By: Alexis Brudnicki

Canadian Baseball Network

Adam Hall is not the player he once was.

The Great Lake Canadians infielder was back at Tournament 12 for his fourth time in the event’s fourth year of existence last week. But throughout the months that have passed since Hall was originally selected to participate as a 14-year-old, he has a newfound maturity that has helped him to continue his growth in the game. 

It was bound to happen as the Bermuda-born native of London, Ont., got a little older and a little wiser, and spent more time on the field than ever before, but the results are still nice to see for the player expected to be at the top of the country’s draft class next June.

“There’s some on-field maturity he’s been going through,” said Adam Stern, Hall’s coach with both Ontario Black and the GLC program. “When you come here [to T12] early, there are no expectations; a little bit less pressure on yourself. The good ones find that when it’s your time and your year, and you can play with that pressure still, that makes you special.

“Some guys can’t deal with that and they try too hard and they don’t let the game come to them. Out here, he’s just playing baseball. He’s not concerned about anything else. He just wants to play baseball, and that’s a really special thing, because sometimes you get caught up in everything else, especially for the kids in their draft year.”

In addition to adding size and strength over the last four years, Hall feels as though he’s learned a lot about the game and has gained a better understanding of what to expect and how to make adjustments throughout.

“Obviously the physical maturity levels are up higher,” the shortstop said. “I’ve become a smarter player, knowing myself better and knowing how to control my emotions a little bit better as well, knowing what a pitcher is going to do to me a little bit more.

“I remember my first year I was coming here to T12 and I was facing 82 and I had to try to catch up to that, and now I’ve got to sit back, so that’s helpful. Sometimes it’s not good, but it’s part of being a well-rounded, more adjusted player too.”

Criticized for showing visible frustration out on the field, and becoming emotional when things aren’t going well, Hall believes that he is much better than he used to be in that department. The 17-year-old also knows that he may be occasionally misunderstood, and that being invested isn’t necessarily negative.

“I’ve grown a lot with controlling my emotions,” Hall said. “My intensity and my emotions are a good thing not a bad thing. Some people are going to say you can’t get mad out there, but that’s caring and I care about the game, so I’ve found a pretty good balance right now. There are still times that I need to bring it back a little bit, but it’s better to have to bring it back then to have to try to get it there.”

Taking each and every game very seriously, Hall knows that his intensity can be misinterpreted. He is often told that he doesn’t look like he is enjoying himself, but there’s nothing he loves more than playing the game.

“There are lots of people who don’t think that I’m having fun when I play because I’m so serious about it,” he said. “But there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s a great quality that I have, with my competitiveness. I may not be smiling out there, but I am having fun. It’s the competitiveness that I like and the way that I play the game is serious and always intense, so that’s just me. That’s how I play.”

There are a few traits – including the lack of smiling – that haven’t changed much for Hall over the years, consistently bringing his intensity and competitive nature to whatever team he is playing for and improving the level of play.

“He hates to lose, that’s the biggest thing you have to understand about Adam,” Stern said. “The best way I can put it is that he puts his hard hat on, goes to work, has an approach, but plays with a level of intensity, and I believe he brings the others around him with him.

“Obviously that’s what he wants to do. He wants to win the game and he hates to lose. That was a good game right there because you get to see when the game’s on the line what happens, who rises to the occasion, and he’s come up with big hits for us, he came up with big hits out here, and when the game’s on the line, you want him up there.”

Added Hall: “I always bring intensity with me. That’s my main thing I always bring, that intensity. I never want to lose at all. Even out here in these games, I know it’s a tournament but it’s really a showcase. I find myself in these games getting into the game quite a bit.”