Hi, Patrick:

Thanks for your message.  Graham had a great experience in Arizona.  Got off to a slow start, but he finished strong.

The college search has been very successful. You may remember that he wants to play football and baseball in college, so he's targeted DIII schools fairly close to home.  He's received five acceptances out of six, still waiting on two others, with two academic scholarship offers.

However, it looks like he's decided on Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, about 45 minutes from home.  He's been recruited to play both sports.  Their baseball program is very strong--ranked 17th in pre-season DIII nationwide rankings.  

I couldn't be happier with our experience with Baseball Factory.  The tournaments at Pirate City and in Tucson were extremely well run.  The facilities were great.  The coaching staff and support staff were outstanding.  As a high school coach of 31 years now, I'm much more attentive to things than the average parent, and I have to say that everything was superb.

I'd also like to thank you, Patrick, for your great communication with us over the past year.  You've been very attentive and helpful, and you've offered us honest and timely feedback.

Since I'm Graham's high school coach, I wanted him to have an objective assessment so that college coaches would not think I'm swayed by the fact that he's my son.  I couldn't be happier with the thoroughness of the assessment and the attention from you.

Thanks again.

Dave Wick

Hi Mr. Brown

I just letting you know that Pirate City on a personal level was possibly one of the best experiences that I've ever had. Myself‚ in the actual baseball game play did pretty good. My manger was coach Nolan‚ and I guess he was full of complements. We won the championship in extra innings‚ and I had hit the tying run. Going down to Florida, really showed me how I may need to work a little harder to get ahead of the other kids, but I know I could have played much better than I did. I just wanted to thank you for allowing to go because like I said that this was probably the best time of my life, and it was way too short. I'm very excited for Omaha.
                               
Chris Geppert

Dear Mr. Brown,
    
Happy New Year. I had the time of my life in Pirate City. It felt as if I was a Pittsburgh Pirate with the room, coaching, and my own locker. It is always said that you can never stop learning in the game of baseball, which I learned firsthand at this showcase. I shaved some time off my 60-yard dash and learned that I can be even faster with a few minor changes to my running form.  I also felt that my blocking has gotten better since the work with the Pirates catching coach. I have been working on my receiving as well and I'm not going to lie, it is different but I feel that I will start to get more strikes for my pitchers. I also learned that a catcher can play a long time as long as I can catch and throw well. It is good to see the differences in the recruiting process of college and major league recruits. I had Coach Murray as my team coach and I can honestly say that I wish he was my high school coach. He calmed my nerves and made me feel comfortable at the showcase which, I believe, is why I played well. The conditioning coach taught me a few things about my jumps on the pitcher and how to accelerate quicker. I have made it a personal goal of mine to break my high schools stolen base record. I am going to get faster and work on my jumps with some of the drills that I was shown at this showcase.  In my honest and personal opinion, I liked this showcase more than Omaha, however, the College World Series will be an experience that I will never forget. In fact, I still keep in touch with J'daylin Jackson.  It was funny last week because it got to about 82 degrees outside with little humidity and all the players from up North were saying, "Man this is ridiculously hot." I just laughed and told them that here in Florida we pray for weather like this because it is ten times hotter in the summer. I made them all jealous when I told them that we start high school season in two weeks.  I couldn't live without playing baseball for that long. I am so glad that I live in Florida. This was an amazing experience and I am glad that I went; it gave me pro instruction that I will use to my advantage and make myself a better player and person.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mitchell Barati

Dear Dan,

I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support and knowledge during this college process with Nick. I am happy where he has ended up. But most importantly you gave me a gift that I think you are unaware of. You helped me to put aside my own needs and to step back and to see what my son wanted. I will never forget the phone call when you asked the simple question of why did I not want to go too far from home? The way in which you asked opened my eyes to be more sensitive and to listen to Nick's dreams and desires. I have repeated that conversation often with other parents who are in the college process.

I realize I have done all that I can do and the rest is up to Nick. Thank you for being instrumental in helping his dream of playing college baseball come true. Hopefully he will work hard. I appreciate your time and professionalism. You were a complete pleasure to work with.

Wishing you all the best and I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Brenda DeMattio

To Matt Schilling-

We just wanted to thank you & compliment  you on a fantastic event!  Our son Brian Reilly attended training at Pirate City, we were amazed and extremely pleased with the way things were run and with the amazing experience it gave not only our son, but our entire family!  A big thank you to you and all of the coaching staff.  The knowledge our son gained over the weekend was unbelievable!  Not only did he learn baseball strategies, but he was taught life lessons.  This was above and beyond what we expected.

Once again, sincere thanks and appreciation to you and the entire coaching staff.

Sincerely,
The Reilly Family

Dear Woody,

I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past three years. Your guidance throughout my college process was second to none. I am extremely excited to be attending Tiffin University next year and your guidance led me to make that decision which I feel is a perfect one for me. Thanks to you and the Baseball Factory I am in a great position to do well both athletically and academically. Thank you again for everything.

Sincerely,
Nick Calandra

Hi Matt,
 
Thanks for the feedback and information and also your enthusiasm and hard work you and the other coaches put forth at the Baseball Factory Select Training & Competition at Pirate City. On the last day as we checked out my son Noah, as tired as he was, said he did not want to leave and wished he could stay longer. To me that shows he liked working on his game and had fun with it.
 
I appreciate you telling the kids and parents the reality of things to come and the effort they need to put forth. I have been trying to tell my son and other kids this same message in my area as I am the President of our local Little League and a coach for my sons travel baseball team. As a dad its sometimes hard for a son to listen to dad say these things so having him hear it from another source will help it sink in more.
 
As a parent and coach I learned a few things as well so Noah and I can work on them and of course the 3 A's [Academics, Athletics, Attitude].
 
Again thanks and we hope to see you at future events.
 
Craig Marcoux

I know you and your staff don't hear it enough so...THANK YOU!!!

Kip had an amazing time today at your tryout in Sanford, Florida -- and us as his parents learned a whole lot!! We are already looking forward to next year or sooner if you have another one! Please keep in touch and let Kip know of anymore upcoming events. We will keep in touch too. Have a great day and thanks again! You truly are making a difference in all the kids future! What a spectacular program you have! We are so happy we have found your organization! Thanks again to all the coaches and helpers there today they were truly GREAT!!! Kip had an amazing experience!!! Looking forward to hearing from you soon!!

Kerin Lee Jedlicka-Scott

Dear Mr. Sclafani,

My name is Brian Shearer and we met in 2010 at Cape Cod.  I do not know if you remember me but I am frequently in the Columbia office for lessons and like you, I went to Trinity School.  You were very supportive of me last summer and it meant a lot.

In August 2010 my high school years began when I entered Mount Saint Joseph. Academically, I took all honors courses and did very well.  Athletically, I continued to develop my skills at Baseball Factory and played for MSJ in the fall and spring.  I also played on a team this summer.  We just completed our season by winning the league’s end of season tournament.

In addition, I attended several Baseball Factory events throughout the year and once again attended the Cape Cod Pro Training.  Although you could not be present this summer, I wanted to thank you for having your company run such great events.  It is amazing how much I learn from the instruction I receive through the Baseball Factory.

I want you to know how great Adam Darvick, Coach Schilling, and Coach Lake have been to me over the past two years.  I really appreciate everything they have done for me. Each one has taught me a lot not only about baseball but also about life.  Coach Schilling, Coach Lake, and all the coaches at the Cape have great eyes for picking up little changes that are needed and they have drills for every part of the game.  Coach Bernhardt is a great man.  Between his instruction at the Cape and Coach Lake’s instruction during my lessons in Maryland, I really believe my fielding fundamentals are getting better.

I thought Coach Sofield’s talk last summer was one of the best I have ever heard and he was even more inspirational this summer.  I’ll never forget his explanation of the “pain of discipline” vs. the “pain of regret.”  I also really liked how Coach Bernhardt stressed perseverance and having a good attitude.

If you ever need someone to work or intern at the Baseball Factory please keep me in mind.  I would work hard and I know it would be a great learning experience.  I hope that I made a good impression and that people could see signs of improvement. It would be an honor to be invited to other Baseball Factory Events.

Sincerely,
Brian Shearer

Mr. Nagler

I was thrilled with the turnout of the event in Arizona. The experience was great and the atmosphere was fun. The thing that I liked the most from this tournament was the competition and the teams. The information given by the staff and coaches was very insightful and useful. The experience was probably the most fun thing I have done with baseball in a while! The idea that there was only one other kid from my state was crazy because there were kids from all over the United States, and one from Canada who was on my team. This experience really helped me with learning the game of baseball more and learning how to become a good prospect and interest in colleges. Thank you very much Mr.Nagler for this wonderful opportunity I have been afforded. It was fun, helpful, insightful and just an amazing experience.

Sincerely,
Chris Foster

Steve,

It was a great experience, Manuel had a blast!  He felt that having professional trainers providing feedback and strategies on improving his skills was the best.  He enjoyed being in the field all day long with all his team members.  Coach Johnson and Bryce were an inspiration for Manuel.  As a parent I felt that we got our money's worth do to the excellent training our son received plus it was extremelly organized, quality is the key word here.  (Manuel is speechless as he had lot's of fun!  And he is motivated to play ball at the next level.)  He is also interested in doing future events with the Baseball Factory.
 
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
 
Erika and Manuel Loera

Will,
I wanted to thank you for all your help the past two years. Baseball Factory has a product that is very helpful to kids that really don't know the ins and outs of the baseball scene. For us, Baseball Factory provided a product to showcase our son's abilities to numerous coaches. It is a wonderful tool for athletes. It is professionally done and wonderfully executed. I would highly recommend your company.

Will, you have been very accomodating. There were many times when I would mentions something to you and I would always get a helpful suggestion. I never felt like I bothered you and I really thought you wanted the best for Garrison. I know you have went out of your way to help him and I appreciate that.

So, in summary, Baseball Factory is awesome.....but so are you!

Respectfully,
Kathy Banas

Will, 

Adam, 

Hello Mr. Sclafani,

Dear Rob and Steve,

Hi Ronald,