September 6, 2006

Grand Opening Day

Baseball coach Anthony Siri opens Sirious Baseball Performance Academy in Campbell

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

For Leland head baseball coach Anthony Siri, opening day occurred in August. That’s because Siri, a former player at West Valley College and at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, opened his own baseball facility, Sirious Baseball Performance Academy, in Campbell on Aug. 26.

A young baseball player takes some swings in one of the three batting cages at the Sirious Baseball Performance Academy opening on Aug. 26. Photo by Jeff Frazee

For Siri, opening the baseball academy was the realization of a dream.

“It’s very overwhelming,” said Siri, a Leland alumnus who spent last season as the school’s varsity baseball co-head coach with Scot Gillis after a stint as an assistant coach in Westmont’s baseball program. “I’m very excited. It’s by far a dream come true. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and believed in. I’m just excited this day has finally come.”

Siri, who has run his own baseball clinics at local fields previously, celebrated the opening with a crowd of friends and family, as well as numerous baseball students, ranging from Little Leaguers to his own Leland players. Siri and his staff opened the 4,500-square foot facility to the public by offering free swings in the new batting cages to youngsters, as well as offering a baseball staple—grilled hot dogs—for free to the crowd.

Siri said having his students come out to join him at the grand opening of the facility speaks to the personal touch he and his staff bring to every baseball clinic or private baseball coaching session.

“We try to stay on top of our clients and make them feel as if they are the most important client, because every client to us is the most important client,” said Siri, who celebrated the day with his wife, Valerie, and 2-month-old son Eli, as well as numerous other family members. “That’s how we stay in operation … having my kids here that are within my clientele, it’s special.”

Siri also said he’s been overwhelmed by the support he’s received from his family in opening the facility.

“I have to tip my cap to my whole family,” said Siri. “My family has been so supportive. My wife, Valerie, my 2-month-old son, Eli, my immediate family with my mom, my sisters, my in-laws. Everybody’s just been a huge part of making this what it is. You have to have a good supporting cast to do things like this.”

The new facility features three batting cages, including two coin-operated cages—one for high school and college players, and one for Little League and Pony League players. The third cage serves as an area where players can see live batting practice against a pitcher, as opposed to a pitching machine, and can also be used as an area for pitchers to throw bullpen sessions.

Additionally, a fourth “mini” batting cage is used for whiffle ball batting practice and other drill work.
Siri said his facility will serve players of all ages.

“Our clientele is primarily Little League and Pony (League) kids. We do have high school, college and pro guys who work with Sirious Baseball too,” said Siri, who added that he chose to place his facility in Campbell because it’s centrally located near other South Bay neighborhoods.

And while the focus at the Sirious Baseball Performance Academy will be on hitting, fielding and pitching, there’s also a big emphasis on conditioning. To that end, Siri has teamed up with Ross Headley, who will head up the facility’s conditioning center as its director of fitness. Siri said the conditioning center will cater to not only baseball players, but to athletes from other sports as well.

Leland head baseball coach Anthony Siri, center, alongside fielding/skills instructor Bob Tarantino, left, and Director of Fitness Ross Headley opened the doors to the Sirious Baseball Performance Academy in Campbell on Aug. 26.

Headley, a St. Francis alumnus, previously worked as a conditioning coach for former San Francisco 49er Jeff Garcia, and started his own sports development and personal training company, Heads up Fitness, in 2003.

Headley said he focuses his conditioning programs on more than simply building muscle and gaining brute strength. Instead, Headley said he focuses his programs on developing core strength, agility, balance, coordination and flexibility, to name a few.

“There’s a lot more to baseball than just hitting and throwing,” said Headley. “The conditioning center gives us a chance, especially with the young kids, to develop the stability muscles and the muscles that they use when they’re playing baseball. It prevents them from injury, and gets them faster and stronger without putting tension on the muscles. We don’t want to focus on a lot of weight training in here, that’s not what the emphasis is. It’s more about speed and agility, and balance and stability training.”

And while the day was one of overall joy for Siri, it also came with a twinge of sadness. The facility opened its doors approximately one year after the death of Siri’s close friend, Erik Hanson, who shared the goal of opening the facility with Siri. Hanson, a former Gonzaga University baseball player, died at the age of 34 of natural causes, said Siri.

“I guess you could say it’s bittersweet in the sense that Erik Hanson was a big part of my life,” said Siri. “…I met Erik in 1997 when I came back from school (University of Arkansas at Little Rock), and I became just great friends with him. I talked to Erik back in 1999 about doing this, about opening up a baseball academy for kids, and to get kids geared into fitness and geared into a sport they can love, to share the passion we shared. Erik had that, and he was great with kids.”

To honor his friend, Siri placed a framed No. 18 Gonzaga baseball jersey of Hanson’s in the facility’s lobby. To further honor Hanson, Siri named his high school and college batting cage after his friend, complete with a baseball shaped plaque featuring his name and jersey number at Gonzaga. Siri also named one of his cages after San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays, as well as a third cage after his young son, Eli.

Several members of Hanson’s family were also in attendance, including his parents.

“As funny as it sounds, I know he’s here and I know he’s loving every minute of this right now,” said Siri. “Every day is going to be a special day for us because Erik is going to be here every day.”

For more information about the Sirious Baseball Performance Academy and its programs and services, go to www.siriousbaseball.com. The Sirious Baseball Performance Academy is located at 599 E. McGlincy Ln., Suite A, in Campbell. Facility hours are Monday-Friday noon-8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday noon-5 p.m.