Karl Avdek
Founder
Evaluation Skills Instruction Speed Strength
Mental Skills
Testimonials
GC-GP-GH is unique because we are passionate in our commitment to serve the individual student athlete.
Marketing the dream of playing college baseball has become an incredibly large and lucrative industry based on large events and teams, e.g., tournaments, showcases, camps and tryouts.
It is an industry where an individual player can easily get lost and misplaced and can make damaging and inappropriate decisions driven by emotion and misinformation rather than facts. In all the years we have provided this service, even though we had players drafted who achieved national and regional honors, our work has been with players "from the island of lost toys;” players who did not necessarily stand out in high school, players who needed time and the proper information in order to develop, players who needed an opportunity to be in the right place at the right time with the right stuff in order to fulfill their dreams.
We take great pride and joy in having helped those student athletes achieve success.
PLAYER TESTIMONIALS
TOMMY BURNS
"I had already played two years of professional baseball when I met Karl. I had taken two years off and was looking to get back into it. He was someone I could have a truly objective discussion with about my pitching. More importantly he worked with me on my mental game and helped me “quiet” the noise, and realize that the perfect pitch was “in” me. All I had to do was trust and execute."
CHRISTIAN TRIPLETT
"I was already playing professional baseball when I met Karl at a pro tryout. He actually made fun of my swing and joked with me about it but remarked that I was much better than I was showing. I worked with him over the winter online with a screen sharing platform. The change was amazing. I am a big man and coaches had contributed to me becoming “pull happy” and concentrating on the long ball but now I was a complete hitter once again; hitting missiles all over the field. He also made me a better athlete; improving my agility and speed. As I said, I am a big man but he changed the way I think about myself and how I present myself to scouts. I’m an athlete. More important than anything he turned me into a professional hitter mentally. Very grateful. He is not just a coach. He is my friend."
HARRISON WHITE
"I had a very successful college career but as I got close to my senior year and wanted to be drafted I noticed that I was not playing in a way that was compatible with my “talents”. My college wanted power out of me but I looked at similar professional players and saw that I was not shaping myself into a draftable product. Completely out of the blue and quite coincidentally I met Karl who helped me make a major change in my swing. I had a hiccup in the first half of my senior year but he encouraged me to have the courage to stick through it and I took off the second half of the season. Equally important, he put me “on the board” with professional organizations he had relationships with and I got drafted."
JAKE PULCHEON
"I played in a fairly high independent league the last two years. Karl not only did a “spot on” diagnosis of my swing; he took the time to “verify” what he had seen with a scout. I was too “busy”; needed to trim down my swing. The work made me more consistent with more power. I was a very good hitter statistically before but now I felt really able to “get behind the ball” and drive it to all fields. He would call before and after every single game so that we had a plan that I executed. We spoke after the games as well; analyzed and made adjustments. It was unbelievable. The changes in my mechanics were secondary to what I did with my mental game. I really became a professional hitter in my approach."
CHRIS RUIZ
I caught successfully at a DII college but was not drafted. I met Karl. He performed some “tweaks” on my hitting, my running and overall athleticism and my “pop” time and throw down to second and got me in front of someone who placed me in the Pecos League. I am excited as hell to get back to the field this year. Not only have I made the changes but, more importantly, I feel that I “own” those changes and am ready to dominate.
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
MIKE SARNI
My son ended up losing an entire year of eligibility over playing a half of a single inning defensively. He quit and transferred to the DI program that had been so hot for him but now, of course, they did not want him. He was desperate; his grades were suffering; miserable. We met with Karl. Karl asked one simple question, “Are you happy?” Why don’t we find a school with a great program, with a coach who will take care of you and see what happens. We got into a strong DIII program with a great coach who really was a compassionate and intelligent fit for my son and he flourished; led the nation two years in a row in stolen bases, named most valuable player in the conference; honorable mention all American. Could not be happier."
BETH BARSKY
"I cannot say enough positive things regarding Karl as a person, baseball trainer, life coach, friend, and mentor. I always believed that in order for my son to become a well rounded and successful person, it was important to surround him with good role models, mentors, coaches, and friends. Karl Avdek has certainly been all that plus much more to Ian and our family. I cannot thank him enough for his dedication in helping my son develop his baseball skills as well as helping him to become a man."
JOANNE WATKINS
"In four years of high school baseball, my son pitched a grand total of two innings and yet, in spite of all this adversity, he somehow still wanted to continue with baseball. Karl gave us a highly intelligent and focused “plan” which fulfilled all of Ryan’s needs; not only with baseball but more importantly with his personal and academic life as well. He actually advised my son to take a year off; work out and mature as a person and player. After a year of work , not only did he receive a full athletic scholarship but we have now had scouts from two major league teams visit our home to discuss his future."
SANDRA FAGGIANA
"I want to acknowledge the extraordinary work Karl Avdek provided to my son who is currently a senior in college. Anthony was overlooked during his junior and senior years in high school baseball, but he never gave up the desire to play baseball in college. Karl was very realistic with him. He had to make a complete change from pitching to playing a position and learning how to hit. Karl did not sugarcoat it. He told him it would take two years and it did but Karl instilled in him the belief that he could accomplish anything with hard work and dedication. Their hard work paid off when he helped find the perfect school and baseball program. Anthony made his college baseball team as a walk on and played every inning of every game freshman through his senior year. More importantly he got a great education; in more ways than one."
ANDREA MONACCO
"Karl Avdek has been an integral part of the development of both of our sons. My oldest boy Eric struggled with sports and self image and Karl’s played an enormous role in the development of his self-esteem. He is a changed young man. Our younger boy Logan interestingly enough was a superior athlete and he too was enormously influenced by Karl. Karl was kind, compassionate, and caring in his work and the athletic development was really, in the end, very secondary to his influence on their lives. He gave them self confidence, self awareness, and identity. His baseball success is incidental."