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Skarad is primarily a catcher who can play shortstop and pitch as well. He has played both Fury and X-Fury in the history of B.V.S.A. Both were great opportunities for Skarad to play with very talented, focused, older players who helped cement the work ethic needed be a frontline player. He has also played for other programs since but all who know Skarad know that B.V.S.A. is his home. Besides training here, he is currently a B.V.S.A. employee, an athlete training with Overdrive and an employee at Instant Replay. All highlight his work ethic, the love of the game, and the fact that if he could he would probably sleep here. Carrington one of the owners of Overdrive had this to say, “Joey is one of the hardest working kids in the gym. He is very consistent with his attitude, he is always motivating the other athletes in the gym and Skarad never has any excuses.”

Skarad finished with both the recruiting process and his acceptance into SHU is able to focus on enjoying the rest of his senior year and crushing baseballs come the high school season. He has chosen to study economics, while continuing to chase his passion of baseball. Skarad is a New York Yankees fan and Dallas Cowboys fan. He also grew up having Derek Jeter as his favorite player and role model on the field. Skarad is a facility favorite and all here look forward to seeing what his future holds for him both on and off the field.

Leo has been training with Mike Abate under Abate Training for 6 years. Abate is a huge fan of Leo’s; “I have a great deal of confidence due to his passion and commitment of being as good as he possibly can be. He is a player who has dealt with adversity and has made tremendous strides to overcome that and is on his way to achieving his goals. Leo’s work ethic and commitment is special.”

The “adversity” Abate is referring to is his Tommy John surgery he had last year in 2017. Tommy John surgery is a popular one for baseball players, pitchers especially in which your collateral ligament tears in your elbow. Leo’s recovery time was 14 months total going to therapy twice a week for the first nine months.

Leo is currently in the recruiting process hoping that one day he will get to play college baseball. For a potential area of study, Leo is interested in criminal justice. His favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees and favorite football team the New York Giants. He looks up to Marcus Stroman a pitcher for the the Blue Jays. Leo has a long list of supporters with him on his journey and we all hope the best for him.

He recently committed to Skidmore College to play baseball and being that his favorite school subject is economics he wants to study in the business school there as well. He started playing when he was 4 years old and is the first in his family to play baseball. He chose Skidmore because of the academics and the location being in the North East. His favorite MLB team is the New York Mets and favorite player is George Springer.

Ian has had some great accomplishments and awards throughout his baseball career. He was on the GFA Dragonoids Robotics Team, he won the national championships in 2017 and Inspire Award and won regional championships in 2018. Ian was also on the baseball Factory/Under Armour National Team. At Green Farms Academy, Ian was the Head of School Honor Roll 2018.

Ian would love to play college baseball one day and study either science and technology or finance. His favorite subject in school is STEM. Outside of baseball he loves to go whitewater kayaking, fishing and spending time with his Portuguese Water dog, Vasco. His favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees and is a big fan of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Ian loves football as well and roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his favorite player Ben Roesthlisberger.

As Cory’s football career has progressed he continues to win awards and nominations for outstanding talent. His sophomore and junior season he was named all conference. Cory stood as captain in his junior year and made the All-New England team his junior year as well. Following his junior season, Cory received a 4 star rating on ESPN and was a finalist for Nike’s The Opening. He is on the path to break Brunswick records in the number of touchdowns and yardage in the history of the school.

Cory’s hard work and efforts have definitely paid off for his dream of playing college football and then onto professionally. He received his first offer in 2017 by Duke University. Following Duke, Cory has received what seems like endless offers from all top football schools. Cory was offered by 2017-2018’s champion team Alabama this year amongst many big name schools;  Stanford, Michigan, Notre Dame, Boston College, Penn State, etc. Cory is unaware when and who he is going to commit to at the moment. His favorite professional team is the Los Angeles Chargers and his current favorite player is Jarvis Landray.

When not on the field Cory takes his studies very seriously and wants to continue on with this mentality in college as well. He has about a 3.4 GPA and thrives in his math courses. In college he thinks he wants to study get a degree in a business major. Cory’s friends and family say he is one of the most passionate and driven kids they’ve seen in a while. He is determined to be the best player he could be yet knows how to keep a humble persona. He is a very easy going and caring teenager. Overdrive Elite Coach Carrington quoted on Cory saying “He is the most hard working kid I’ve worked with, always is respectful and his ceiling is high.” Renick, Overdrive Elite’s other trainer started with Cory when he was 15 and would describe Cory as “very mature for his age and has the correct mentality to make it at the highest level.”

Kim hopes to go on and play college softball after she graduates high school. Her dream schools are Texas A&M where her father attended college. Other schools she is interested in include The University of Rhode Island and The University of Virginia. Kim helps other kids improve their game too at the B.V.S.A softball summer camp. 

Off the field Kim is very into her studies as well. She is in all honors classes making honor role each term at Stamford High School. Social Studies is her favorite subject. When Kim goes on to college, she thinks she will want to study business. Kim Saunders is a young star on and off the field and if she keeps up the hard work, she’ll be a very successful student-athlete.

Off the field, Jack is a 7th grader at Middlesex Middle School on Darien and is a lifelong Mets, Jets and Islanders fan.  He and his younger brother Colin are licensed State of Connecticut boat captains. In 2015, Jack was able to take batting practice at Citi-Field with the Mets and got to announce the starting lineup on the Stadium Scoreboard and on national TV.

In January, after a series of remarkable events, he was tested for a condition called MALS – Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome. On March 1st he tested positive and underwent a serious open abdominal surgery. The surgery was performed by the leading MALS specialist in the country who is miraculously based in Fairfield, CT. Abe rallied and blew all the nurses and doctors away at his speedy recovery. He spent only three of the six predicted nights in the hospital. He missed half the school time the doctors expected. As of today, he has gained back 7 of the 10 pounds he lost and is back to his energetic and fun-loving self!

The more we learn about MALS, the more blessed we feel to have found it so quickly, to have had it successfully treated and to see his physical stamina returning way ahead of what was anticipated.  Watching him slide face first on the ball diamond with zero inhibition this weekend reassured us he’s back!! Abe loves baseball and the boys/coaches he plays with. He has a carefree confidence at bat, and his timing and swagger are returning.  He sports an impressive new “zipper” (scar) and he’s proud to show anyone who asks – or doesn’t ask for that matter.

– Wheeler Family