Beck milner
YALE UNIVERSITY
B/T: R/R
POS: C
HOMETOWN: PARK CITY, UTAH
Yale University’s freshman catcher Beck Milner was a mere ten years old when he first started hitting on HitTrax. As an early adopter, Beck and his father Brent met with HitTrax Founder/CEO Mike Donfrancesco in 2014 for the initial installation at the family-owned facility in Utah. With Brent being an astute student of the game, the conversation that day quickly turned to swing mechanics and how eager they were to receive quantifiable validation of the hitting principles they were instilling in the young hitter.
That was the start of a nearly 10-year relationship between the Milner’s and HitTrax. Both the father and son would routinely send updates to Mike on Beck’s progress as a teenager and the group would occasionally meet up at the HitTrax HQ or at nearby venues.
Beck’s hitting prowess within the HitTrax community (and at nation-wide tournaments and recruiting events) started to become legendary as he would win virtually all of the online tournaments that HitTrax would host. This level of success forced HitTrax to instill what was internally known as the “Beck Rules” as a type of handicap. Regardless, the self-proclaimed “poster boy for HitTrax” continued his winning ways.
Beck stated “Mike was always attentive and quick to respond with any questions, which made it really easy to have a relationship with him.”
Throughout his development as a player, every facility where Beck trained had a HitTrax system readily available to assist him along the way. It was not too long that his mid-50MPH exit velocities turned into 80s…90s…and now exceeding 100MPH as he has recorded well over 1,000 sessions on his account.
Beck and his friends, Ryan Kutrack and Nick Paul, all grew up using HitTrax and loved how it brought a higher level of competition to their hitting sessions.
Milner further stated that “HitTrax has helped me prepare for the collegiate level in so many ways. First, the instant feedback paired with the video camera allows me to focus on the feeling of my swing. I’m easily able to validate a good swing with both feel and the corresponding data. From there, I try my best to repeat and view the results. The point of impact and session reviews are extremely useful as well for timing purposes and where I hit the ball based on pitch location.”
Fast forward to Yale, and the years of practice are already paying dividends. Beck’s first at bat in a Bulldog uniform resulted in a long home run over the centerfield fence. When asked how he felt during that moment, he said, “I was just in the moment and when I realized I hit a home run at my first at bat, it was truly incredible. I couldn’t help but think that all this preparation has led me to this day. I will never forget it.”
Mike’s phone buzzed with a video of Beck’s home run minutes after it happened. “It’s been a real privilege watching Beck progress over the years and to also spend time with him and his family. Success does not come without hard work, and I can tell you for a fact that Beck has done his fair share. I’m so looking forward to seeing where it takes him from here.”
