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www.mybaycity.com April 24, 2008
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Peak Performance To Sponsor MyBayCity's Summer 2008 Little League Coverage

Peak Performance's Tom Merkle and Mark Krzysiak are teaching baseball

April 24, 2008       Leave a Comment
By: Kevin Leahy

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(Above Left) Peak Performance owners Tom Merkle and Mark Krzysiak are committed to improving baseball players in Mid-Michigan (Above Right)Peak Performance "Wall of Fame," has many recognizable jerseys and championship coats.


Peak Performance has been open for nearly three years now. And quietly the pool of baseball talent in Mid-Michigan has swelled and is poised for the college ranks.

Peak Performance co-partners Tom Merkle and Mark Krzysiak love the game of baseball, and they love helping young Mid-Michigan players develop their game to become peak performers.

Peak Performance has signed on as the sponsor of MyBayCity's summer coverage of Bay City Little League and traveling league baseball coverage for the 2008 regular season.

Peak Performance located on Salzburg just east of Euclid is a baseball player's playground where everything is focused on improving players hitting, fielding and pitching. With three indoor batting cages and a real life video pitching simulator (see it on their website www.ppbaseball.com ) and the only indoor clay pitchers mound north of Detroit.




Peak Performance's Pitching Simulator in action.

All the tools are there to become a better baseball player.

The instruction at Peak Performance Baseball is backed by over 47 years of combined experience, Bay City natives Tom Merkle with Mark Krzysiak and Dan Snover have joined with Chris Sarmiento to offer individual instruction in all facets of the game, including hitting, pitching, fielding, and strength and conditioning.

All of them played college baseball with Merkle, Snover and Sarmiento all being drafted into the pro's.

Their resumes speak volumes for their experience: Merkle is a former Detroit Tiger Minor League Player (17th round draft pick), 1988-1990 Varsity Head Coach for Bay City Handy, 1991-1995 Varsity Head Coach for Bay City Central (Career Wins Leader), and has 22 years experience as Camp and Clinic Director.

Krzysiak also has the credentials: MCCAA All-Conference, NJCAA All-State and All-Region Infielder at Lake Michigan College, 2001-2003 Varsity Head Coach for Bay City Central High School (2003 Saginaw Valley League Champs), 1999-2000 Varsity Head Coach for Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central High School (1999 Division III State Champs), Collegiate Player at Central Michigan University, Calhoun Community College, and Lake Michigan College, Krzysiak also has 18 years experience as Camp and Clinic Director and has been an instructor for various youth baseball camps and clinics.

Sarmiento has also accomplished very much in baseball: He was drafted in 2nd round by Philadelphia Phillies and in the 25th round by Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched Collegiate Baseball at University of Miami, Oral Roberts University, and Seminole Jr. College. He was a member of 1985 University of Miami Hurricanes National Championship. Sarmiento holds the single season save record for Seminole Jr. College and he pitched in The World Baseball Tournament in Tapei, Taiwan and has coached for both Saginaw Valley State University and Ferris State University.

Snover is a proven winner with professional lineage: He is a former Atlanta Braves Minor League AA Player, 1996-2000 Varsity Head Coach for Bay City Central (Back to Back District Champions in 1999 and 2000), he was a collegiate Player at University of Hawaii, Northeast Oklahoma State University, and Seminole Junior College (0 strikeouts in 158 at bats at NSU), he earned NCAA Division 1 - 3rd Team All-American Infielder honors at University of Hawaii and is an assistant Coach at Saginaw Valley State University and the current Coach for Saginaw Bay Riverdawgs.

You get results if you train at Peak Performance.

As stated on their website by former and current students who have given testimonials to their teaching abilities -- Casey Ingle, a Senior at Pinconning High School, who has signed a baseball scholarship at CMU had this to say, "Peak Performance Baseball brings everything to the table, from pitching to hitting and catching," Ingle says. Ingle continues, "You are able to work on and improve your skills with the teachings of Coach Merkle and Coach Krzysiak. Not only do they help you become a better baseball player, but they also get you ready mentally. With the video breakdowns that they have with pitching and hitting, you are able to fix and adjust your swing and delivery. Now I'm able to see what I'm doing wrong visually, so I can work on those problems. When it comes to baseball schools, Peak Performance Baseball is on top of their game." (NOTE: Above information is from Peak Performance web site. Casey is currently a Sophomore at Central Michigan University and a 2006 graduate of Pinconning High School.)




Part owner and coach Mark Krzysiak works with one of his students teaching directional hitting.

When asked about his inspiration for running Peak Performance, Merkle stated recently, "We wanted to give kid's a place to go. I remember looking up to the professionals and thinking, I want to play like those guys. What happened to the days of Bay City turning out star players, so here we are."

Peak Performance is also the main thrust behind The Riverdawgs traveling baseball teams with Krzysiak acting as President and Snover the coach. The River Brawl (hosted by the Riverdawgs) will be a tournament that could potentially bring 70-80 teams right here to Bay City. The Brawl will be August 15-17th. It is an open Registration tournament for Ages 11 to 17. For info, contact Krzysiak at (989) 239-4240.

The Saginaw Bay Riverdawgs Youth League consists of kids from all over the Tri-Cities. The league has grown from 1 to 7 teams in recent years.

Krzysiak noted, "We're still behind the bigger cities in developing our youth talent and giving them a chance to compete equally with most of the kids downstate. Our kids are playing 20-30 games around here. In the Detroit area they are playing 80-90 games per year, while the southern and western states have kids who are playing 150-200 games a year in a 9-11 month time span."

Peak Performance is positioned to provide players with that extra exposure to the game and keep their skills sharp in the off-season. In addition to offering their batting cages to the public for $15.00 per half hour, they have hitting leagues in the fall, winter and spring with three-man teams that hit for six weeks and eight weeks in the winter.

Peak Performance also provide low cost alternatives to the big box stores and Sporting Goods giants by selling and ordering the latest equipment, gloves, bats, and accessories at a huge discount for their participants.

Merkle summed up their existence by saying, "Michigan does not have a very long-playing season, we want the kid's to have a place to practice and play with the passion to pursue their goals. As long as we continue to do it for the reason we opened it up, I think we'll be here for a long time."

The Bay City area's Little League has flourished in overall numbers. Bay City's Southwest Little League counted 262 players with neighboring Northwest totaling 260. Bay City South End and Essexville-Hampton's loop each had 160 players a year ago while Bay City Northeast had 93.



(Above Left) It's all about proper form at Peak Performance, whether it is pitching, hitting, fielding or training. (Above Right)The only indoor clay pitchers mound north of Detroit gets plenty of action at Peak Performance

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Kevin Leahy

Kevin Leahy has an interest in all sports-related activities at the Local, State and National levels. Looking for the inside story? Leahy's got it . . .

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