Harrison Ford

2021 grad Harrison Ford arrived at an Under Armour Baseball Factory College PREP event on March 4th in Chattanooga, Tennessee ready to show off his talents and left that day with an unbelievable evaluation that wowed Baseball Factory coaches and scouts.

Ford, a freshman at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, GA, is the team’s starting catcher and for good reason. During the defensive portion of his workout, Ford posted the two highest numbers in all of the 2021 class; a 1.87 pop time and a raw velocity of 99 miles per hour.

His performance that day – as a 15-year-old – left many wondering, how did he do it?

Video of his evaluation that day has gone viral on social media, something he thought would have never happened. Beyond the fun of being featured for the world to see, Ford discussed how much of an impact the College PREP event will have on his trajectory moving forward, as coaches will be able to see his video and scouting report.

“It definitely helped me get my name out there without a doubt,” Ford said. The comments from the coaches who ran the tryout also helped me understand what I need to work on and get better at. Overall this camp was a huge help for me and gave me a step in the right direction.”

Harrison also enjoys basketball, playing for North Cobb this winter. Ford soon realized that playing another sport is beneficial in helping to be prepared for baseball season.

“I started playing just because I also love basketball, but I soon realized that it was a great help to baseball as well,” Ford mentions. “It’s helped my agility and reaction time. I recognize pitches earlier when I’m up to bat and feel that I am much more athletic as a catcher and can jump on wild pitches much more quickly.” 

“Due to how much we run in basketball it’s helped my speed greatly as well.”

Ford notes that before basketball season, he was consistently running his 60-yard times between 7.2 and 7.4. Just a short time after basketball season ended, he ran his best time yet (6.84) at the National Tryout in Chattanooga.

“It definitely was a big help for me. It also helped me get into a better mindset,” Ford said. “During season in practice, when we were running, if you stopped or didn’t make the time, then the whole team was affected and we’d have to run more. It taught me that under no circumstances that I can give up.”

His reasoning for not giving up comes from many hours of watching YouTube videos of his baseball idols discussing how they made it to the very top of their craft. It’s helped to drive Harrison in seeing that at one point, those same players were in his shoes. He lives by a credo that is hanging on a wall in his bedroom, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.'”

“Playing baseball has always been a love for me. I can never get enough it,” Ford said.

For Harrison, this display in Chattanooga wasn’t some fluke. This display was hard work put in over time and he’s not about to stop anytime soon. He said he’s been focused on taking his training and work out regimen to the next level, finding ways to continue building stamina and strength.

“I’ve been working out as much as possible lately,” Ford said. “I really started taking working out much more seriously this year as I want to be able to set myself apart from other players.”

Ford estimates that in the offseason, he trains 3 to 4 times a week with Dustyn Moore, his personal trainer at Fury Academy in Rossville, GA on all aspects, pushing him further.

“When I go to him weekly, one day will be upper body, the next.. lower body, and then, all body with speed and agility. At the end of each session we finish with core.”

They focus on exercises ranging from squats, bench press and parallel dumbbell bench press, to hip extensions, pull ups and weighted planks. Harrison said he’s added a series of explosion exercises involving a medicine ball. Finally, Ford uses resistance bands on his own time that has strengthened his arm.

Moore has also explained a very important and humbling lesson to Harrison that he’s taken to heart.

“He taught me that it’s not easy to go far in sports and that you really have to want it and work for it to go where I want to go,” Ford said. 

Moore sees first hand that Harrison is taking his advice to heart, driving him to work harder each day.

“He has the desire and the want to in being the very best he can be,” Moore explains. “He’s by far one of the hardest working kids I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He’s a special talent.”

In season, Ford gets up before school at 6 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to work out on his own in the family basement. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he attends physical therapy before school to prevent future injuries and to make sure his body is 100 percent. Ford isn’t on a specific diet, but says he carefully watches what he should and shouldn’t be putting into his body.

In addition to building strength, Ford continues to work hard at his craft with a former pro ball player.

Ben Blumenthal, a catcher drafted in the 21st round in 2005 by the Cincinnati Reds out of Erskine College and who played three minor league seasons with the Reds and the New York Yankees, works directly with Ford to improve his skill set.

“Ben has been my instructor since I was about 8 years old and has always been a great help. I normally have a session with him for about an hour maybe once a week. I tell him my progress with hitting and catching and we work on specific drills for weaknesses. For example, if I was struggling with blocking or rolling over on the ball, we would work on those things,” Ford said.

He’s set some lofty goals for himself, items he hopes to cross off the list as he continues on his journey through his high school career. He’s also gearing up for this summer’s Baseball Factory National South Showcase in Georgia where he’ll look to improve upon an already impressive start to his young career.

“My goals pertaining to baseball in the next few years include becoming one of the top three catchers in the country, break my schools batting average record (currently has the highest on the team). I want to get my pop time under 1.8, and get my exit velocity in the high 80’s maybe low 90’s.”

Ford, even at 15-years-old, knows he’d be doing him self a disservice if he doesn’t focus on getting better each day.

“I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else,” Ford said. “Baseball has always been a part of my life and I will make sure that it will always be a part of my life.”