Local softball, baseball stars train in style

Posted

East Meadow and W.T. Clarke baseball and softball stars often look to expand their training outside of their home fields.

Lola Reese, a junior at W.T. Clarke High School and Varsity softball pitcher, has trained at Prospect Sports in Farmingdale for four years and also participates in its pitching and power hitting programs. She trains at Prospect once a week and Infiniti Sports Performance three times a week.

In the winter, Bellport’s Infiniti Sports Performance teams up with the Farmingdale training center for off-season athlete training programs.

“Training at Infinity has helped me grow as an athlete,” Reese said. “My physical strength has increased a lot as well as my mental strength. I learned so much from training there.”

She said the atmosphere at Prospect Sports is like no other facility she has been to in the past. “I think what separates Prospect from other facilities is that they take every athlete and individualize specific drills for their needs, they don’t just teach every kid the same thing.”

Reese had a strong season for the Rams this year with 138 strikeouts and is one of the top pitchers at Prospect Sports when it comes to strikeout count.

Prospect Sports allows players like Reese to further develop their skills year-round while offering collegiate and professional level instruction for all skill levels in individual lessons, small groups or team instruction.

Bobby DeMichael and his father, Artie, purchased it in May 2016 and immediately turned the facility into a high-powered academy for both baseball and softball players.

One of their priorities while opening their facility was to revolutionize pitching lessons by introducing data-driven technology like a Rapsodo machine, which displays pitch velocity, spin rate, spin axis, spin efficiency as well as strike zone and video analysis, for both softball and baseball pitchers.

Alexandra Kelly, a junior at East Meadow High School and Varsity softball pitcher, has been taking pitching lessons at Prospect Sports for two years now and said, “They have not only helped me fix certain mechanics and taught me new pitches, but they have also introduced me to arm care which has helped my arm stay fresh and ready for any game.”

Kelly finished her first season on varsity starting 21 out of the 24 games, leading her team to counties, the Long Island Championship, and semifinals for states. She had 16 wins this season, the second-most number of wins in Nassau County, and won All-County Honorable Mention this year at the Nassau County Softball Awards Ceremony.

Prospect Sports is not only known for their dominating pitching but also their power hitters. Daniella Roselli, an incoming Adelphi softball commit, said she would not have been able to reach her accomplishments without the five years of training at Prospect Sports. With 32 home runs in Roselli’s junior season at Division High School, she broke the schools’ record.

Roselli is a four-time All-County recipient, three-year Top 100 softball player in Newsday, and made the Nassau County All-Star Team and the second All-State team in her senior year. “When I walk into Prospect I know right away that I am in a hard-working, professional environment,” she said. “Every trainer is looking to help you grow not only as a player but as a person as well.”