Alpha Athletics has been an outstanding experience for our son, Niam, and has truly set the bar for…read moreyouth baseball training in El Dorado Hills. Since joining Alpha, we've seen measurable and meaningful growth in his development as a baseball player--most notably in his hitting consistency, approach at the plate, and overall confidence, as well as clear improvements in his fielding fundamentals and baseball IQ. What makes this even more impressive is that Niam trained at several other baseball facilities in the area prior to Alpha Athletics. While those experiences were fine, the results simply did not compare. The difference at Alpha is intentional coaching, individualized attention, and a genuine commitment to each athlete's growth. The coaching staff is exceptional--knowledgeable, patient, and deeply invested in the kids. They know how to challenge young athletes while still building them up. Bryan Schmidt, the owner, is especially hands-on and sets the tone for the entire program. His passion for the game and for developing young people is evident in everything Alpha Athletics does. What truly sets Alpha apart is that they are not just developing better baseball players--they are helping raise young men. There is a strong emphasis on character, accountability, discipline, and being gentlemen and scholars in school, which we deeply value as parents. We are incredibly grateful for the impact Alpha Athletics has had on Niam, both on and off the field, and would highly recommend this program to any family looking for elite baseball development in a positive, values-driven environment.

Without a doubt, the best move we ever made for the progression of our son's game…read more We'd spent time and money at other programs and were just not seeing progress commensurate to the money we were putting in, so we decided to see what else might be out there. Jack had developed a sweet swing. I just couldn't get over the feeling that he was leaving so much power potential on the table and it just didn't seem anyone could figure out how to crack it. To make it click for him. I came across Alpha Athletics' (formerly Three Gear Hitting when we joined) sign near my neighborhood and checked out their website. They teach a hitting pattern that I'd come across on YouTube, but didn't understand, other than that it was non-traditional, controversial, but whose champion was a dude who trains Aaron Judge and insists it's the pattern of many of the game's greatest hitters, even if they themselves didn't realize it. I was intrigued. We signed up for the offered free lesson and in just ONE CLASS, Jack was hitting harder than I've ever seen him hit, and it was one after the other. Bryan took him aside in class, gave him individual attention, and told him to forget just a couple "fundamentals" of traditional hitting, showing him instead how to feel which muscles are responsible for launching. I don't pretend to understand how the HLP pattern works exactly. I'm still learning. So is Jack. He's a work in progress. All I know is that he picked up enough in just that first several minutes with Schmidty that he was letting loose like I'd never seen, and it continues. A couple months in and his confidence and love of the game had absolutely taken off. Their approach is modern. Jack's exit velo has taken off. Their drills are just go go go, and Jack's just lapping it up. I believe in what Alpha is doing. We've been with them now for a year and a half. It's working for my son and we're all in!

Without a doubt, the best move we ever made for the progression of our 9 year old son's game…read more After considerable time and money spent at another baseball academy and not seeing progress commensurate to the money we were putting in, we decided to see what else might be out there. Jack had developed a sweet swing. I just couldn't get over the feeling that he was leaving so much power potential on the table and it just didn't seem anyone could figure out how to crack it. To make it click for him. I came across Three Gear's sign near my neighborhood and checked out their website. They teach a hitting pattern that I'd come across on YouTube, but didn't understand, other than that it was non-traditional, controversial, but whose champion was a dude who personally worked with Aaron Judge and insisted it was the pattern of many of the game's greatest hitters, even if they themselves didn't realize it. I was intrigued. We signed up for the offered free lesson and in just ONE CLASS, Jack was hitting harder than I've ever seen him hit, and it was one after the other. Bryan took him aside in class, gave him individual attention, and told him to forget just a couple "fundamentals" of traditional hitting, showing him instead how to feel which muscles are responsible for launching. I don't pretend to understand how the HLP pattern works exactly. I'm still learning. So is Jack. He's a work in progress. All I know is that he picked up enough in just that first several minutes with Schmidty that he was letting loose like I'd never seen. A couple months in and his confidence and love of the game have absolutely taken off. His exit velo has taken off. Their drills are just go go go, and Jack's just lapping it up. I believe in what Three Gear's doing. I don't know if it works for everyone, but it's working for my son and we're all in!

My son Hunter started hitting lessons with Brian at 6.5 years old! currently 8, he swings the bat…read morelike a Big leaguer. Hunter loves his instructors and has added, Pitching, Catching, and Fielding practices to his routine. Superb instructors and a fun environment, make this the premier training facility! 3 Gear has helped boost Hunters confidence both on and off the field, molding him into a leader.

One of the cleanest, well organized facilities I've had the pleasure of bringing my kids to. The…read moreowner has a daughter that will no doubt be a future pro. She happily showed my daughter around and demonstrated a few pitching tips that boosted my daughters confidence in just that one visit! My son enjoyed his time as well, and was able to practice batting with the owners son. I was also able to get in on the action as the owner gave me a personal tour of their partner fitness training facility next door. Next level is a serious training facility with a family first vibe. They utilize very smooth technology for reserving training time and purchasing any needed gear. Trust me when i tell you - this facility deserves your business. I am confident that my children will be future elite ball players with the help of Next Level!

Such a needed establishment in our area. Softball batting, pitching, fielding, and catching lessons…read moreall in one place! Sheena, Christine and Gabe have made this a great place for kids/young adults to train. There are also baseball lessons through Better Baseball Academy held at Next Level. If you want to up your game this is the place to go!

I am "over 50" and was extremely unsure about joining a functional fitness gym. My fears were…read moreunfounded. The coaches carefully assessed my abilities and modified each exercise to benefit me. Four months in I am stronger, more agile than I have been in a very long time. The members are supportive. Always a good time!

Saturday partner training at Powerhouse is an official father and son moment! ‍ Taking my…read more8-year-old son with me has been such a highlight. Seeing all the kids there having a blast makes working out so much more meaningful. I am not doing this "gym-thing" for myself but for modeling the next generation. I feel so blessed to share this experience with him and help shape his future in a positive way. He even inspired himself to attend to my regular class time at 5:30 AM, just so he can do it with me on weekdays BEFORE school starts.

My son went here for a couple of months and the one on one complete workouts were amazing! The…read moreowner Matt Walbeck watches the kids training on camera if he's not there and corrects forms. You can tell Matt truely cares about each and every kid in his academy. We live in Oklahoma or we would have stayed! Great Academy!

Walbeck has provided great instruction for the Folsom Little Leagues. He breaks down technique in…read moreall phases of the game, but we are especially lucky to have a major league catcher in the area to provide advanced instruction behind the plate. The academy has a great media area to review film with comfortable seating. Indoor hitting area is clean and open.

Son absolutely loves this place. The coaches are really dedicated and they keep him active, which…read moreis great.

Good luck if your door daughter gets arm or knee injuries due to the intensive training schedule…read morecausing adverse effects on a teen's growth plates. A good coach teaches his player how to do an exercise to avoid injury. Instead of teaching my son how to lift weights to avoid injury, Coach Mike Hacker would ridicule my son in front of his peers and yell "that's why you have injuries, because you're doing it wrong." Mike did not show him the "correct" way to lift the weight. There was another instance where my son and one of his peers were spotting each other on some weights. Coach Mike yelled at the other boy to get out of his weight room for talking to my son and told him he won't bother sending my son out of the room because my son is not worth it. There are numerous instances of mental and verbal abuse from Coach Mike on the field as well. None of these instances were constructive but personal. I will not mention them in order to protect my son's identity. We have read about coaches who ridicule and verbally abuse certain players on their team causing the player to quit the sport for good. We never imagined this would be the case with our 13 year old. Our son had played successfully since he was 5 years old and played Majors prior to coming to BPA. We cannot express the sadness we have our son has left the sport because of his experience at BPA. We believe Coach Mike had a personal disliking for our son since he had expected to get a starting pitcher but got a kid with injuries due to growth plates not being fully fused yet. Before coming to BPA we were warned by a previous player about how he also had been verbally abused and ridiculed by Coach Mike, but we didn't believe him. We wish we had. We remember Coach Mike naming other ball clubs in the area and telling us how bad they were, that BPA was the best, even better than playing for the high school he previously taught at. We now believe this was to isolate players from considering playing for any other competing baseball club in the area. Regrettably, we convinced our son to stay longer than he should have because of this. Great leaders motivate young players to succeed by being fair, positive, patient, sincere, concerned and honest. Although Coach Mike knows baseball, these characteristics were nowhere to be found. Parents beware! There are no protections under the law for verbal and mental abuse of your adoloscent in extracarricular sports. Don't take a chance with your child's self esteem and baseball future. There are other baseball clubs in the area that develop young, successful college recruitments.

My daughter Nicole sat the bench most of her freshman & sophomore years as a D1 basketball player…read more Danielle Viglione came highly recommended by a co-worker. Danielle worked with her privately an hour twice a week for 6 weeks and the results were a complete 360. Danielle's skill, basketball IQ and teaching ability catapulted Nicole from averaging 1.2 PPG to 8.2 PPG (9.6 in conference) and from 6.4 minutes per game to 20 mpg. She started 6 games this year and is usually the first player off the bench. One game she had 21 pts, 7-of-7 field goals and 6 of 8 free throws. She is now a true impact player at the D1 level. I can't say enough about this program, except that it was well worth the investment. Nicole definitely plans to train again this summer with Danielle.

Sac Skills Academy is top notch! I highly recommend training through Danielle and coaches. My…read moredaughter has been working with Coach Paul the last several years. Coach Paul has instilled a sense of self confidence and drive to work harder in our daughter. Coach Paul helped her during a knee injur and surgery. He fostered an environment of trust where she was able to come back slowly to now playing at 100%. I highly recommend Coach Paul, he knows how to make the game fun but is able to push the kids to grow and become more skilled. Coach Paul has a high basketball IQ and quickly sees where players need improvement. An awesome experience!!

Great community club concept but badly executed. I would steer away from this club. We had two kids…read morethat played with this club and we pulled them both out after a couple of years (we should have done it earlier but friends...). We have been with this club for a few years and we liked the affordability and parent coaches (even though most are not highly qualified/certified). However, the club is ran by what many have come to call "The Three Musketeers". The DOC controls much of the club and influences things although his temper and ego drives many families away (his way or the highway and not pleasant). The Academy Director tends to coach as many teams as possible to make it financially feasible. My experiences with the club president were pleasant but I hear he tends to follow the decisions of the other two. The second level in the club includes a few coaches and team managers that are preferenced and support/bats for the club management (they mostly coach many teams and are paid). You get what you pay for and leadership lacks the compassion and competency required to run a community soccer club. Good step for those coming from recreational soccer with low expectations. Other local clubs are more structured and deliver a better competitive soccer experience (although you pay a bit more). Just sharing our family experience. Enjoy the game!

ARFC is a very disorganized and poorly run program. There is a lack of communication coming from…read moreadmin and you never know which team your child is going to be on. They have a nice indoor facility, but practices and home games can be in many locations around Sacramento. Many of the coaches do a great job but the head of the program, Mike Canty, is rude and disrespectful with little care for others.