Centerfield Sports Academy                

Naperville's Batting Cage Headquarters in the Best Baseball & Softball Facility in DuPage County


Testimonials
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Coach Mike (Trimarco), you have given me skills, strength, and encouragement to excel on and off the field. I am grateful for all that you have taught me, and I am thankful that were my coach.

Jacob Gividen

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Dear Mr. Mike (Trimarco)
Thank you for teaching me better mechanics. I liked working with you alot! I will use what you taught me in my games.

M.J. Stavola

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Thank you for the generous offer to credit Steve and Paul for [junior high fall baseball league] games that were not played in the fall. While we will be using the credit for lessons or camps, it was not necessary. It was unfortunate that the weather did not cooperate with the weekend schedule but in that regard there was nothing that you could have done to stop mother nature.
 
I would also like compliment you on your program, coaches and staff. While my twin sons would have liked to play more games, the reality was that they were training during the week and on days that they were rained out, The fall league is for training and learning the game. What we received was exceptional training from exceptional coaches!
 
All three of my sons (12 year old twins/17 year old junior WVHS Baseball) have been involved in travel and fall leagues, My older son has been playing in fall leagues since he was 11 and this type of program was not readily available when he was younger. No training just play ball and move on. The reality is that games don't make a player good, innings played are important, but perfect practice makes kids good. This is what we received. All players will need to possess the fundamentals if they aspire to play at the high school level and beyond. I know that Coach Mike [Trimarco], Alvie [Shepherd], Bill [Naffziger], Tom [Kinney] along the other coaches had this in mind when they worked with the kids. They really worked with the players at all skill levels to make them better players and citizens.
 
My older son has been training with Coach Mike for five years and it has worked out extremely well. He has also been been tutored by other coaches at the Academy, Coach Tom, Coach Alvie and Coach Bill to name a few. All of these professional coaches have assisted in the development of my older son which has resulted in a very successful high school experience to date (WVHS Final Four, All Tournament Summer State High School, Starter as incoming Junior Summer 09, Elite summer teams). I expect and am confident that my younger sons under their tutelage will be in the same position as they move forward. It will be up to my kids to take what is taught and implement. I can only give them the opportunity.
 
Again, thank everyone for all of their support.
 
Regards,
Harry Vickers

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I just wanted to let you know that I had four boys contact me after seeing your newsletter advertising the open position on my Renegades team. We gave two of them tryouts, and offered one a position on the team and he accepted. So our team is now complete. Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.

Dave Bender
Coach of Naperville Renegades 13U Team
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Thank you for the wonderful "exposure" you've given GABA this year, relative to tryouts. We appreciate our relationship with Centerfield S.A. and the folks that we work with there. We look forward to a continued relationship with your Academy as we move into the 2010 season!

Joe Bailey, President
Greater Aurora Baseball Association
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Centerfield Sports Academy has been working with my son Tyler since Jan 2009. What a difference quality instruction makes. I wish I had found them sooner. Tyler is a varsity  pitcher for Plano High and is going to pitch in college. Working with Mike & Tom not only improved his mechanics and accuracy, they also improved his confidence. They work on all aspects of the game. We've worked with other coachs that didn't seem to push the right buttons. Mike and Tom are able to assess the specific areas needed to improve and compete at the next level. We look foward to working with them through the next level. I would recommend them for any skill level.

Mike Lobdell

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This is our testimonial for Centerfield Sports Academy.   My son Mick has been training with Mike Trimarco at Centerfield for the past two years.   During that time,   he’s taken about 35-40 1 hour lessons from Mike Trimarco both on hitting and pitching.    Additionally Mick has also participated with Centerfields fall baseball program as well as winter camps.    Mick plays for the Batavia High School Sophomore team as well as a summer tournament team (GABA Eagles) that conduct winter practice at Centerfield.    Mick is 16 now.   He first started lessons when he was 12.   We went to Fox Valley Sports Academy,  Bulls/Sox Academy,  and Finish Strong prior to finding Centerfield in 2007.   So I feel like I have a good sense of what some of the other local offerings are for 1 on 1 training,  group lessons and camps.    While each of these other programs do have knowledgeable folks,   Centerfield has the edge in comraderie and a more personal touch.    We’ve never felt like ‘just another lesson’  walking through the door at Centerfield.    Nor have we ever felt like they were ‘doing us a favor’  by working with us.    And while previous lessons at other facilities did help Mick,  I really feel because of the staff at Centerfield led by Mike Trimarco,   Micks capabilities have grown exponentially.    There are not many places where the coach  giving the lesson as well as others on the staff also help and provide realtime feedback.   Specifically coaches Tom Kinney and Alvie Shepard,   many times just out of a collective desire to help,  have provided that feedback in addition to the exceptional instruction that Mick received directly from Mike Trimarco.    Below is a picture from last years freshman team (sophomore season hasn’t started yet) with Mick’s highlights.   And yes I am the ‘proud dad’,  but the results speak for themselves.    Mick was even called up last year and pitched in a varsity game for Batavia.   He heads into this season as the #1 pitcher in the sophomore rotation. 

While the training and the people giving the training are extremely important,   that’s not the whole story.   The folks that are responsible for keeping the schedule straight and working with me on times when we had a conflict has  also been invaluable.   The team at Centerfield has always taken care of us and have been professional in doing so.   I think you know how we feel!  If your looking for a team of professionals to train your player,   run in a first class manner,   give them a try.    I know you will not be disappointed.

Mike Walsh

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Austin did not start playing organized baseball until he was 11, and he had an above-average first year.  He liked to pitch so we thought a lesson or two would help.  After a winter with Mike, rebuilding his throwing mechanics, adjusting his batting and a few fielding lessons, he stepped up to a new performance level.  At Centerfield Sports they not only teach baseball, Mike stresses conditioning and, most importantly, sportsmanship.  Thanks.
 
Austin (age 13) and Dad

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Mick Walsh at bat
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REPRINT OF JUNE 17th ARTICLE IN NAPERVILLE SUN NEWSPAPER:

Camp a hit with kids

Centerfield Sports Academy helping local baseball players develop their skills

June 17, 2010

Monday's hitting clinic at Centerfield Sports Academy in Naperville included a handful of potential future headliners.

The baseball hitting camp, which ran June 14-16, was supposed to take place at Lisle Community Park but instead was moved indoors when inclement weather intervened. Naperville, Aurora, Warrenville and Yorkville all were represented on Monday. Two of the seven teenagers from the 13 and 14 age group eagerly anticipate tenures in the Upstate Eight Conference.

Tyler Patterson, 14, of Naperville will go to Neuqua Valley next year and 13-year-old Aurora resident Craig Philipp will attend Metea Valley. Both hope to play ball in high school.

Patterson signed up for the camp for the first time this year and Philipp has been coming since he was 7. Former minor leaguer Mike Trimarco led the recent camp.

"It's a great opportunity," Patterson said of working with Trimarco. "You can tell he really knows a lot about baseball and fundamentals. He can pick out a small thing in your hitting or your pitching delivery and find out what's wrong."

Philipp pays special attention to instructors like Trimarco, one of three former pro players on staff, "because they actually had the experience and were able to make it to pro ball."

Philipp has transformed from a recreation league player to a travel team member of the Bolingbrook Bandits.

Trimarco went to Aurora Central Catholic and then Aurora University, where as a right-handed pitcher he impressed major league scouts enough that the Baltimore Orioles signed him in the 1993 amateur draft. He played six seasons of professional ball -- 4½ of those in the Baltimore organization.

Trimarco even got a taste of the independent leagues, with stops in Salinas, Calif., of the Western League and Atlantic City, N.J., of the Atlantic League. Along the way, Trimarco learned plenty of life lessons and added to his baseball acumen.

"You learn the aspect of being coachable, you open the door to seeing other coaches -- I got to meet Reggie Jackson, Jim Palmer and Bob Feller -- and the knowledge they had carried over to us," he said. "And then, even though I was a pitcher, I talked to hitters a lot and watching hitters helped, too. I've been blessed and surrounded with great coaches."

His coaching philosophy includes a blend of instructional teaching, fun, a desire to see his clients grow at each competitive level, emphasis on fundamentals and, as he terms it, "Being someone that won't lead them astray."

Part of getting kids to listen is finding the right personal touch.

"We have a coaching staff that really bonds with the kid and the family," he said. "The kids, whether we're working with them individually or in a camp, get individual attention to areas where they can improve. We try to provide one-on-one quality time with the individual."

Trimarco and the Centerfield staff emphasize a building-block approach to baseball.

"Simple fundamentals go a long way, and the customers for the most part like the route we take," Trimarco said.

Trimarco places an emphasis on the need to hit off a tee and use of soft-toss drills in order to refine one's offensive skills. He also focuses on body balance and swing mechanics, along with "a consistency of repetitions with muscle memory." Consistency at the plate is key.

Bob Aloisio of Yorkville brought in his two teenage sons to brush up on their hitting. Both Zachary (14) and Kyle (13 in a week) play travel ball for the Yorkville Foxes and have several tournaments this summer.

Aloisio made the decision to bring his boys to the camp Monday morning. He and Trimarco attended ACC together.

"All kids need fine-tuning, no matter what point they're at in their season," Aloisio said.

He said taking his sons for instruction from an objective third party works better than trying to impart his own wisdom on them.

"It's different (for them) knowing that (Trimarco's) been here as a kid wanting to get better, he's gone to college and he's worked hard to get where he got," Aloisio said.

Trimarco coaches a fall ball program through Centerfield that draws kids from as far away as DeKalb, Big Rock, Utica and Princeton. Players enjoy a 10-game season, with Saturday games for ages 13-14 and Sunday contests for those 15 and 16. He has had Benet Academy and Lisle High School athletes play in the league.

Centerfield offers programs throughout the year to help softball and baseball players elevate their games. For more information, call (630) 416-8666 or learn more online at www.centerfieldsportsacademy.com.

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Care to leave your own testimonial? Just drop us a note at info@centerfieldsportsacademy.com

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