Why Choose Lightning Baseball?

Why Lightning Baseball of New England? Simply because we are the best AAU program in the country! Not just in Massachusetts or New England but in the entire country. Anyone can claim to be the best but we have the credentials to back it up. Lightning Baseball is the oldest and most successful AAU program in New England and our proven results demonstrate we have the capability to deliver quality baseball programs to our players from the time they are first eligible, at 13, to when they graduate from high school.
There are several reasons why you want to be a Lightning player.

1. To play in the Massachusetts AAU “Super Division”

There are two divisions in Massachusetts AAU baseball. The “Super Division” is made up of powerhouse teams with the credentials, and whose goal is to compete and be successful at the national level. Lightning Baseball competes in this “Super Division.”

2. To play in the AAU Division I National Championship tournament.

Every Little Leaguer dreams of going to Williamsport to play in the Little League World Series. However, only one team from New England gets to go each year. Lightning Baseball has qualified each year at ages 13-16 for the AAU Division I National Championship Tournament since we were founded in 1994. No AAU program in the country, let alone Massachusetts, has matched this accomplishment. If you want to compete at a national tournament Lightning Baseball is that program.

3. To compete against the best players in the country.

Not only compete, but also beat them. In the last six years 16 of 24 Lightning Baseball teams have finished in the top ten at AAU National Tournaments. Again no other program in the country can match this accomplishment. In fact no other program in Massachusetts has more than one top ten finish at the 13-16-age level in the last five years. During this six-year stretch we have had multiple gold, silver, and bronze medal finishes at AAU National tournaments. These top ten finishes have come while competing against teams from the South and West that recruit players from all over their respective states. For instance at next year’s AAU Division I National Tournaments we’ll see teams that have players on their roster from past Little League World Series teams. However only a few players from any Little League World Series team will be good enough to play on these “super” teams. The level of competition at the AAU National Tournaments is significantly better than at the Little League World Series. Our goal is to field teams comprised of the best players in New England and to advance to the championship round where we will have a chance to compete against and beat these teams.

4. To play for the best coaching staff in the country.

Our coaches have outstanding baseball credentials. The head coach of our 13U team is a professional scout with the San Diego Padres. The head coaches of our other teams, 14U, 15U, and 16U, are former college and pro players. Our assistant coaches are former college players and or college coaches.
Lightning Baseball does not believe in letting parents, of current players, coach. We believe the inherent conflict of interest is not good for the coach, the player, the other team members or the parents. However, many of our coaches are parents and some even had their kids go through our program and on to play baseball in college. However, they were not allowed to coach until their son had left the program.
Our staff is made up of professional coaches whose only agenda is to teach you the game of baseball. They have years of experience competing at the national level and know how to prepare players and teams to be successful against the best competition in the country. They are also dedicated to teaching you the skills needed to successfully play in high school or college.

5. Learn how to play the game at a very high level.

We teach all of our teams, at the college level. Obviously as our players get older they are able to execute better but we teach college level fundamentals to all teams, 13U through 16U. Because we recruit players from all over New England we can teach at the college level because every player on the team was on of the top 2 players in his town. Our goal is to teach you to play at a level that will make you stand out of the crowd when you first try out for your high school team. These same skills are the ones that will allow you to excel in high school and make playing in college a reality. Our players have led Division I and Division II powerhouses St. John’s Prep and Danvers HS to dominance of the high school scene in Massachusetts.

6. To play baseball in college.

The fundamentals we teach will enable you to excel in high school and prepare you for a college career. We expect all of our players will go to college and believe that a vast majority of them will play baseball. Since our first player graduated from high school in 1995 we have had more than 100 players go on to play in college. One of our more notable alumni is Sam Fuld, Durham, NH who has starred, for Stanford University, at NCAA College World Series. Click here to see a complete list of Lightning Baseball alumni who have played in college.
Lightning Baseball has a relationship with “The TPX TOP 96 College Coaches Baseball Clinic” where the best junior and senior high school baseball players enhance their talent for over college coaches and pro scouts. As a Lightning player you are prepared for a spot in the TPX TOP 96 when you are a junior or a senior. To see a complete list of the TOP 96 players and the colleges where they attended please take go to www.top96.com.

7. Play baseball in the pros.

Although it is a youth’s expectation to think about a pro career, it is, however, a possibility. Lightning Baseball has had 20 players drafted since 1999 including the Red Sox #1 pick in 1999, Marlins #1 pick in 2003, and the Padres #1 in 2006. Click here to see the complete list of Lightning Baseball alumni who have been drafted.