2023-24 MN Club Tryouts | Catalyst Softball

CATALYST SOFTBALL
MINNESOTA CLUB TRYOUTS

Catalyst Softball Academy (formerly Starters Softball) is proud to announce our 2023-24 club tryouts! Our mission is to build a positive club/travel softball environment for athletes to develop as softball players and as confident young people. Our organization has grown to become one of the most competitive programs in the Midwest with player development and training that has been unrivaled in the Upper Midwest. As we continue to learn, grow, and reach our goals, we look forward to offering our player-development-first mentality and system for the 2023 - 2024 travel/club softball season. With great instruction, continued education, and relentless pursuit for greatness, we are pleased to present our ever-evolving club programming as one of the best in the Midwest.

We are proud to announce the offering of year-round travel/club softball teams at the 13U/14U, 15U/16U, and 18U levels. Catalyst Softball will be fielding a MAXIMUM of 10 teams for the 2023 - 2024 season as we move forward and continue into our goal of becoming an all-inclusive club/travel softball program with teams competing at the highest level locally, regionally, and nationally. Our teams will be led by a coaching staff of experienced individuals that have coached for decades, are former collegiate softball players, and current collegiate softball players. We are proud to have a diverse, former Division I collegiate softball player, female-led full-time staff and ownership here at Catalyst.

2023 - 2024 MN TRYOUT REGISTRATION

Prior Lake High School Varsity & JV Softball Fields
7575 150th St. W.,
Savage, MN 55378

Tryout Fee: $20 +sales tax and can be made payable through our online registration located on this page (payment and sign up will be through our new system, GymMaster). Through the registration process, you will fill out a form with FAQ's as well as waivers to tryout. If Catalyst Softball is your #1 choice, we highly recommend attending multiple tryout sessions and marking so on your tryout form - it does not cost extra to attend more than one tryout session! If there are time conflicts, please contact us beforehand at info@catalystsoftball.com.
Roster sizing will be set at a maximum of 13 players. The 18U maximum roster is 14. Our ideal roster size is 12.
Our tryout sessions will be capped on a first come, first serve basis via registration. If there is a need for additional time slots for tryouts, we will be adding them.
You will be alerted within 72 hours of your tryout if you are offered a spot or if the rosters have been filled. Those who make a team will receive an email and a follow up phone call, those who do not will just receive an email alerting them tryout selection has concluded.
Please read through our program information and vision below. We are here to help girls achieve their dreams - whether that be to play at a competitive level as a youth athletes, or to become a future college softball player. Our ultimate goal is to work with young people and get them better in every facet of life and softball. As mentioned above, our training and player development as a member of our club program separates us significantly from all other club programs. Years of data-driven research and application have put us in a spot where we can pursue a player development system that will help get your daughters to the next level and commitment to them to continuously improve their skills even while in college.

WHY CATALYST SOFTBALL?

All-Inclusive System

Our club softball player development system is unrivaled in the Upper Midwest. One of the biggest reasons athletes choose to play for the Catalyst Softball is for the full access to elite and certified instructors, coaches, and trainers. Our Catalyst Softball program works directly with our staff in our home softball facility - Catalyst Sports Lab - for high-level training and state-of-the-art facilities year-round for all facets of the game – hitting, pitching, arm strength, defense, baserunning, strength + development, and softball IQ. We are one of the only softball programs in the Midwest with their own training facility and various cutting edge hitting & pitching technologies and tools (Rapsodo, 4D Motion, Blast Motion, Axe Trainers, J Bands, etc.). All of this alongside qualified and certified trainers that execute the player education and application. We invest in our players, coaches, and our facility to be the best in the Midwest and continue our retention rates within our club and training organization. Whether it is in the weight room, in the cages, or on the dirt – we will always assess, train, sustain, and emphasize overall mental and physical health throughout the year. Our assessments hold us accountable to continue to raise the standard. We are built on research and supported by data.

Built on research, supported by data.

High-Level Competition

Our teams are complete with players and athletes that are passionate, respectful, and relentless in their pursuit for greatness alongside our coaches. With these players, we are able to compete at the highest level of competition locally in the MN Top Tier League as well as in the toughest competition regionally and nationally in various sanctioned leagues throughout the country. We train year-round and compete year-round as well with a Fall competition season, Winter training and competition season, optional Spring training, and full Summer competition season. We offer various training opportunities during the Winter season in order to accommodate multiple sport athletes.

We believe that in order to be the best, you must train and compete with the best. We have implemented a dedicated development program, college showcase platform, and competition schedule that will allow our prospective student-athletes the opportunity to be seen by collegiate coaches as well as prepare and educate each player on the college recruiting process. We have partnered with SportsRecruits and provide various Recruiting Seminars throughout the year as well for our athletes.

Empowered Environment

We care about members of our organization as people and young women FIRST. Our program was built by former collegiate softball athletes that had incredible experiences on their club and collegiate teams. The common denominator of those experiences was the opportunity to be their authentic selves as confident young women in a group setting with others who had the same goals. Our potential was fulfilled due to the atmosphere that was produced by passionate players and coaches alike. We have dedicated coaches, many that are former collegiate softball players, who promote a positive environment where athletes will be provided mentorship and autonomy throughout their time as a Minnesota Starter. Our program will provide the training necessary for the development of a softball player, but we will more importantly provide the insight, encouragement, and inclusivity to all members in order to produce an overall positive environment. Our goal is to empower each player in our program with the confidence to continue to develop physically, socially and emotionally in order to be successful for life after softball.

2023 - 2024 CATALYST SOFTBALL Program Info

Our Catalyst Softball Information can be seen below. Our training staff and coaching staff will be training all year. Catalyst Softball athletes will be training all year long with countless opportunities throughout the fall, winter, spring, and summer season. We are looking to field year-round 13U-18U teams - all together a maximum of 8 teams. Our goal is to have a small player to coach ratio throughout our organization so ALL players have access to our instructors and coaches as we move forward into a player-development-first mentality.

CATALYST SOFTBALL SEASONAL BREAKDOWN

Fall Season & Training: August – Early November

Catalyst Sports Lab - NEW!! - As a member of our club program, each athlete will get INCLUDED full-access to our state of the art softball specific facility ALL YEAR LONG! Our lab will have the following: fully turfed warehouse w/ 5 cages, full weight room, pitching bullpens, agility area, biomechanics lab w/ testing via Rapsodo, BlastMotion, 4D Motion, fully equipped player lounge w/ TV, two couches, huge bean bag chair, ping pong table, dining table, break room for players and staff w/ water, snacks, microwave, etc, study room for athletes to get homework/studying done, cognitive testing room, and a conference/meeting room for athletes, families and staff!
Minnesota Twins Partnership - NEW!! - We are so proud to have officially partnered with the Minnesota Twins in June 2023! We are the first club softball and player development softball organization to do so. Our club members will be able to take advantage of the perks of having Twins Clinicians on staff as well as special opportunities to work out/train at Target Field. So much more to come with this partnership as our staff will be taking lead to continue to grow the sport of softball alongside the Minnesota Twins!
Team Practices - All age groups of Catalyst teams will be participating in 1-2 practices per week during their Fall season – these will typically take place on weekends where the team does not have games. Otherwise practice will take place in evenings on weekdays.
Fall Tournaments - Each team will participate in about 2 - 3 fall tournaments. Our National level teams will typically be entered in 1 – 2 tournaments that are out-of-state or college exposure tournaments. The other two tournaments will be local – typically a showcase and local state tournament.
League Doubleheaders - We will additionally schedule either in-house scrimmages or doubleheaders with local competition throughout the Fall as well per coaches/team availability and need.
Strength and Development Training - Age groups 13U – 18U will have S&D club membership access to our weight room w/ our trainers as well as additional opt-in opportunities through our partnership with N1 Motion!
Catalyst Softball Combine – Our Catalyst Softball Combine will take place on an early date in the Fall to begin our process of assessing our student-athletes. During this time, we will be testing all metrics necessary to create a player profile that athletes can send out to collegiate coaches of their choosing. We will also take this opportunity to take team pictures, grab athletes’ headshots, and take the time to bond and get to know each other early in our season! The numbers collected will represent our starting point and will hold us accountable in our goals to always improve on our quantifiable measurements. Some numbers we will be collecting will be:
- Hitting – exit velocity, distance, bat speed, rotational acceleration, power
- Pitching – velocity, spin rate
- Miscellaneous – over hand throw mph, 60 ft sprint (home to first), 30 ft sprint
Hit-A-Thon Fundraiser – Each year we offer the opportunity to participate in our top (and most fun) fundraiser in our Hit-A-Thon. This fundraiser will take place early in the Fall to make sure we can execute it outdoors with how iffy weather can be. Our Hit-A-Thon allows players and families to pledge money with a $ per foot of the ball hit. It is an incredible environment and a homerun derby style setting. We will have food to grill, raffles, trivia, and tons of fun during this time while girls are trying their best to hit a maximum distance off front toss at our home fields at Prior Lake High School! In our three years of running the Hit-A-Thon, we have raised nearly $30,000 in pledges that went towards individuals club member fees. We also provide various other opportunities for fundraising as well throughout the season.
College Recruiting Seminar – We will be holding our annual virtual college recruiting seminar in the Fall. This will be an informational seminar to go over the recruiting process, how COVID has affected the process, and how to utilize our resources (college contacts, NCSA Team Edition, best practices, etc.). We will continuously be checking in throughout the year with college recruiting process recommendations and furthering the education to put our athletes in the best spot moving forward.
First Access to HP Programming - We will provide discounts for club members ONLY for our highly anticipated Catalyst Sports Lab High Performance Development Programs. This includes HP Hitting, HP Pitching, HP Defense, and our Arm Development Program.
Club Member ONLY Discounts - Additional discounts will be provided for Academy Classes and Camps/Clinics throughout the entire year.

Winter Season & Training: Early November - Week Before High School Tryouts

Weekly Player Development - We will be conducting weekly player development sessions throughout the winter training season for all players in our club organization. Sessions will take place in our home facility, Catalyst Sports Lab, and the Savage Sports Center/Dome. These will be weekly with some weeks off due to holiday breaks or events. These player development sessions will be on a set date and time and will be offered with the following skill sets:
- Hitting PD: We will have weekly hitting player development with our club program where we will address hitting philosophy, biomechanics of the swing, and application through learning.
- Pitching/Catching PD: We will have weekly pitching and catching player development with our club program where will address pitching/catching philosophy, tools and biomechanics of pitching, and application through learning.
- Defense & Team Focused Training: Team practices and defensive focus training will take place in weekly sessions. These are used to work on our infield and outfield specific skillsets as well as our baserunning and softball IQ training.
- Strength & Development Training: Club access w/ trainers will continue throughout the winter offseason to continue to grow and maintain our physical and mental health. Club members also will have additional opt-in opportunities throughout the offseason through our partnership with N1 Motion.
Opt-In Winter Tournaments & Dome Leagues - We offer each team the option, upon full commitments from families, to opt-in and participate in a winter dome ball league during the winter season if it aligns with our other training times.
High Performance Programming - We will provide first access to our highly anticipated High Performance Pitching, Hitting, and Fielding programs. These programs have consistently sold out each year we have offered them and we have seen our results within our program and our High School athletes. We prioritize our club members getting first access as we want these girls to perform at their best during their high school and club seasons with us.
Catalyst Softball Combine #2 – Our second Catalyst Softball Combine will take place on a later date in the Winter to continue our process of assessing our student-athletes. During this time, we will be testing all metrics necessary again and seeing where we are at in our improvements, decreases, etc. This will give us the opportunity to continue to move forward and grow with what is going well and adjust to what hasn’t been increasing. We are excited to use this as a tool for our player development and accountability within our staff and players.
Holiday Training Breaks - Our winter season will have no training during holiday breaks and will be communicated with families on those dates. Catalyst Sports Lab will in most cases remain open with our programs, classes, and individual training options.

Spring Season & Training: Middle of March - When High School Season Ends

For high school aged athletes, we typically do not provide any mandatory team practices out of respect to local high school coaches. We will, however, provide training through Catalyst Sports Lab throughout this time. All club members have full access to our facility. Club practices will resume after high school season concludes. Optional practices may be put on per coach’s discretion

Summer Season & Training: When High School Season Ends - End of July

Team Practices - All age groups of Catalyst teams will be participating in multiple practices per week during their Summer season – these will typically take place throughout the weekdays with opportunities to combine additional practices with alike age groups.
League Doubleheaders - All our teams will be participating in league doubleheaders for their club teams. Our teams participate in the Gold league or Top Tier league in Minnesota. These league games will be scheduled by coaching staff with a maximum of 6 games per season (3 doubleheaders).
Summer Tournaments - Each team will participate in 5 - 7 summer tournaments. Our 14U – 18U teams will typically be entered in 1 – 3 tournaments that are out-of-state or college exposure tournaments dependent on team skill and need. These teams will also be participating in 2 – 4 local tournaments with a Nationals tournament (can be in or out of state dependent on team skill and need).
- We make sure that we build our schedule around the team skillset as well as what is best for the girls on the team.
Strength & Development and Speed Programs - Both will be offered for athletes that are interested in participating during the summer.
- Catalyst Softball will continue to provide individual softball training at a discounted rate to all club softball members.
All tournament and training info is subject to change based on Starters discretion and team necessity.

2023-2024 Coaching Staff

The 2023-2024 season, we are looking to fill a MAXIMUM of 8 Minnesota based teams from the 13U-18U levels.

Here are the teams we anticipate:

National Level Teams: These teams will require more travel - primarily available through car but may have tournaments that require flights

18U:
- 18U National: Erika Smyth, Brooke Holmes
- 18U Skluzacek: Andrew Skluzacek, TBA
16U:
- 16U National: Hannah Schmoll, Tori Wietgrefe
- 15U National: Marybeth Olson, Morgan Benedict, Bryn Elsenpeter
- 16U National: Tim Holzhueter, Reese Holzhueter
- 16U Gold: Lis King, TBA
14U:
- 14U National: Mike Casalenda, Anna Kelly
- 14U Gold: Haley Williams, Karina Tollberg

Autumn Pease will be assisting all ages as a year-round club coach. Tyler Peterson will also be a year-round assistant club coach.

Anticipated Teams

The 2023-2024 season, we are looking to fill a MAXIMUM of 8 Minnesota based teams from the 13U-18U levels.

Here are the teams we anticipate:

National Level Teams: These teams will require more travel - primarily available through car but may have tournaments that require flights

18U National: 2 Teams
16U National: 2 Teams
15U National: 1 Team
14U National: 1 Team

Gold Level Teams: These teams will travel primarily regionally and will have more local tournament opportunities

16U Gold: 1 Team
14U Gold: 1-2 Teams

2023-2024 Club Fees

This 2023-2024 season, we are proud to keep our club fees at the same price as this past season! Our club fees for both Gold and National teams are based off of travel and tournament expenses. Both our Gold and National teams will have the same player development training throughout the season. Here is the breakdown of our fees:

Upon selection to your team, we ask for a deposit to begin your player contract:
- Downpayment Deposit: $450
- GymMaster Unlimited Facility Access Membership: $25 (full access to our facility w/Bluetooth RFD)
- All CC transactions incur a 3% CC processing fee
We have four options for tuition payment. The full cost of our club membership ranges from $3,795 - $3,995 dependent on age group and travel/tournament expenses. A one-time payment will have a 10% discount on the remaining balance. We do offer other options with extended payments as seen below. We will be reaching out after the deposit has been made to confirm your selection:
- One-time payment = 10% off remaining balance
- 3 Month Payment Plan
- 6 Month Payment Plan
- 9 Month Payment Plan

***All credit card transactions will have a 3% CC processing fee – we do accept checks!

This year we will have new uniforms! We will post our new uniform package price ASAP!

Miscellaneous Info

Additional information and coaching assignments to be released in July!
Our practice facilities are in the Savage/Prior Lake area. Our home fields are at Prior Lake High School. Our winter training facilities are located at the Savage Sports Center Dome and our year-round, home base and facility is located at Catalyst Sports Lab in Savage, MN.
We require purchasing our jersey tops, our pinstripe pants, two practice shirts, socks, and helmets for our uniforms as we want to give the option to purchase your own pants, socks, belts, etc. With that being said, we will have a store open that will provide packages at a discounted price if you would like to go through and purchase all necessary items for uniforms. Our uniform combos will include:
- Mandatory to purchase: 3 Catalyst Softball uniform tops, 1 pinstripe pant, helmet, 3 pairs of socks, & 2 practice shirts
- Optional to purchase through us, but mandatory to have in the colors black and white: softball pants, plain socks, belts.
Fees & club coaching assignments will be announced on our website annually in July with a breakdown of what our club softball season will offer with training, facility rentals, league dues, team insurance, tournament fees, travelling fees, coaching fees, all administrative work, etc.
We will provide various fundraising opportunities for individuals to raise money for their club member fees. These will happen throughout the season and per request.
Volunteer opportunities will be a priority to give back to our community and continue to help these athletes become better people as well as softball players.
We are excited to offer the opportunity to our club members only to provide us with their report cards and grades to get discounts with our training! We want to continue to raise the bar and hold our girls accountable with their school work as well as softball work.
We offer a STAR scholarship for those who are interested in applying to help cover club – contact us for more info and if there are any payment issues.
All tournament information is subject to change as we base our tournament decisions on team needs, skill level, availability, weather, etc.
All weekly training are subject to change due to weather, COVID, trainer availability, etc.

Emphasis on Mental Health:

Catalyst Softball believes in supporting those in our program as people before the athlete and the student. The mental health epidemic is an incredibly difficult, terrifying, and emotional subject & reality. We will be spending the 2023-24 season spreading awareness and continuously educating our athletes on the local and national resources available. We have partnered with Duck Cup Memorial Fund for our season and events, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing resources and education for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. We will be donating a chunk of proceeds from events ran directly to their Memorial Fund this season. Learn more about the Duck Cup Memorial Fund at www.duckcupmemorial.org.

College Recruiting Education:

We at Catalyst care most about our athletes finding the RIGHT fit at the next level. Our staff has built a positive reputation and relationships nation-wide with collegiate coaches at all Division levels. We have implemented a dedicated development program, college showcase platform, and competition schedule that will allow our prospective student-athletes the opportunity to be seen by collegiate coaches as well as prepare and educate each player on the college recruiting process. We will walk through the process with each individual that has dreams of playing at the next level and will assist throughout the year with best practices. We have partnered with NCSA Team Edition and will provide various Recruiting Seminars throughout the year as well for our athletes.

Strength & Development Training:

We are thrilled to offer the all-inclusive opportunity to focus on strength and conditioning as a member of our club softball program. Our training philosophy is that performance training goes beyond being bigger, faster, and stronger. It is about increasing your efficiency and abilities with respect to the sport specific movement. Speed, strength, agility, and power are by products of a well-designed strength and development program. We focus on improving your position, optimizing your strength qualities, transfer to the field of play, and an emphasis on year-round training to best maintain the athlete’s health and preparation to be ready for softball at the next level.

The Results Speak Loudly:

The 2022-2023 development season was incredibly successful for our Catalyst Softball Athletes. We had many award winners from their respective high school seasons. The results speak for themselves, and we continue to set the standard + raise the bar with our player development.

2022-2023 Program Info

Catalyst Athletes in College!

Our ultimate goal is to help develop, train, prepare, and provide guidance for young women with the passion and dream to play collegiate softball - at all levels. Take look at our current Catalyst Softball alums that are either committed or playing in college right now! If you have any questions on how we can help you with your recruiting process, shoot us a message below!

Our Alums

OUR PARTNERS

CATALYST SOFTBALL MINNESOTA CLUB TRYOUTS