March 2013 Monthly Quote Good players and teams understand to truly be successful; you sometimes need to practice and prepare when it s not convenient Grand Slam USA will be providing you with a monthly newsletter to update you on the facility, training opportunities, and the Grand Slam Baseball Club. Check this newsletter for the latest announcements regarding central Iowa s most experienced baseball/softball training facility. Don t forget to Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/grandslamusa and follow us on twitter @grandslam_dm and visit our website http://www.grandslamdsm.com ANNOUNCEMENTS The Grand Slam USA Spring Break Camp will be held March 18 22nd from 9:00 am-12:00 pm each day. To register please visit our website, stop in at the counter, or register by phone. Spring clinics are available with limited spots. Clinic days and times can be found on the website or at the Grand Slam counter. Only three players to a clinic, so make sure to register now by phone or at Grand Slam as spots are filling up fast. The sign up date for individual lessons in the months of May, June, and July will be APRIL 15th. This will all be done online through our new scheduling software. The link will be posted the morning of sign ups at 7:00 am on our website. This will be a permanent link and the new way to sign up for lessons, clinics, camps, and rental times. Look for future emails and information regarding this software. Phone # 515.278.1070 For Your Information Facility Update As many of you are aware, renovation to Grand Slam began before Thanksgiving. Construction is still ongoing, but significant progress has been made. We previously had four tunnels and a long toss area in our academy. Two tunnels have been added, and the long toss area was kept. Our automated batting cages were removed; however newer machines will be in the facility once construction is completely done. We will have new office space as well. F3 Fire is the basketball company that we have merged with. They have four courts in the facility, office space, and soon to be weight room. For more information on F3 Fire visit their website http://www.f3basketball.com Peak Performance will still be in the facility. They will now have two treatment rooms for massage therapy and injury rehabilitation. They will also have access to the weight room upon completion and court access for speed and agility sessions. For more details visit http://www.peakperformancesportstraining.com
2013 Grand Slam Baseball Club Teams 10U Teams: Grand Slam Flash Head Coach: Jeff Kenin 11U Teams: Grand Slam Force Head Coach: Kevin Gyldevand Grand Slam Longhorns Head Coach: Jim Barclay Grand Slam Dodgers Head Coach: Tim Burke 12U Teams: Grand Slam Vipers Head Coach: Rob Young Grand Slam Bandits Head Coach: Frank Accurso 13U Teams: Grand Slam Razorbacks Head Coach: Mike Donohoe Grand Slam Riders Head Coach: Jared Norris Grand Slam Stealth Head Coach: Dan Orth 14U Teams: Grand Slam Red Head Coach: Michael Bennion Grand Slam Surge Head Coach: Kevin Gyldevand Slammer Softball Teams: 16U Team Head Coach: Jeff Wolfe 18U Team Head Coach: Jeff Wolfe
GET TO KNOW Jared Norris High School: Urbandale High School-graduated 2007 1 st Team All State 2005 2 nd Team All State 2006 1 st Team Elite All State 2007, Player of the year 2007 State Champion 2007 Where are they now? Where are they now features athletes who have taken lessons, trained, continue to train, or that have worked at Grand Slam USA. This month we feature Urbandale native, Sam Ross. Sam is a 2011 graduate of Urbandale High School where he pitched for Coach Denny Barton s Jayhawks. Sam is currently a sophomore at Indian Hills Community College. He signed a letter of intent to continue his career at Lindsey Wilson University, an NAIA school located in Kentucky. Sam is a Grand Slam employee that started working at the front desk while in high school. He has also worked several of our Christmas camps and summer camps. We wish Sam continued success this season with IHCC and in the future. College: Oregon State University 2009-2011 All PAC 10 Honorable Mention 2009 3 postseason appearances Super Regional appearance vs. Vanderbilt Univ. 2011 Grand Slam USA: Started as an instructor in August 2012 Q: What is your favorite MLB Team? A: New York Yankees Q: What is your favorite movie? A: Caddy Shack Q: What is your most memorable moment in baseball? A: Sweeping #1 Arizona State University my senior year. Winning a state title in 2007 at Urbandale. Q: Do you have any hidden talents? A: I am a ping pong wizard! Q: What are your hobbies? A: Golf, hanging out with friends and family Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to young baseball players? A: Respect the game of baseball and the game will give you great memories and friends that will last forever. PLAYER SPOTLIGHT Sam Wadsworth: Sam Wadsworth is a senior at Dallas Center Grimes. Sam is the son of Brian and Teresa Wadsworth and is an older brother to Chase Wadsworth. Sam has lived most of his life in Grimes, and has played a variety of sports through his career, but the one sport that has remained constant in Sam s life is baseball. He recently signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Grand View University, and is looking forward to being a Viking in the fall. Sam plans to major in Biochemistry and intends to go on to dental school or another health related field. Sam is looking forward to this summer where his DC-G team will be defending their 2012 State Championship! Last year Sam was 5-0 as a starting pitcher with a 1.34 ERA. He is also a 2 time Raccoon River Conference Academic All American. We wish Sam the best of luck in the 2013 season and at GVU!
Grand Slam USA Partners with On January 26 th, 2013 Grand Slam USA hosted Pitcher Perfect with Tampa Bay Ray s pitcher and Des Moines native Jeremy Hellickson. Over 120 kids attended this pitching clinic to help raise money and awareness for this great charity. Kids Living Brave is a not-for-profit charity started by Jack and Pam Cooper of Johnston, Iowa. The Coopers started the charity in 2011 when their son, Carson was diagnosed with Leukemia. Kids Living Brave s mission is to supply direct support to kids with cancer and their families. For more information and to donate to Kids Living Brave go to www.kidslivingbrave.org Grand Slam and the Coopers started building a relationship when they signed Carson up for lessons. As the relationship grew, Grand Slam owner Jim Hallman who is also a cancer survivor became a member of the Board of Directors for Kids Living Brave. Garrett Hawkins, who is Carson s instructor at Grand Slam, is also on the Board of Directors. With Carson and the rest of his family being passionate baseball fans, Grand Slam felt it was only fitting to team up and help out. Many ideas were mulled over between KLB and Grand Slam until the choice of a pitching clinic was agreed upon. The Coopers and Hellicksons have been family friends for many years. When the idea of a pitching clinic came about, Jack and Pam reached out to Jeremy. Jeremy was more than happy and willing to volunteer his time to Kids Living Brave. With this, Pitcher Perfect was in place and ready to go. The event allowed kids to participate in an hour and a half pitching clinic with Grand Slam USA instructors and interact with Jeremy. After the clinic, each participate received a Jeremy Hellickson autograph and got their pitcher taken with Hellickson. Grand Slam USA and Kids Living Brave have decided to make Pitcher Perfect an annual event! We are very excited about this and thankful to help out and support a great organization. There are countless people to thank who made this event happen. You can visit Kids Living Brave s website or the Grand Slam website to see event pictures and information. Continue to look for information from us and Kids Living Brave about future events!
From The Owner Greetings! We are hitting the half way point of the busy season and couldn t be more excited with how things are going. The renovations to the facility are still ongoing, but significant progress has been made. We greatly appreciate everyone s cooperation with working around the construction. Our Pitcher Perfect event in support of Kids Living Brave was a blast and we are looking forward to this event in the future. Starting on APRIL 15 th we will be using online software to schedule; lessons, camps, clinics, and rental times. This software will make scheduling more efficient for our customers. Customers will still be able to schedule at the counter or over the phone. The link for scheduling will be posted on our website at 7:00 am on April 15 th. As spring nears we are looking forward to the start of a new season. Our Grand Slam Baseball Club teams have been hard at work and we will be providing updates on game and tournament results throughout the season. We wish all players the best of luck and health this upcoming season! We will keep our customers up to date on construction, software, and other facility information on a regular basis. Please find us on Facebook, Twitter, or our website to get the latest information. Emails will be sent out with further scheduling information in early April. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact us. We value your business and want to provide the best service possible for you!! Practice Tip of the Month Base running When running the bases; find the ball first, then the base, and then the coach.