Joshua Marcellus took to the MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex, Presented by Toyota, like a fish to water. u5:p
It started when the junior at Sachse High School received an email from his coach telling him to check out the Academy. Marcellus heeded the advice and made it out to the facility in June, going through an evaluation and being added to an RBI team for the summer.u5:p
"I came out here about two times a week, playing and coming to some of the clinics," Marcellus said. "Then I made the All-Star tryouts and I made the All-Star team, so I ended up going to Austin, which was really cool, playing all the teams from out of state and everything, so I really liked it."u5:p
Making the roster the RBI All-Star team that represented the Rangers at the RBI Southwest Regionals in Austin in July was something Marcellus was aiming for during his time at the Academy, and the experience did not disappoint.u5:p
"Going out there and being in the hotel room with my teammates, that atmosphere," Marcellus said, listing the highlights of the RBI experience. "Going to the different fields, playing, especially playing different teams from New Orleans and everything, I thought that was pretty cool." u5:p
While Marcellus has been playing baseball since he was 8, it hasn't always been his primary sport. u5:p
He comes from a family of athletes, including a mom who was an All-American soccer player and a grandmother who was a swimmer. u5:p
"I was a natural swimmer, too," Marcellus said. "I first started swimming as a summer thing to do when I didn't have baseball and so I went to junior Olympics for my third year. Sports is really natural for my family." u5:p
There's not as much time for swimming anymore, as the schedule conflicted with baseball.u5:p
"It was still a great experience. I loved it. Baseball has had a real big part of my heart, though," Marcellus explained. "I think it's just a lot of it is just the team part of it. I love being around guys like that, going out every weekend, having those long Sundays playing all day, it really resonated with me a lot more."u5:p
And the 17 year old is making the most of his opportunities at the Academy as he pursues his baseball dreams.u5:p
"The atmosphere is great here. Everybody who's a part of it is really welcoming, the coaches are very, very helpful, and it's cool being able to play with all these kids from around the around the area. I just love coming out here," Marcellus said.
Planning to Campu5:pu5:p 
The Winter Academy Training Session is slated to begin in January. u5:p
Starting Monday, January 14, training will be available for baseball and softball players ages 13 through 18. Camp for the 18U athletes will run on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:00-8:00 p.m. u5:p
Starting Tuesday, January 15, training will be available to baseball and softball players ages 7 through 12. Camp for the 12U athletes will run on Tuesday and Thursday nights, also from 6:00-8:00 p.m.u5:p
The Academy Winter Training Program runs through Wednesday, February 27, for the 18U campers and through Thursday, February 28, for the 12U campers.u5:pu5:p 
Registration is now available at https://texasrangersya.leagueapps.com/camps.