Testimonials

Testimonials

Good morning folks.

My name is Joe Szabo and my son Fletcher played with the Northeast Pride this past Fall and I just wanted to share with you my son’s journey to the Tweet shown below because I understand that you are considering other travel clubs. I can assure you that my son wouldn’t have ended up landing in a D1 school had it not been for our Northeast experience. I have nothing to gain by sending you this email… I just know from my experience that the NE Pride organization does right by college bound players and I’d like to see the tradition continue so that other parents like myself can come to a successful conclusion of their journey to college.

After all… at this point in your son’s baseball career you should be thinking about where he will be at the next level right? It’s a strange change that occurs at this time. There are teams that are much more focused on competition and less about player placement. This was our experience prior to the Pride.

My son Fletch has always been an athletic and talented baseball player. We ran the gambit from “Daddy-Ball” through local travel to what I call corporate baseball (Frozen Ropes) to what we thought was our IN with colleges… a prestigious team known as the Bayside Yankees which we played this past summer. This final experience was quite a commitment financially and time-wise and ended up being a complete flop… the coaches did not focus on player placement but rather on overall team performance.

Prior to this Fall season we had friends who were with the club who continuously tried to encourage us to join. We thought like you are probably thinking that the NE Pride club isn’t very well known and nothing would come of participation. MAN were we wrong!

As soon as the disastrous Summer season with the Bayside Yankees came to an end I reached out to Joe Curreri and got my son Fletch engaged in the team Joe got him tied in with the NE Pride social media and got the ball rolling to get him the exposure that was the right fit for him.

The approach on the Showcase Team is just that… a SHOWCASE for talents. Joe’s connections in the recruiting world got us the right exposure that we needed and Coach Steve Alhona’s experience with College Admissions was priceless through the negotiations. There was none of this with the other clubs that we participated in and I can honestly say that this was the best decision that we’ve made with Fletcher’s baseball career.

One word of warning… the grass is always greener on the other side. I do hope that you decide to continue with the NE Pride.

Sincerely,
Joe Szabo

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My son has been playing travel baseball since 2010 with a number of different teams performing at different levels. We have experienced the good ( kids having fun playing the game they love ), the bad ( dad coaches using the organization to promote their marginal kid ) and everything in between.

Most organizations are simply focused on tournament ball, its fun, its expensive, and you can go home with

a trophy. We joined The Northeast Pride baseball organization after meeting Joe Curreri and learning how & why the organization functions. NE Pride baseball focuses on preparing and guiding the player and parents though the process of playing at the

next level. There is a healthy mixture of practice / instruction, tournament play, and college combines, which is really the place that gets the kids in front of recruiters and decision makers at the college level.

NE Pride and Joe Curreri has the connections and relationships with the universities and colleges to get your player looked at.

We have been very fortunate. My son has committed to his first pick D1 University after having been introduced through Joe and NE Pride baseball. We feel so strongly about our relationship and the benefits that it has fostered that we continue to play and participate even after commitment.

In all of my experience as a baseball dad, and it has been significant, my relationship with Joe and NE Pride Baseball will always be a highlight in our journey.

I would strongly recommend participation.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Baker

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Without the Pride, our two oldest children would not be playing College Ball right now. Back in the summer of 2012 and living in Sullivan County, NY, there was no way for Andrew and Caleb to be noticed and recruited to play baseball in college. My boys attended a medium/small size school that nobody would make a trip to see. That’s when Joe expanded the Northeast Pride to include Andrew & Caleb’s age group; our boys made the team and started playing for him that fall.

We have been a Pride family ever since playing hundreds of games throughout the Northeast region. Andrew was recruited to play in college when a coach came to see him play while at Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ the summer before his Junior Year in High School. Caleb was recruited while at a Showcase/Tournament in Utica, NY during the summer before his Senior Year. Because of the Pride, both reached their dream of playing college baseball.

Another great thing to mention is all of the friendships Andrew and Caleb have made with their Pride teammates over the years and that we have made with the families as well. The Northeast Pride is definitely a big family.

Through his first two seasons at Cairn University, Andrew has started 65 of 68 games in the outfield. Caleb set a Houghton College record with 21 relief appearances over 34 games after making 11 pitching appearances his Freshman year. All this could not have happened without Joe and the Northeast Pride.

Sincerely,
Dave Philips
Father of Andrew and Caleb Philips