COSTA MESA, Calif. – When Jake Vogel was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers this spring, he felt mentally and physically ready – even with months of no team baseball, he kept pushing forward.

“This whole quarantine, I’ve just been sitting in here lifting with Josh and hitting on my own, but I’m excited to get rolling with the team,” said Vogel.

It’s a bizarre time for the 18-year-old Huntington Beach High graduate.

He recently returned from Dodger minicamp, but as a third round pick. He doesn’t have a minor league team to report to, or any club baseball games back home in Huntington Beach. He’s relying on his routine with his strength and conditioning coach, Josh Reidt, at Reidt Fitness.  

At the beginning of the pandemic, Reidt was getting calls from parents and talented young baseball players just like Vogel.

“Please don’t close the gym, we’ve already lost everything,” said Reidt.

While everything in the sports world paused, elite prospects throughout Southern California couldn't afford to drop the ball. The young men who come to train at Reidt Fitness are getting scouted by college and professional teams. The recruiting is not stopping and the expectations of future programs and coaches have not been lowered. 

“Because most of these kids are very high-profile, they were begging for some kind of stability in their life,” said Reidt. 

Reidt’s gym specializes in baseball specific strength and conditioning for high school, college, and professional players. When COVID hit, he consulted physicians, developed a staggered workout schedule and operates with rules like no shoes, and constant equipment wipe downs.

Reidt found a way to keep his 7,000-square-foot warehouse a place where athletes felt safe coming to train. The athletes who set their bare feet on this turf are also frequently tested.

“Honestly I think the reality of why the gym is so successful is the relationships I have with the athletes,” he said.

The environment is why guys keep coming back year after year.