Strike Zone ASA Softball Academy

I personally played for Don several years ago and all I can say about the negative reviews is that if you can’t handle Don and the Strike Zone staff, JUST WAIT til college. You will fold in 10 seconds, guaranteed. His work and coaching personally saved my family over $ 80,000 in college tuition. Parenting these days ha gotten so soft that a coach can’t do his job and coach without patents thinking he’s too tough. Release the leash you have and let them grow up and grow a backbone.
Don is an awesome coach, best advice, listen to WHAT he says, not HOW he says it.
Oh the girls in my age group, every single one got a college scholarship, so that would be 100%, for those of you who need some data. Don has a great reputation with college coaches and getting on his bad side can only hurt you even if your no longer on his team. He talks to coaches about players whether they are his or not, so good like to all of you, all I can say is the softball gods will give you what you deserve!

I wasn’t going to get involved but now feel I have too. My daughter and I have been involved with Strike Zone for 4 years now. I am one of the team moms and my husband coached. I first hand see everything Don does for these girls, everything he has to sacrifice & all the time he puts in. He has a full time job as do the coaches and team moms. He has a baby, wife and kids at home that he doesn’t get to see as much as he would like due to being committed to this organization. So it may look easy from the outside… people are allowed to their own opinions, however I wish before they spoke them they would get the whole picture. I don’t think some people get how much time and work is involved here. Don is the type of man who would give you the shirt off his back. He always wants to help families and has their best interest at heart.
My daughter has played for other organizations so I do have something to compare it to. This is one of the best organizations we have been involved in. Getting these young women into college is Don’s #1 Goal. Unlike other programs, Strike Zone is not about winning at the younger ages, it’s about developing the girls. My daughter came to SZ and was not a good player at ALL. I mean like bad news bears not good. Don and the coaches have developed her into a switch hitter/​slapper and she is able to play ANY position in the field with the exception of pitcher. She has even had the opportunity to play up in the older divisions as well as a few other players. Not only did they get to experience playing at a higher level but you can’t beat the amazing experience it is. It is just a whole new level. It gives the girls a drive to be better. Another thing I love about SZ is every single girls gets playing time on Saturday, guaranteed 2 games. Top 9 play 1^st game Sunday and then if they win all girls get a chance to play. I know a lot of other organizations where girls sit the bench more than they play. This isn’t the case at zone; Don knows the girls develop more by being on the field. Don is 100% committed to getting the girls into college. Whether it is D1 or D3, he gets them into an educationally fit school. Parents tend to forget that it is NOT all about softball… Softball is just a stepping stone to get into college. Let’s be honest after 4 years of college is there softball after that? So it doesn’t matter if it is a D1, D2 or D3 school. These girls are graduation with degrees. There are college coaches that say they will take any SZ players because of their respect and work ethic. That in itself speaks WORDS.
One more thing, I do have an older child who received a FULL scholarship to a D1 college. I had to figure out on my own how to get her into college. I wish I had someone like Don to help. I learned by trial and error. There were no «workshops» given from her coach. Don helps out and provides a lot of information that I wish I had with my oldest. So as this organization might not be for everyone, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a great organization. I am so blessed that I can call SZ my family.