July 2013

Monthly Quote

Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability.

Grand Slam USA will be providing you with a monthly newsletter to update you on the facility, training opportunities, and the Grand Slam 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 onr twitter @grandslam_dm and visit our website http://www.grandslamdsm.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS For Your Information

• The fall lesson schedule for September-December is now available. Scheduling can be done online through our scheduling software or at the Grand Slam counter and over the phone. August Closing

• Registration is now available for the youth baseball instructional league. Information can be found on our website and at the Grand Grand Slam USA will be closed during the month of August for Slam counter. annual maintenance and up-keep. Grand Slam staff will be in the office from 9:00am-12:00pm Monday-Friday. We will still be • Scheduling for lessons and rental times is now available online. doing lessons. To schedule please call Grand Slam at Check our website for more details. Scheduling CAN still be done 515.278.1070. over the phone or at the front counter.

Phone # 515.278.1070 Grand Slam Baseball Club

SURGE The 14U Surge’s stellar play moved the team to AAA, where they finished fourth in the state tournament.

FORCE The Force took first at the Diamond Classic. The AA team finished sixth in the silver bracket of this year’s state tournament.

VIPERS The Vipers finished with a 26-10 record this season. The team competed against teams from all around the nation in the Omaha Slumpbuster, and finished second losing in the finals to a tough Longhorns team from Austin, Texas. The Vipers finished ranked third in the 12 majors class. The Vipers .362 as a team and also had an outstanding team ERA at 3.34.

STEALTH Finishing with a 26-17 record, the Stealth competed in the gold bracket eight times of the nine tournaments the 13U team played in. The team went 2-2 in the state tournament earning them a 14 th place finish out of 60 teams. Jack Thompson threw out four runners who attempted to steal on the Stealth, helping the team shut down the opponents running game.

GS RED The 14U team finished the season with 20 wins. The went 1-1 in pool play in the state tournament to earn the 17 th place seed (No. 1 seed in the silver bracket). Red was powered this season by strong pitching from Joe Reck, Geoff Meek, Adam Lee, Curtis Selzer and Tristin Salcido. Red’s consistent offense was the backbone to the 14U team led by Josh Paulus, Andrew Steenblock, Justin Gard Tanner Pistillo and Nick Addison.

RAZORBACKS The Razorbacks team finished up the season going 29-12-1, and going 5-1 in the State Tournament winning the Silver Bracket. The Razorbacks also finished the season ranked 4th in the State for Power Ranking. As a team, the “Backs” hit for a .375 average, and also had an outstanding 2.86 ERA.

LONGHORNS

State Tournament

Carter Baumler helps Grand Slam Longhorns 11U down Quad City Heat 7-6 Carter Baumler went 2-2 and hit a home , helping Grand Slam Longhorns 11U to a 7-6 victory over Quad City Heat on Saturday at 11U State Tournament. He homered in the second and singled in the third inning. Anthony Potthoff was in control on the bump. Quad City Heat managed just one hit off of P, who allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out two during his three of work.

Grand Slam Longhorns 11U tops Dubuque Sting in back-and-forth affair, 12-7 Grand Slam Longhorns 11U outlasted Dubuque Sting on Saturday after four lead changes, squeaking out a 12-7 win at 11U State Tournament. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U took the lead in the second inning and held on for the victory. A wild scored Cole Perlinger to give Grand Slam Longhorns 11U the lead for good. Carter Baumler racked up three RBIs on three hits for Grand Slam Longhorns 11U. He singled in the first, second, and third innings. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Anthony Potthoff singled to ignite Grand Slam Longhorns 11U's offense. Carter singled, scoring Caden Backstrom . After a quick strike from Grand

Grand Slam Baseball Club

Dubuque Sting scored one run in the second inning, and then followed it up with one more in the third. In the second, Dubuque Sting scored on a steal of home, plating Robert Schumacher. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U added five more runs in the top of the third. A scored Brett Berg for the inning's first run. That was followed up by Adam Brauch's , scoring Cole. Three runs in the bottom of the fourth helped Dubuque Sting close its deficit to 12-7. A two-run single by Maxwell Packingham and an RBI single by Luke Kennedy gave Dubuque Sting life. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U closed the game out when Jack Johnson got Brandon Birch to.

Phoenix Wood Bat Tournament

Three Grand Slam Longhorns 11U team up for no-hitter in 4-0 victory over Iowa Sticks Three pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter for Grand Slam Longhorns 11U in a 4-0 victory in six innings over Iowa Sticks on Saturday at Phoenix Wood Bat Tournament. Anthony Potthoff, Carter Baumler, and Jack Johnson tallied 12 and walked none in completing the no-no. Iowa Sticks couldn't get anything going so long as Carter was on the hill. Carter held Iowa Sticks hitless over three innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out eight. The game's last lead went to Grand Slam Longhorns 11U thanks to a third inning rally that saw three runs cross the plate on a groundout by Brett Berg and two singles.

Grand Slam Longhorns 11U seize victory thanks to late bases loaded walk, drop Quad City Heat 7-2 Grand Slam Longhorns 11U took the last of five lead changes in a back-and-forth affair against Quad City Heat, securing a 7-2 victory on Saturday at Phoenix Wood Bat Tournament. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U pulled out the win thanks to a strong fourth inning. A walk by Brett Berg scored Jake Auer and gave Grand Slam Longhorns 11U the lead for good. The bottom of the first saw Grand Slam Longhorns 11U take an early lead, 1-0.

Early lead not enough for Grand Slam Longhorns 11U, drop 4-3 decision to the Columbus Mariners Grand Slam Longhorns 11U came out firing, but couldn't hang on to the lead, ending up on the losing side of a 4-3 ballgame against the Columbus Mariners on Saturday at Phoenix Wood Bat Tournament. While Grand Slam Longhorns 11U led until the sixth inning, the Columbus Mariners worked their way back and took the lead on a fielder's choice. Alec Nigut went a perfect 3-3 at the plate for Grand Slam Longhorns 11U. He singled in the second, fourth, and sixth innings. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U's threat began with a single by Drew Jirak. A then moved Drew from first to second. Caden Backstrom singled, plating Drew. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U added more runs when B and P scored on a two-run single by Carter Baumler. The Columbus Mariners brought home one run in the first inning, and matched that run total in the third. In the first, the Columbus Mariners scored on an RBI single by Tyler Wessel-Gilbert, scoring Joseph Palmer.

Grand Slam Longhorns 11U makes the most of six hits in 7-2 victory over Johnston Sundevils Both Grand Slam Longhorns 11U and Johnston Sundevils put runners aboard on Sunday, but it was Grand Slam Longhorns 11U that was able to take advantage, pulling out a 7-2 win at Phoenix Wood Bat Tournament. Johnston Sundevils out-hit Grand Slam Longhorns 11U nine to six, but Johnston Sundevils stranded seven runners on base. Carter Baumler paced Grand Slam Longhorns 11U at the plate. Carter went 2-3, drove in one and scored one run. He doubled in the second inning and singled in the fifth inning. The top of the second saw Johnston Sundevils take an early lead, 2-0. Johnston Sundevils caught fire after Jackson Stewart singled. Then Cooper Peddicord singled, scoring Jackson. More runs came home for Johnston Sundevils when P scored on an RBI single by Ryan Ellsworth. Grand Slam Longhorns 11U brought home one run in the second inning, and matched that run total in the fifth. In the second, Grand Slam Longhorns 11U scored on an RBI by Carter, plating Adam Brauch.

The game's last lead went to Grand Slam Longhorns 11U thanks to a third inning rally that saw five runs cross the plate on a two -run single by Drew Jirak , a GET TO KNOW Where are they now? Where are they now? features athletes who have taken lessons, trained,

Alex McCune continue to train, or that have worked at Grand Slam USA. High School: Johnston High School (2013) Robert Coello is a for the of Anaheim. Coello is College: Marshalltown Community College a native of New Jersey and former Iowa Cub. While with Iowa he met Bob Reisz, owner of Peak Performance which is based out of Grand Slam. With Grand Slam USA: Front Desk Worker the help of Bob Reisz, Robert made his way back to the Big Leagues after battling injuries. He has appeared in 18 games over the last two years for the Q: What is your favorite MLB Team? Blue Jays and Angeles. Grand Slam USA wishes Robert the best of luck and A: Tampa Bay Rays health!

Q: What is your favorite movie? A: The Avengers

Q: What is your most memorable moment in baseball? A: Traveling to Kansas City back in AAU when I was younger and PLAYER SPOTLIGHT hanging out with my teammates the entire weekend at these cool hotels. Grand Slam Surge

Q: Do you have any hidden talents? A: I play the drums. Please follow the link below to read about the 14U Grand Slam Surge baseball team! Q: What are your hobbies? A: Listening to music, playing music, working out, and hanging with friends. Surge.pdf Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to young baseball players? A: Be confident. Listen and learn from coaches, because more than likely they know more than you and they want to make you better.

From The Owner

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July and got to spend time with family and friends. At Grand Slam, we are always looking for ways to improve the baseball and softball experience for our athletes. We take great pride in every lesson we give, clinic we run, and camp we host. A big part of improving the baseball and softball experience for young athletes has been the Grand Slam Baseball Club. The Grand Slam Baseball Club was started with the simple, yet important idea of getting kids better. After five years this is still our main focus. The cost to play baseball and softball continues to increase through tournament expenses, uniforms, travel, equipment, etc. To help our players and families off-set these costs, the Grand Slam Baseball Club became a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit.

We want every athlete to be able to participate and have a positive experience without a significant financial burden. With the not-for-profit status, the goal of the Grand Slam Baseball Club is to alleviate the cost of tournaments and uniforms for our teams. We also want to be able to provide financial assistance for players and their families who qualify, so they may participate. The Grand Slam Baseball Club is looking to achieve these goals through money raised from fundraisers and corporate partnerships.

Our teams will be given assistance and opportunities on fundraisers provided by the Club. The Grand Slam Baseball Club is also offering corporate partnerships to businesses. We know we cannot do this alone and that it takes help from others to reach our goals. Grand Slam has always been dedicated to the improvement of athletes’ performance and development as people. I want this to continue and expand through the Grand Slam Baseball Club. Follow the link below for more information on how to donate to the Grand Slam Baseball Club. Feel free to contact me for any questions, comments, and feedback.

GSBC\GSBC Partnership Form.pdf

Practice Tip of the Month

When playing the position of catcher, make sure you don’t receive on your toes and keep your glove elbow outside your knees.