent in Montana and this is a good way to help develop it,” Lonnie said.

As for Logan’s future, Hippensteel says the sky is the limit.

“Our goal is to help young student-athletes in their development, challenge them against other talented players across the country, provide student-athletes with resources that aid them in the college recruiting process, and ultimately help those student-athletes in finding a college home that will allow them to receive a great education and an opportunity to continue playing baseball following their high school graduation,” he said. “If Logan can continue to approach the process with an open mind and be realistic about the best options for himself in the classroom and on the baseball field at the next level, he will have a great ending to his story.”