By Ernie Rapiere

For the past three years, the Mudhens of MacComb, Michigan has been one of the top teams in the country.  This team has developed out of the Michigan Mudhen Baseball Academy.  But, as the Academy continues its growth with facility expansions and upgrades to its training and player development staff, they are developing many athletes with top potential.  With so many good players at different age groups, the Mudhens Academy will be fielding two new teams to compete within the age groups 10 and 12 years to complement the traditions already established by their 13U team.  This is the first of a 2-part article by TravelBallSelect that will preview each of these new Michigan Mudhen teams.  This article, Part 1, looks at the new 10U team.

The Michigan Mudhens 10U team will be managed and coached by Ron Perfetto along with assistants; Tom Vandermeer and Jeff Croff.  Coach Perfetto's baseball resume includes 4 years as a player/manager for the St. Clair Shores Reds affiliated with the MABL (National Affiliation).  He holds a Master Degree in Sports Administration and has over 10 years of Head Coaching experience in basketball at the Elementary and High School levels as well as, serving as a Graduate Assistant on Wayne State University's Womens Basketball team during the 1998-1999 season.

Coach Tom Vandermeer serves as the Mudhens pitching coach.  His resume includes many successful years as a player in youth baseball all the way through his High School career which included selections to play on national teams in tournaments played in Puerto Rico.  Coach Vandermeer's successful playing career landed him at Oakland University where he pitched for 4 years.

Coach Jeff Croff:  Coach Croff had a very successful College Football career for four years at Grand Valley State University. 

The 2010 10U Mudhens will consist of a core of seven players from the 2009 9U Michigan Stars, a team that won the 9U Division of the MABF.  That team had an overall record of 29-11 and also qualified to play in the AABA Championship in Oklahoma City.  That Stars team also had a successful tournament season including 1st place in the USSSA sponsored Mount Clemens Memorial Tournament.  They also finished 4th in the USSSA 9U Open Michigan State Championship. 

These seven players are complemented with the addition of 2 solid players from the 9U South Oakland A's, as well as, a great find from Warren Little League.

During 2010, the 10U Mudhens will be competing in several key tournaments including the Cinco De May (Canton, MI), Mudhen Invitational (Warren, MI), Memorial Day SuperNIT (Sterling Heights, MI), Columbus SuperNIT (Columbus, OH), and both the Michigan Majors Elite and the Michigan State Championships.

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