- April 20, 2024
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In the large, cavernous facility the TNXL Academy calls home — next to Bob Sorenson Fields in Ocoee — Brian Martinez keeps a close eye on everything.
As pitchers wind down their morning program inside the facility lovingly known as “The Duck Pond,” the position players in the organization start working their way through weights before getting into the meat of their day.
One of those pitchers finishing is Kyle Larsen — a Sanford native committed to play at the University of Florida in the fall. He has been with the program for a while, but there is no burnout — he loves the game and this place too much for that.
“It’s a lot, but it’s fun — obviously — every day,” Larsen said. “I mean, I love it — I’ve been doing it for four years. … I love going there every day and having fun.”
In the years since Martinez founded TNXL in 2014, a lot has changed, including how he approaches his business. He loves seeing players in the organization learn, but he also enjoys knowing they are having fun with it.
“We’ve learned that it’s just not about baseball with these kids — it’s about being there for them,” said Martinez, a native of Dr. Phillips. “At the beginning, we were like, ‘Man, we have to get them better at baseball,’ and a lot of these kids just want to be with you and be a part of something cool. … I’ve reaped the rewards off that more than I’ve ever made any money or been in any big tournament or won any championships.”
Martinez has long been a part of the world of baseball, but the story of TNXL started in 2014 when he noticed something peculiar.
At the time, Martinez was with the Orlando Scorpions travel ball organization — which he helped create — and noticed players in the program dropped by at unusually early hours in the day.
“I had a group of about 15 kids (who) were getting out of school early — around 10 a.m. — and they’d come to our facility and I was like, ‘Man, why are you guys showing up so early?’ he said. “And they’re like, ‘We only have two classes.’ That kind of started spurring an idea, and I’m like, ‘Well how are these kids getting out early?’
“Come to find out, they kind of modified their schedules, and they would do one or two classes at school and then they would do Florida Virtual School on the side,” Martinez said. “I was like, ‘Man, this seems like a really good idea to kind of implement having these kids do a modified school and then train more.”
A year later, Martinez was still with the Scorpions, but it was then that TNXL fielded its first team. From there, things started coming together.
Martinez — along with pitching coach and business partner Mike Mercadante and catching coach Eddy Rodriguez — put forth a regimen that would reflect the experience players would undertake at the collegiate level. Many days, the schedule starts with schooling before weaving through four or so hours of strength training, defensive work and hitting work.
For Larsen — who had been working with Martinez since he was about 9 years old — it took some adjusting to, because this wasn’t a normal school setting.
“It was definitely different,” Larsen said. “Obviously coming in as a freshman — I don’t want to say I was nervous — I really didn’t know what to expect. Everybody was great, and … I had known Brian before, so I knew there really wasn’t anything to worry about with him.”
Larsen said he and about 10 of those on the Prospect team — the highest-level team, which features older players who are college commits — had been together since that freshman year, so growing in the game together had been one of the biggest highlights of his time at TNXL.
That bond over the game and ability to grow is a big selling point for Martinez, who speaks often about the importance of building players from top to bottom.
“One of the biggest things that we mold our program off is culture,” Martinez said. “If our culture is intact and we’re going after high-character individuals that believe in work ethic, believe in being good young men and understand that it takes a lot to get a college scholarship … if we can start that at a young age so they can understand what our culture is — what being a TNXL Duck is — it just makes the process easier.”
In the organization, Martinez offers three different programs: the Prospect team, the Varsity team — which acts as a junior varsity program — and the middle school team.
Each group plays a schedule against its own level of competition, although the Prospect team readies its college commits by facing junior college and Division II teams. Martinez said he hopes to install a softball program starting in the fall.
As TNXL continues to grow, players such as Larsen will grow right alongside it. That’s why Larsen said he owes a lot to the organization for helping him get to where he is now.
“Brian and Mike have helped me in every way possible,” Larsen said. “I know … Brian has those connections to Florida — he has sent a lot of guys there — so I felt like it was definitely a good fit for me, and Brian felt the same way. For the past four or five years, I credit all the success I’ve had to Brian and Mike, with everything.”
