What I did on my summer vacation: Cory Lehman

8/30/2007

WHAT HE DID: Attended three team basketball camps and four baseball camps. At the basketball camp at the University of Michigan, Lehman competed with his Irish teammates in six games in one day, including one at Crisler Arena. The next day he went to a weekend camp at Wayne State University and played seven games per day. It helps out a lot. We got the team chemistry down and got to know each other better, he said. Lehman also attended a camp at UT. Lehman worked out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 to 10 a.m., lifting weights and then shooting baskets. He also played baseball games virtually every night of the summer, competing for his high school summer team and an American Legion team. It is like a job. But I love it. I don t get sick of it, he said. The baseball camps were much like football combines or showcases. The first day players would take ground balls and hit. The next day they would play four full games. Lehman was invited to camps in Spring Arbor, Mich., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Oakland University. About 30 scouts attended the most prestigious camp, the Buckeye Scout at Dublin Coffman High. Basically it helps to get more recognized by scouts, he said. Lehman also ran two miles per week and frequently did wind sprints.

HOW IT HELPED: For basketball, doing all the running helped keep me in shape. I ll count on that this year. It will help me stay in the game and helped me get stronger. I m not the biggest guy on the court [5-foot-11, 155]. It helped my accuracy too. In baseball, I actually improved a lot. My speed has come on a lot better. At those camps, the coaches give you stuff to work on. So going into next year, I know what I have to do to become a college player.

OUTLOOK: My main goal is to play Division I college baseball, Lehman said. The shortstop, who made first team All-City League and all-district the last two seasons, has received inquiries from 15 schools including Oakland University, Youngstown State, Defiance, Findlay and Adrian. At Defiance, they said I could play both basketball and baseball. That is where my dad [former UT hall of fame guard Jay] is from and that appeals to me, he said. The shooting guard averaged 13 points per game last year. I ll just keep lifting and running, he said. I want to win titles in both sports. I want to win Cities and then make it to regional in both sports.