Headfirst Baseball Academy Brings Home Cooperstown 10U Championship Title

By Colleen Pearson

It is a 10-year-old boy’s ultimate baseball dream: to play in the championships and to be drafted into the major leagues. Both of those dreams have recently come true for many Headfirst Baseball Academy players from around the East Bay.

Last week, a 12-man roster of 10-year-old boys, made their way to Cooperstown, New York for a once in a lifetime baseball experience. The team settled into their bunks and began a weeklong tournament with a schedule of two games each day for five days.

Handling themselves on and off the field with confidence and integrity, the boys battled for a spot into the championship game. Led by manager, Robert Morales, the boys went 8-1 and won the final game 9-5 to bring home the Cooperstown 10U Championship title and the hardware!

Congratulations to Headfirst Bercovich 10U players: Talon Bragg (Dublin), Jacob Choy, Felipe Duenas, Gabe DeBenedetto, Xander Fruin, Zachary Gardner, Simon Keswani, Danny McInnis, Tavin Nguyen, Carston Pearson (Dublin), Aidan Perry , Mykael Sujo.

Special thanks to our sponsors: Solar Universe, Sports Authority and Rita’s Italian Ice.

Headfirst Baseball Academy alumni were selected in the 2015 MLB Draft! With limited Northern California players selected, Headfirst prides itself on being well represented in the 2015 MLB draft. Headfirst grooms players from a young age to prepare them for each step of their baseball journey. Headfirst Academy has sent over 200 players to college/pro baseball over the years. Projected 1st round selection, Justin Hooper, announced that we would be attending UCLA and that he was not going to sign a professional contract the day before the draft.

Congratulations to these former Headfirst Players:

• Mark Mathias 3rd Round - Cleveland Indians
• Ryan Howell 15th Round- Oakland A’s
• Richard McWilliams 25th Round- Chicago White Sox
• Marcus Mastrobuoni 25th Round- Chicago Cubs
• Justin Hooper 25th Round- Milwaukee Brewers
• James Marvel 36th Round- Pittsburgh Pirates
• Francis Christy 37th Round- Oakland A’s

Rich McWilliams, whose son trains at Headfirst, said, “Headfirst Baseball taught our son Richie how to improve his performance and compete at a high level of competition. More importantly, he learned how to be successful. The guidance from Headfirst Baseball taught him that the effort put into study, preparation, and execution of the game plan will lead to success not just in baseball, but in school and in life. I know you two guys were among the first he thought of today. “

Headfirst, a pioneer in the Northern CA travel ball movement, began tournament play in 2001. Headfirst has evolved into the industry leader in player development. The proven HF system is structured with a “style of play” that is respected at all levels in the baseball world. Brothers Michael and Mario Iglesias, both with very enriched baseball backgrounds, have worked with thousands of players over the years and they both lead the HF organization. The Iglesias brothers played at all levels of the game and worked in many areas, including playing at Stanford, playing professionally (15 years combined with Dodgers, White Sox, Brewers, Cubs, Orioles, Braves and in Asia), coaching in high school, coaching at Stanford, working as a professional baseball agent, scouting professionally, and more!

Headfirst Baseball Academy offers lessons and camps. Those interested can email Michael Iglesias at mji0209@aol.com.