The World’s Largest Baseball Convention is headed to Dallas for its 75th anniversary! More than 6,000 coaches are once again expected at the 75th annual ABCA Convention, which is set for Jan. 3-6, 2019 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.
Register for the 2019 ABCA Convention
The convention will kick off in full swing in the afternoon on Thursday, Jan. 3, with the ABCA Trade Show, Expo Theater, committee and divisional meetings. Thursday evening will feature Rookie Coaches Mentorship, which is a great workshop for young coaches and those recently beginning their coaching career.
The ABCA Trade Show, which runs Thursday through Saturday, features over 300 companies across nearly 150,000 square feet of exhibit space. Companies will be displaying state-of-the-art equipment and products, including coaching and training aids, apparel, gear, machines and technology.
The Expo Theater will return for its third year and will feature more than 20 presentations from exhibiting companies with product demos and member coaches. These presentations will begin on Thursday, Jan. 3 and run through Saturday, Jan. 5.
All coaches are encouraged to attend their respective divisional meetings on Thursday evening, where current issues will be discussed, and, in some cases, voted on. NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association (CCCAA & NWAC), High School, Youth and Travel coaches will each have meetings during this time.
The main-stage clinics presented by Wilson/ATEC will begin Friday, Jan. 4. This year’s outstanding lineup of presenters was put together by ABCA Second Vice President Stu Fritz of Hope College (MI) with assistance from Third Vice President Dan McDonnell of the University of Louisville. 2018 NCAA Division I champion coach Pat Casey from Oregon State University will lead off the clinics. The full list of speakers will be released on Wednesday, September 6.
The Youth Coaches Sessions presented by GameChanger are expanding to a two-day format this year in Dallas! Introduced last year, the Youth Coaches Sessions focus on topics for coaches of youth-level teams up to age 14 years old. These sessions are open to all registered attendees at the convention and will take place on Friday, Jan. 4 and Saturday, Jan. 5.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, the popular Hot Stove Discussions will take place at the Gaylord Texan. This is the first year that these talks will span two nights to allow more coaches to attend the different discussions. Infield and outfield sessions will run from 9-11 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4 with Pitching and Hitting discussions taking place on Saturday, Jan. 5 from 7-9 p.m. and Catching and Base Running following on Saturday from 9-11 p.m.
The ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be inducted on Friday at 6 p.m during the ABCA/Diamond Hall of Fame Banquet. The seven-member class featuring Joe Carbone, Gary “Bo” Collins, Ron Davini, Pat Doyle, Dave Grant, Steve Kittrell and Scott Pickler will all be honored as will the 2019 Wilson/Lefty Gomez Award recipient, Jim Darby.
A special addition to this year’s convention is the 75th anniversary celebration that will take place in the Trade Show on Friday evening from 4-6 p.m. This free reception will serve as a toast to the 75-year history of the ABCA.
All attendees who check-in on site in Dallas will once again receive free online access to the clinic videos on www.ABCAvideos.org. In addition to the main-stage clinics, the Youth Coaches Sessions and Expo Theater presentations will also be available. Once the videos are released, attendees can log into their account and watch them instantly!
The 75th annual ABCA Convention is a can’t miss! Now’s the time to make your plans to attend the World’s Largest Baseball Convention. Registration is now available online and the “Early Bird” registration rate of $80 runs through November 16.
See you in Dallas!