RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
It all started back in the spring of 2016 in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago.
A group of young 8U all stars from their rec league were assembled to travel locally and compete for titles.
These girls would always run into another team in the finals and finally the two squads joined together to form the core of what is known today as the Elite Sports Performance (“ESP”) Elite 07 team.
In the Summer of 2017, the team added two more key components but noticed that they wanted more: they needed better training, “so we took a chance with a club that was mainly baseball teams but had multiple MLB instructors including Kevin Sullivan and Mark Delesandro leading the hitting instruction,” explains Head Coach Bryan Page.
The girls on the team started performance training, weightlifting, and getting high level instruction and by this year it had all come together as ESP went 70-18 competing in elite events including ranging from Top Gun to the Georgia World Series to the PGF Regionals in Peoria, Illinois.
The list of tourneys won is impressive: ESP took first at the Spring Fling, the Wasco Memorial, the DeMarini Showcase and Alliance Stars of Tomorrow where the title gave Page’s team a paid berth to next summer’s Nationals.
Along with the championship wins, ESP took second at several prestigious events including Top Gun Invitationals, the Heartland Havoc Shootout and the PGF Midwest Regionals and placed third at the USA Elite Select World Series in Atlanta.
The future is promising for ESP which is led by Page with Mike Peetz serving as assistant coach and Mike Ruchala as bench coach.
ESP only plates 10 and Coach Page says the team is looking to add a quality pitcher; if interested, he can be contacted at [email protected]. The team can also be followed on Twitter: @ESPElite07Page.
Extra Inning caught up with the head of this fast-rising program to learn more about the history, culture and talent that makes up the team… here’s our Q&A with Coach Page…
*****
Where are you based and where do your athletes come from (all locally, some out of state?)
We are based out of Oswego, Illinois and currently we have 10 girls rostered with each one going to a different high school in the Chicagoland suburbs. We have had the same girls, for the most part, since 8U. We have built a sense of comradery which has seemed to have left the game a bit lately with kids jumping ship and thinking the grass is greener when, in fact, it’s usually NOT.
Just recently we had to make our first “re-adjustment” to get us in the spot of competing for championships which required me to scout/recruit Alaina Peetz from Lockport, Illinois. She was buried in a local program playing B tournaments (aged up) with her dad (Mike). It took me two years to convince the parents, Mike and Sylvia, that her daughter was special and needed to be seen on the big stage. They like the idea of making a name for themselves instead of chasing the name on the jersey and to do it our way. Well, they believed in me and it’s been a dream team ever since!
When did the team/program start and how/why did it come to be?
Elite Sports Performance (ESP), the training company and facility, has been around since 2009. Owning the building and having state-of-the-art-equipment has greatly enhanced the ESP experience for not only its own players, but for all athletes that train with us.
Our unique partnership with Joe Yager and Macey Brooks (moved to our building in April of 2018) continues to provide the one-stop shop training facility for our athletes of all ages. Our superior training led by Kevin Sullivan, Mark Delesandro, Mike Trimarco, Sammy Hall and the rest of the ESP staff makes ESP a destination stop for training kids from as far away as Wisconsin and Indiana.
ESP Elite 07 was originally with a different organization, but we were missing the expert training, so my plan as the head coach was to get them into a place where we can be independent, but getting the best training for hitting and fielding. ESP has ex-MLB ball players leading the way and it shows. ESP wraps in a $500 credit from the $1,900 dues towards sessions at ESP so all of my girls get instruction in the building, then head to practice in the field hall (turf). One stop shop…. it’s brilliant, I feel!
What was the purpose of creating the team? Was it to showcase players, win titles, develop skills, other reasons?
All of the above. The first part to all of this is having that competitiveness that is unteachable. Each girl on this team wants to win at anything and at all costs. If you have girls like that, winning comes naturally, because the work is being put in as they develop.
One thing we strive to them is they are ALL athletes and can make the plays, but what can separate you is your mental preparedness and understanding game scenarios, in game personal, and patterns. We play chess, not checkers, when the defense takes the field. When you conquer the mental part of the game, the rest is easy. End of the day, the experience is important… creating memories all while you are doing what you love, playing softball and competing.
What have been some of your successes in terms of winning or placing at events?
Since the beginning of the 2021 calendar year our team has gone 70-18 and winning or finishing as runner-ups in all but two events, which we still placed in the final four. We have traveled and played in all the big tournaments outside of Huntington Beach, California (PGF). We have traveled to Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio to find competition. It’s been working.
As you know, we have been winning every weekend, and expect to. From Top Gun to PGF Midwest National (57 teams), we are finishing in the finals every time. We also just won the Alliance bid in Iowa to start our new season off. And all of this being a first year 14U team. We are now going through our second year 14’s and have started off hot again this Fall: Alliance win, Final 4 at Bandits Labor Day, and winning TCS Super 72. Follow the timeline on Twitter dating back and you can see the successes in order.
What makes the organization unique, do you think?
We are independent and have freedom to be who we want, play where we want, and not have to answer to organizational roster suggestions or have any pressure wearing a big name across the chest. We keep our roster tight at 10, looking to add one more (as we lost a special girl to volleyball—her true passion—in high school.
What’s your softball background and how did you get to the point of leading the team?
I am your typical alpha male who loves sports, played baseball and wrestled in high school, but then got involved in the men’s 12-inch circuit traveling all over the country playing at a high level for about 10 years.
Fast forward to my first child (a girl) who plays 12-inch softball traveling all over the place just like I was 10 years ago. It’s the same thing, same mentality, so it’s all very familiar. My family and my wife’s are both wrestling families, so we bring a hard-nosed, assassin-type mentality to the field and it shows in the girls’ personalities. The team has definitely embraced my hard-nose attitude of kicking a– and taking names. And it’s working!
How many teams are there in the organization overall?
Right now, we have four older softball teams in the organization for softball, but over 30 for boys baseball (which was the foundation of ESP).
Has there been a key moment or defining experience in the team’s history?
None, other than the pressure of moving org’s, retooling, and going 70-18! (laughs)
What is your primary focus or goal with this team?
To keep these girls together through the next four seasons and show other clubs it’s not about the name, but the will to win and be who you want to be. You can find your way to any college of your liking if you work hard, stay together and prove others wrong.
What do you think are the strengths of the team?
We can hit and have one of the top prospect pitchers in the country for the Class of 2025. Alaina Peetz, as I told you, is a coach’s dream. She loves the center circle and loves to compete. She is a workhorse who has carried us in many tournaments. With the ESP instructors all having resumes of MLB experience, it has propelled us into a viable offensive unit. We have amazing hitters that bat in the 7-8-9 spots who can easily hit 2-3-4 in another coach’s lineup. We are lucky to have the group we have—they are all coachable and they understand that it doesn’t matter where you hit in the lineup, just get a hit in your spot.
If there is one thing you would say that separates you from other club programs, what would it be?
Camaraderie. We have had the same girls for a long time. Every year there is so much turnover and people never satisfied, but I make it a thing to not cut anyone. Once you are on ESP, you are here for good.
*****
Here’s a player-by-player rundown of the ESP Elite 07 team with comments provided by Coach Page… players listed numerically:
*** Scroll down to read the bios on each player with stats and insights…