Cal Ripken Jr. had always been a personal hero to me and so many others that I was more than delighted that EXACT would be working with the Ripken Foundation / Ripken Baseball to design a new program, which eventually was called, “Healthy Choices, Healthy Children”.

Our relationship began in the spring of 2006. The Ripken Foundation had been successfully working with youth since 2001, offering a tremendous amount of financial support, and more importantly, personal guidance to boys and girls across the United States. The Foundation wanted to create a national program that would guide the character / behavioral development of these youth. With EXACT Sports’ assistance, the program was unveiled in 2007 as both a program that honored the legacy of Cal Ripken Sr. and the values he passed on to Cal, Jr. and Bill. In working with the Ripken Foundation to building this curriculum, there are 3 main things I learned from the Foundation, Ripken Baseball staff, as well as Bill and Cal Ripken Jr.:

[1] “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” — Cal Ripken, Sr.
For EXACT Sports, this means our programs, such as the National Player Development Camp, is not meant to make you better tomorrow. It is meant to make you better today. Parents and players are unanimously grateful to EXACT because the training is real, the training is intense, and the training is led by both NCAA college coaches from around the country as well as EXACT’s expert scientific development staff.

[2] Celebrate the Individual — Bill & Cal
Too many teams, coaches and organizations try the “one size fits all approach” to training players. Not EXACT Sports. Each player working with us receives his/her own development profile, customized uniquely to each person. We are on a mission to change the way sports training is done.

[3] Sports is a Reflection of Life
Everthing that happens in the game is a ‘mirror’ of what happens in life. EXACT Sports is more than an organization committed to making great athletes, we are committed to making great leaders, great students, great family members / friends, and great individuals. The classroom for EXACT and the hundreds of college coaches we work with, is the athletic field. We hope to see you or your player on the field, at one of our National Player Development Camps.