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ABOUT
US
I-Club was started in the fall of 2005. Dave and I thought it would be
interesting to see how Iowa players would do against some of the best players
from other states. We found the St.
Louis Showcase online and decided to enter. Dave was the head coach and we
took 12 of the best players we knew at the time. We played 5 games that weekend
and went undefeated. It was the "Wow" moment for us. We
knew we needed to continue to do this and with more players. That is how
I-Club was started.
Our philosophy has always been to make an affordable club program. A lot
of club teams in other sports seemed to cost quite a bit of money so we wanted
to try to build a program that was affordable. We charge $50 a
weekend in the spring and $100 a weekend in the fall. We try to work
around high school ball so the spring season is optional. We put a couple
of teams together and mix all the players to play few games. The fall
season is our focus. We are in our 5th year. We start by going to
the only ASA National Tournament we can qualify for based on the Iowa High
School softball season - ASA/USA Northern National. We play in Grinnell to support
our local tournaments and then we go into playing showcase tournaments.
The Homer Hawks Showcase, The Sparks Showcase, The St. Louis Showcase and one
other. We try to promote our players to college coaches during the
tournaments and on our website. We encourage our players to contact
coaches at programs they are interested in attending so they can take a
proactive role in obtaining their college opportunities. We like players
who are loyal and want to work hard to develop their skills.
Another goal for I-Club is to help develop the softball community in Iowa.
We are not competing with other area programs, we actually want to provide more
opportunities for softball players in Iowa. Five years ago there were two
teams going to Showcase Tournaments: I-Club and the Cental Iowa Stars. Now
Iowa has many showcase club teams and that is exactly what we wanted to help
create. Iowa is way behind in softball opportunities compared to the rest
of the country but we are not way behind on talent. We have some great
players that just need to be seen. Dave and I have one very simple reason
why we do what we do. We just want to help kids. We don't make a lot
of money taking players to showcase tournaments. The dues we collect
covers tourney fees, equipment, uniforms and we pay our head coaches hotel
expenses. Dave works full time as a restaurant manager and I work full
time as a private instructor. We enjoy seeing the players have success. We just
Love The Game!!!
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Mary Thompson
Coached by USA Olympic Coach
Mike Candrea
2008/09 Ellsworth College Head Coach
2008 ASA Deputy Commissioner
Member National Fastpitch Coaches Assoc.
2008 NFCA Iowa Travel Ball Representative
Oct. 2005 Founded I-Club - Iowa Softball Club
2005 Ankeny HS Head Coach
2004 Hoover HS Head Coach
2002 & 2003 Lincoln HS Assistant
Hitting and Pitching Instructor
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Dave Streyffeler
2005-Present Head Coach/Owner I-Club Softball
2004 Hoover HS JV Head Coach
Member National Coaches Fastpitch Association
Hitting Instructor
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Mary
Thompson is co-founder of the I-Club. A native of Iowa. She has
a 18 year old daughter named Paige. She has over 20 years of playing
experience and over 25 years of coaching experience.
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Mary
attended Lincoln High School in Des Moines where she was inducted into the
Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. She was a 4x All-Conference pitcher and a
4x All-State pitcher. Still holding a state record of least amount of
hits allowed in one season.
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Mary
played on several ASA travel ball teams growing up. She has made it to
4 ASA National tournaments including Binghamton NY, Freeport TX, Freeport TX
again and Las Cruces NM placing 7th in the Nation. She also played for
the Reames women's fast pitch team for approximately 12 years.
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Mary
played in college at Central Arizona Community College 1984 where she helped
pitch them to a National Championship under Coach Mike Candrea. Went
on to receive a full-ride scholarship to the University of Oklahoma where
she won All Big 8 honors.
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Her
passion is helping kids reach their potential. "I want all the
players that want to go to college on a softball scholarship to have that
opportunity."
I-Club has placed over 45 players in the past 4 years into
college on scholarships. We currently have three 18U teams and one 14U/16U
team.
Mary is a private instructor performing group and
individual lessons in both pitching and hitting.
2008, 2009 Central Springs High School set school record with
24+ home runs this season and top in their conference.
2007 Adel High School set record for most home runs in a season with 26.
Improved overall team batting average. Went to state tourney.
2007 Winterset High School set school record for most home runs in a season with
28. Individual home run record with 9 by Macie Silliman. Improved
overall team batting average.
2008 Winterset won the State Championship
2008 Waukee- 2009 won State Championship
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